What is it about?
Reflective practice is the key to professional autonomy and empowerment of a workforce. Confusion about what reflection means often occurs due to a misunderstanding of context. Professional regulators and governments need to see successful outcomes, to see problems being solved etc. Only then does it become possible to reduce the burden of a punitive and bureaucratic regulatory system on frontline staff
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Why is it important?
The NHS workforce is in a demoralised state, burdened with excessive regulation and micro-management. This leads to defensive practice and fear of reflecting on errors and other flaws, which creates a vicious cycle as further layers of evermore complex regulation are added in an attempt to enforce safe practice. There is an urgent need for a low-blame culture, with fearless reflective practice by frontline staff, which would create an upsurge in productivity and reduce the need for external regulation
Perspectives
After some thirty years in frontline, full-time practice, I now work mostly in performance investigation and appraisal and also as a freelance GP. I have come to the conclusion that the UK desperately needs the combination of a happy, liberated and empowered NHS workforce, with happy, healthy and empowered citizens.
Dr John Sanfey
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Reflective practice and professional autonomy, InnovAiT Education and inspiration for general practice, December 2016, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/1755738016672684.
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