Journal of Orthopaedic Nursing
Volume 12, Issue 1 , Pages 5-12, February 2008

The nursing expert in clinical practice

  • Jennie Walker, MSc, BSc (Hons), DipCPC, RGN ((Clinical Educator))

      Affiliations

    • Corresponding Author InformationTel.: +44 115 8492895.

Department of Orthopaedic and Accident Surgery, Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK

published online 09 December 2008.

Editor’s comments This thought provoking article surrounding a small but significant incident caused the author many moral and ethical dilemmas concerning the essence of expert practice in spinal cord injury nursing. The incident could equally have been approached from an evidence-based practice stance and uncover even more issues and dilemmas.

Summary 

Reflection has long been used as a developmental tool within nursing education, however the benefits of structured reflection for qualified nurses does not receive the same emphasis within clinical practice despite its well documented benefit in terms of professional development. The aim of this paper is to examine a specific clinical experience through the process of structured reflection to demonstrate that nurses can learn through the process of reflection and re-evaluate their perception of expert care.

It was found that many nurses do not consider themselves to be expert in the areas in which they work; however, the use of structured reflection can assist nurses to identify areas of practice in which they operate in an expert manner and therefore enable themselves and others to value their work as expert professionals.

Keywords: Reflective practice, Spinal injury, Expert practice, Nursing

 

PII: S1361-3111(07)00086-6

doi:10.1016/j.joon.2007.08.016

Journal of Orthopaedic Nursing
Volume 12, Issue 1 , Pages 5-12, February 2008

Article Tools