How to write an action plan in a nursing reflection
Direct answer: A useful reflection action plan names the future situation, the behaviour or learning step you will take, the support or preparation needed, a realistic time or trigger, and what evidence would help you judge whether the change was useful.
Start with the decision your assignment asks you to make
Read the brief, learning outcomes and marking language before choosing a framework or editing a paragraph. Reflective writing is assessed in a course context: the useful question is not whether a passage sounds reflective in isolation, but whether it gives the reader the analysis, evidence and future action the task requires.
Use the checks below as a planning aid. They are not a hidden rubric and they do not replace feedback from the module team.
- Select the learning that matters most rather than listing every possible improvement.
- Choose an action within your student role and supervision boundary.
- Name when the action will be practised or reviewed.
Sources: University of Edinburgh Reflection Toolkit · University of Edinburgh Reflection Toolkit
Revise the reasoning, not just the wording
A productive revision changes what the paragraph helps the reader understand. Select the necessary context, make the interpretation visible, use a source to test a claim rather than decorate it, and connect the learning to a realistic future choice.
Keep uncertainty where it is honest. Nursing reflection does not require inventing confidence, a dramatic mistake or a perfect outcome; it requires an accountable explanation of what you noticed, learned and will examine next.
- Replace 'communicate better' with the exact behaviour you will practise.
- Add the person, resource or supervision needed.
- Describe an observable sign of progress without guaranteeing success.
Sources: University of Edinburgh Reflection Toolkit · University of Edinburgh Reflection Toolkit · Nursing and Midwifery Council
Protect confidentiality and authorship
Remove unnecessary identifying details and follow the rules set by your university, placement provider and applicable professional body. Changing a name alone may not make a distinctive event anonymous.
Planning tools and formative feedback can help you find questions or revision priorities. The experience, interpretation, evidence choices and final language must remain yours, and any AI use must follow the declaration rules for your assignment.
Sources: Nursing and Midwifery Council · University of Edinburgh Reflection Toolkit
Sources and further reading
- Gibbs' Reflective Cycle
University of Edinburgh Reflection Toolkit — An overview of the six stages and example questions for using the cycle. - Assessment criteria for reflection
University of Edinburgh Reflection Toolkit — Examples of reflective criteria including analysis, selectivity, multiple perspectives and action. - Written reflective accounts
Nursing and Midwifery Council — Professional revalidation guidance about learning from practice and relating reflection to the Code; it is not a university assignment rubric. - The Code: Professional standards of practice and behaviour for nurses, midwives and nursing associates
Nursing and Midwifery Council — The current professional standards; students must use the jurisdiction and edition required by their course.
Sources were checked on 7 August 2026. Report an inaccurate or outdated statement through the content corrections process.
Related guides and tools
Review your own draft without handing over authorship.
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