Reflective practice models in nursing: choose by assignment need
Direct answer: Choose reflective practice models in nursing from the assignment brief, required depth, word limit, and expected action. Gibbs offers six stages, Driscoll uses three questions, Kolb follows experiential learning, Johns examines context and ways of knowing, Schön distinguishes reflection in and on action, Brookfield uses lenses, and Atkins and Murphy foreground critical analysis.
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.
- Use the named model when the course requires one.
- For open choice, match the model to the analysis and word space required.
- Prefer a rubric-led structure when no model improves the reasoning.
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.
- Do not give every stage equal space by default.
- Keep literature connected to the student's interpretation.
- Ensure the ending produces learning and a bounded action.
Sources: University of Edinburgh Reflection Toolkit · University of Edinburgh Reflection Toolkit · University of Edinburgh Reflection Toolkit · Monash University · Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland
Reflective practice in nursing: a concept, not a completed model
Reflective practice in nursing is the disciplined examination of experience, assumptions, evidence, professional responsibility, and future action. A model can prompt that work, but completing headings does not establish reflective depth and this page is not a substitute for a scholarly concept analysis required by a course.
Schön, Brookfield, and Atkins and Murphy remain useful comparison points inside this overview. They do not each need a separate thin page when the student's current task is choosing a structure rather than researching one theorist in depth.
Sources: University of Edinburgh Reflection Toolkit · University of Edinburgh Reflection Toolkit
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
- Reflecting on experience
University of Edinburgh Reflection Toolkit — An overview of reflective approaches and prompts rather than a universal marking rule. - Gibbs' Reflective Cycle
University of Edinburgh Reflection Toolkit — An overview of the six stages and example questions for using the cycle. - What? So what? Now what?
University of Edinburgh Reflection Toolkit — A concise three-question reflective structure commonly associated with Driscoll's model. - Kolb learning cycle
Monash University — An overview of concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualisation, and active experimentation. - John's Model of Reflection
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland — A professional-body overview of the five themes used in Johns' structured reflection. - 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. - Assessment criteria for reflection
University of Edinburgh Reflection Toolkit — Examples of reflective criteria including analysis, selectivity, multiple perspectives and action.
Sources were checked on 3 September 2026. Report an inaccurate or outdated statement through the content corrections process.
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