Effective reflection training of General Practitioners
The use of reflection in in-person clinical training
Medical doctors' reflective competencies are closely tied to the delivery of safe and effective patient care, contributing to a decrease in potentially fatal errors among both students and qualified professionals.
The integration of formal reflection in physician education and training has become widespread, as studies have shown that incorporating reflection in medical training helps trainees develop a comprehensive understanding of their experiences, leading to greater insight and informed decision-making.
Despite this, the existing medical literature lacks clarity and consistency in terms of defining the concept of "reflection," teaching effective reflective practices, and assessing the efficacy of reflective interventions.
The purpose of reflection is also unclear, but in medical undergraduate and graduate courses, as well as clinical education in clinical settings, it is generally aimed at enhancing students' judgment, clinical skills, problem-solving abilities, flexible thinking, lifelong learning, and expertise development.
A literature review conducted by Chaffey et al. highlights the inconsistency in defining the purpose of reflection and potential implications: “If medical students are unclear as to the purpose of reflection and do not see educators modeling reflective behaviors, they are likely to undervalue this important skill, regardless of the associated learning and development opportunities embedded in the curriculum.”
In order to promote the continuous development and learning of medical doctors, it is crucial to ascertain whether there are well-defined details and definitions regarding the format, methods, and outcomes of formalised reflective practice training specifically designed for general practitioners in clinical settings.
A scoping review is underway which focuses on exploring the use of reflection in in-person clinical training, encompassing reflection models, tools, approaches, measurement instruments, and outcomes. The review will employ a standard classification framework to categorise and map reflection interventions based on different levels of reflection across various models. Its objective is to provide insight into formalised methods of reflection employed in clinical settings within general practice, specifically targeting medical students, postgraduate trainees, general practitioners, and family physicians.
The scoping review protocol can be accessed in the July 2023 issue of JBI Evidence Synthesis:
Schumann Scheel, Linda; Kjaer, Niels Kristian; Marnie, Casey; Peters, Micah D.J.
JBI Evidence Synthesis 21(7):p 1501-1508, July 2023. | DOI: 10.11124/JBIES-22-00210