Mental Health Practice Development - Essay Example

Within the healthcare practice, critical reflection has been highlighted as a significant and important skill in helping to achieve the necessary standards of professionalism among nurses and midwives (NMC, 2004).  It has also become an important approach in increasing the coverage of continuing health education, work-based learning, as well as life-long education (NMC, 2004).  Due to the increased focus on professional practice as well as education, it has become important to evaluate the reflective practice based on more practical applications, in this case, within the mental health setting.

  Dewey (1933) from the very start has identified how reflection is a specialised thinking exercise.  It is an act which can come about due to doubt and hesitation relating to a situation or phenomenon.  Such a situation can also trigger inquiry and problem resolution.  Reflective practice veers individuals away from routine actions, instead, prompting more reflective and thoughtful action.  Such conceptualization begins with experience, highlighting how individuals and practitioners learn by doing and also by practice (Dewey, 1933).

  In this case, problems are thought out first, hypotheses are formulated and errors are resolved and prevented with the use of plan actions, as well as the testing out of ideas.  It utilises two themes based on the modules completed, with a focus on change management and clinical leadership. The Gibbs reflective model will be used for this critical reflection (Fook and Gardner, 2007). This reflective cycle is useful in making an individual evaluate all the phases on an experience or activity.

In this case, the stages of Description, Feelings, Evaluation, Analysis, Conclusion, and Action Plan shall be used as part of this model. This model has been chosen over other models because it includes more detailed elements of the reflective process (Fook and Gardner, 2007). Such details would help me present how I was able to improve my leadership ability through the modules I have gone through. This critical reflective piece demonstrates the application of different theory models of leadership and change.

This reflection would also be critical about my actions and decisions in the process of completing this MSc course. An assessment of this experience, with its challenges is a necessary