The benefits of a reflective model of nursing.

The concept of reflective practice is proving popular among practising nurses. This paper describes a way of using reflection in practice. It also describes how reflective principles were used to underpin the development of a model to guide nurses' work. The difference between this approach and the traditional use of theoretical models is outlined and its value for guiding practice is discussed. A second article next month will look at the model in practice in more detail.