A concept analysis of reflective practice: determining its value to nurses

Reflective practice has been welcomed into nursing education with open arms. However, practitioners are cautious of its perceived benefits and limitations considering the evidence-based literature has not been adequately tested. Concepts are well established as the building blocks of theory. It therefore follows that a primary step in building a theoretical base is undertaking a concept analysis. While there is an abundance of anecdotal literature available on reflective practice, it was deemed necessary to analyse the concept, define the attributes, antecedents and consequences, in order to identify a model case of reflective practice for clinical practice. This article uses Rodgers' (1989) methodology to gain a better understanding of what reflective practice actually is, and whether the concept is in fact useful to the practising nurse.