Book Review
Reflective practice in nursing: the growth of the professional practitioner
Anthony M Palmer, Sarah Burns and Chris Bulman (eds)
ISBN: 978-0632035977; 1994; 192 pages; Blackwell Science Inc;
Judy Lumby
Professor, Executive Director, The College of Nursing, Burwood NSW
The editors of this book have ensured a comprehensive text which examines the concept of reflection and the way in which nurses have utilized reflection and the theories surrounding it. The book moves from a practice-fed curriculum using reflection through assessment of reflection, theories underpinning reflection as a learning tool and reflection in action told from all sides of the process. Perhaps the best part of this text is the honest analysis by the users of reflection including mentors, students and practitioners. This analysis is done through personal examplars and clinical examples which are useful guides for both teachers and learners, as well as practitioners. This book offers little in the way of new work or insights into this area of reflection for Australian nurses but that is because we have been immersed in it for so long.
It does however pull all the parts together comprehensively and offers an extensive and current reading list for those new to the process of reflection. The chapter on assessment will be particularly useful for many of those who are already using a reflective model for students in their curriculum. Equally worthwhile are the insights provided by the mentor in her chapter which covers all stages of mentorship. The contents and introduction provide a clear guide to readers who may wish to be selective in their reading. Certainly the book can be used in this way as the chapters are quite discrete. This text would be a very useful one for all departments to have on hand for staff to access. It would also be useful for students who wish to be reflective practitioners or for those who need to analyse and evaluate reflective processes in their studies.
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