Reflection – enabling self-care moments that support a sense of wellbeing

Reflection is the vehicle that supports healthcare professionals in cultivating the self-awareness required to use themselves therapeutically within caring relationships. Supporting engagement in reflection and providing protected time for healthcare professionals to reflect, whether alone, in groups, through structured supervision, reflective writing, peer conversation, helps individuals to practice self-care, enhances their sense of wellbeing, and empowers them to work in an emotionally intelligent manner. An emotionally intelligent healthcare professional attempts to understand how patients and colleagues respond to them, observing verbal and non-verbal cues that supports the ability to be adaptive to different experiences. They can process complex information that contributes to their cognitive and affective domains. This knowledge is used to know when to create space for their self-care moments and when to put in protective measures contributing towards their sense of wellbeing. This paper argues that exploring experiences through the reflective process applies the caring that is outwardly offered to patients inversely through validation of the healthcare professional’s narrative, and exploration of thoughts and feelings. This application of care to self is what creates self-care moments, engenders a sense of wellbeing, whilst also generating knowledge of self that can be used to practice in an emotionally intelligent manner.