The nursing expert in clinical practice

SummaryReflection has long been used as a developmental tool within nursing education, however the benefits of structured reflection for qualified nurses does not receive the same emphasis within clinical practice despite its well documented benefit in terms of professional development. The aim of this paper is to examine a specific clinical experience through the process of structured reflection to demonstrate that nurses can learn through the process of reflection and re-evaluate their perception of expert care.It was found that many nurses do not consider themselves to be expert in the areas in which they work; however, the use of structured reflection can assist nurses to identify areas of practice in which they operate in an expert manner and therefore enable themselves and others to value their work as expert professionals.