Oxford Dictionaries define reflection as serious thought or consideration (Oxford Dictionaries, 208). Reflection is an activity used regularly by a wide range of professions. The Good Medical Practice highlights the importance of doctors reflecting on their practice and incorporating in patient feedback to ensure patient care is to a good standard (General Medical Council (GMC), 203). Reflective practice enables a doctor to improve and adapt their communication skills to connect with and show empathy for different patients. The patient-doctor relationship is built on effective verbal and non-verbal forms (such as body posture and eye contact) of communication (Travaline, Ruchinskas, DAlonzo, 2005). The patient-doctor relationship is a key concept in medicine and it is built on trust. It allows the doctor to have a better understanding of the patients medical history and the patient can be more involved in treatment. A study was carried out at Sherwood Forest Hospital (a National Health Service trust hospital), over a 22-month period between April 2004 and January 2006. Over this time, there were 849 inpatient admissions and 83 complaints; these complaints were analyzed to find that 25% were regarding poor communication (Siyambalapitya et al, 2007). This study took place over a large period of time and involved a reasonable sample size. A limitation is that the study only took place in one hospital. Howev
er, I believe the results of the study are still relevant and portray the need to devote more time to improving communication among healthcare professionals. Communication is an essential skill that I will develop, through regular reflection, as a medical student. For example, after communicating with a patient during my community-based medicine placement, I take the time to reflect on the consultation. I can then discuss aspects I will improve upon next time with my GP tutor.
Complaints and compliments are reflected upon through revalidation and annual appraisals. Revalidation is the process by which doctors are assessed the General Medical Councils standards. This is to identify the strengths and areas of improvement in a doctors practice and make changes using the feedback (General Medical Council, 208). In medical education, constructive feedback promotes learning, meets standards, and enables students to develop an analytical approach to learning. Therefore, teachers of medicine should attend training programs on how to give feedback to ensure it is done in a beneficial way (Chowdhury, Kalu, 2004). As a medical student, I am constantly receiving feedback. For example, during my training in Basic Life Support, I received feedback from both my peers and my teachers on the technique of chest compressions. I took some time to reflect on this feedback which allowed me to come up with areas of improvement.