Gibbs reflective cycle is a famous cyclical model, first introduced in 1988 by the famous American psychologist Graham Gibbs, after whom the model is named. In his book of reflective models of ‘Learning by doing’, he emphasized on doing and learning things by practising and having a desired action plan. This model is about evaluating the experiences at multiple stages of the reflection cycle by the practitioners and during each stage, analyzing deeply about how they actually felt.
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Understanding Gibbs Reflective Cycle
As per Graham Gibbs, this particular cycle of reflection has 6 stages which, applied in a cyclic methodology by the practitioner, gives him the chance to either learn or plan out things again to achieve the desired results. The model emphasises on giving structure to the learning through experiences.
There are 6 stages in the Gibbs model of reflection as shown in the figure and the details of them are as below :
- Description
It describes the overall experience achieved from the model.
- Feelings
It tells the practitioner about what they felt while doing the Gibbs model of reflection.
- Evaluation
It is done to evaluate whether the model was right on track or if it needed any kind of changes to it.
- Analysis
To evaluate and analyse all the end results form the reflective studies conducted.
- Conclusion
To conclude the practise and think how you could have done it better .
- Action plan
This is the last step in Gibbs reflective cycle nursing which is about making a proper action plan after going through all the stages in which you can make an alternative plan for future situations like the same so that you can perform better. This is a road map to get better with time by doing planning in advance.
Objective of Gibbs Model of Reflection
The main objective of this model of reflection is that it gives the practitioner the guiding questions and gives them the chance to make a future plan of action to face a similar kind of situation and perform better. The model can be effective when you focus on all the six stages of the Gibbs model of Reflection in depth and a proper study of them will help you to get better outcomes.
Another objective of the Gibbs reflection model is that it will give the practitioner the plan and confidence to handle similar situations better in the future. When we face some problem once and fail badly or do not get the desired results, the only thing we can use out of these situations is, experiences we had and the feelings we observed . One can use this experience in future if faced a similar kind of situation and if you analyzed the past experiences and had an action plan on the same, you can definitely respond to it in a more productive way. This is the essence of Gibbs Model of cyclical reflection.
Gibbs Model of Reflection in Nursing
The Gibbs model of Reflection cycle gained much popularity after it was first studied and researched by a nursing student. With the application of Gibbs model, she was able to notify and understand the long gender gap in nursing and code of conduct was also explored and assessed fully. The final outcome from the application of the Gibbs model of reflection was that it helped in improving the learning capabilities and promoting fairness in the nursing profession. It can be used by nurses worldwide as the nursing profession is one profession where it can be applied.
The Gibbs model of reflection was very successful particularly after the practical application in the nursing field as they had to continuously engage and communicate with the patients on a day to day basis. So, with this theory they were able to explore the situations in a much better way with the help of their past learning.
This model helped them to go through the 6 stages one by one and focus on each stage and make an action plan to coordinate and face the same situation more confidently in the future. One needs no mentor or teacher to apply this model as it is extremely simple and can be applied directly. By using the model of reflection they were able to assess their own actions and were able to make the desired changes to get more accurate feedback from the patients.
The model will also help them in their professional as well as personal career if used effectively. Nurses can practice this Gibbs model of reflection in their work as they can see the improvements in the patient care and become more self aware and make the required changes to perform better. If the Gibbs reflective model is used effectively it will help in improving the morale of nurses in the workplace as well. This will improve the image of the nursing field and will help them in yielding good results by means of self improvement.
Using this model, the nurses become more self – aware and think of the techniques that can improve their behaviour and actions in order to improve the patient care. Although it is lengthy but Gibbs model is also one of the most effective reflective models even though there are other models. As compared to other models like John’s model and six thinking hats, it is more effective based upon the industry trends. Gibbs model is also somewhat related to the Driscoll Model of Nursing but the only difference is that Gibbs model is the bigger and detailed version of it.