How to Write a Nursing Reflection: Step-by-Step Guide for Student Nurses

How to Write a Nursing Reflection.

Writing a nursing reflection can feel overwhelming when you’re new to it, especially if it’s for your first university assignment or portfolio.

But reflection is one of the most valuable tools you’ll develop as a student nurse. It helps you grow as a person not just a nurse, improves your clinical practice, and demonstrates professional insight to assessors in your assignment.

It’s one of those skills you will carry throughout your nursing degree. And you will need to write reflections each time you revalidate with the NMC (Revalidation – The Nursing and Midwifery Council).

Therefore, getting used to writing reflections the right way to start with will make it easier in the long run.

When I first started my nursing degree I really struggled with reflections because I was so used to writing in third person (‘the author states…’). Writing in first person (‘I asked the patient…) just felt totally weird and not academic enough to be handing in at university. So, you are not alone in wondering how to do the perfect reflection for you assignment.

In this guide, I’ll walk through how to write a strong nursing reflection, explain the different reflection models used in nursing, and show you how to link your learning back to practice effectively. Mastering these will ensure better marks in your reflective assignment and set you up for a future of thoughtful reflection.

What is a Nursing Reflection

A nursing reflection is a structured way of examining your own experiences in clinical practice to learn, grow, and improve as a professional. It’s about taking a step back to think critically about something you did, observed, or learned. This could be on placement, simulation, or classroom activity. Then, asking yourself what went well, what didn’t, and what you would do differently next time.

Reflective writing isn’t just about describing what happened; it’s about analysing the situation, connecting it to nursing theory and professional standards like the NMC code and showing how it will shape your future practice.

In simple terms, it’s the process of turning experience into learning.

Reflective writing helps you to:

Demonstrate self-awareness and critical thinking. It shows your ability to recognise strengths, weaknesses, and areas for growth. This will help you to find those areas you need a bit more practice or research in as well as celebrate those small wins.

Link theory to practice. This is done by connecting classroom learning, research evidence, and nursing models to real clinical situations. For example, if your reflection was on how you performed CPR you could link this to the basic life support training that you did back at the start of your degree or on your mandatory training on induction.

Identify learning needs and professional goals. Reflection helps you plan how to improve your skills and knowledge in future placements. For example, in the above CPR reflection, you could have recognised that you were able to perform the CPR skill well but had to be reminded how many chest compressions to breaths. In this case you’d be aware that you needed to look on the Resus Council website for resources on CPR algorithms.

Meet NMC (Nursing and Midwifery Council) standards for reflective practice. Reflection is a key requirement for maintaining safe, effective, and compassionate care and you will need to produce at least 5 reflections as part of your revalidation to keep your PIN number. Check the revalidation requirements here (Revalidation – The Nursing and Midwifery Council).

Where Reflection fits in to your Nursing Journey

As a student nurse, your reflections might form part of:

University assignments (reflective essays, portfolios, or assessments)

Clinical placement documentation (reflective logs or practice diaries)

Personal development plans (used in mentorship or supervision meetings)

Personal reflection (putting thoughts to paper that won’t be necessarily seen by anyone else as way of journalling for your own mental health)

Later in your career, reflection becomes an essential part of your NMC revalidation, where you must show evidence of learning from your experiences and how it has improved your practice.

Reflecting for yourself – not for marks

The best nurses don’t just reflect when they have to for an assignment or for revalidation. Reflection is really helpful for your mental health and your emotional resilience as a nurse and as a human being. We see the good, the bad and the ugly on shift. We see patients and their relatives on some of the worst days of their life; we break bad news and see and hear things that most people never have to. This puts a great emotional burden on us as we just continue to see the next patient after walking out of a room having told a relative their beloved may not make it. We are expected to be seen as the strong ones. That nurse mask that holds everything together needs cleansing regularly or else it will crumble and burnout will approach. A way of cleansing that mask is through reflection.

You don’t even have to put pen to paper. It could be on the commute home where you voice note or think in your head. Reflecting on the days sequence of events, identifying what you were proud of and what you could have done better. Always end on a positive note! Because we can often over focus on the negative when actually we did an amazing job.

Even as a qualified nurse I do now what I started when I was a student. My commute in the car is half an hour. I’m on my own and I talk out-loud and go through three questions;

One thing I’m proud of myself for.
Something I need a little more work on.
Three moments of joy.

The more I do this, the more moments of joy I see. Because, my mindset is searching for the positives and leaving the day on a high. This helps me process difficult situations and leave the shift, on the shift.

A check in with yourself is essential for your mental health as a nurse or nurse in training. That’s why I created ‘The Nursing Wellbeing Journal’. I could never find a journal that really hit the spot and understood my life on the ward. So, I created my own. And now I’m sharing it with you. Including both weekly and monthly check ins and highlighting ‘what I’m going to leave behind’ and ‘what I’m going to take forward into next week’. Journalling keeps my self-care in check too. It looks at how kind I am to myself, what my stress and energy levels are and shows me where I need to focus my energy. Such as; eating well, staying hydrated and getting more social connection.

The link to my wellbeing journal is here: The Nursing Wellbeing Journal

What to Reflect on…

One of the hardest parts of a reflective assignment is deciding what to reflect on. It’s not a matter of not having enough to choose from. Often it’s that we experience so many things on placement that we have too many to choose from.

A common mistake that many student nurses make is that they think that they must reflect on a big event such as an emergency or a patient with a super rare condition. In reality, the simplest experiences have the most impact when reflecting on them.

The trouble with choosing to reflect on something like an emergency situation is that there are a lot of elements to this. The deterioration, the emergency itself, the number of staff involved, the aftermath and debrief. You may spend so much time describing the event that you don’t have the word-count to go into more detail. Thus, missing things that will get you those higher marks and better grades. Such as analysing and showing what you learned.

Keep it simple. A set of observations may be too broad if your wordcount is only 1500 words. For example, you may want to just pick blood pressure or oxygen saturations. This way, you don’t waste your word-count describing the whole procedure. Your university assessors aren’t looking to give marks to the most interesting event. They give higher marks to those who focus on what they have learnt and analysed.

Use a reflection from a placement you’re currently on. This is a double whammy because you will research the area you are on and can apply that learning straight away on placement. For example, if you are on a respiratory ward, reflect on a patient that has COPD or a tracheostomy. This way, you can research these conditions and apply your learning immediately. Its also way more interesting if you can test your theory in clinical practice. It gives you that confidence boost – as you know how to look after your patients better.

Choosing a Reflection Model

There are several structured models that can help guide your reflection. You don’t have to use a set model as long as you are hitting that marking criteria. But, a model is often preferred by university markers. These models have done all the hard work to structure your reflection, you just have to fill in the gaps. Using a model of reflection also stops you from going off on a tangent and waffling. This is important, as reflective assignments have a shorter word-count than your other assignments. Additionally, the sections in these reflective models give you a reminder to even your word count out, which stops you writing more in one area than another.

It also doesn’t matter which reflective model you use as each have the structure to make your reflection flow. It’s really more about how much detail you go into when you are thinking critically about the experience that matters when it comes to getting top marks on your reflective essay. And which model you personally prefer. Here is a common reflective model used in nursing reflection assignments and a breakdown of what to put in each section:

Gibbs Reflective Cycle (1988)

The Gibbs Reflective Cycle is one of the most widely used models in nursing education — and for good reason. It provides a simple, structured framework that helps student nurses reflect clearly and logically. Instead of just describing an event, it guides you to think about your feelings, actions, analysis, and future learning step by step. An advantage of this is that it helps structure your story, so you have chance to expand and analyse, and this is where those extra marks in your assignment are coming from.

This makes it ideal for nursing reflection essays, clinical placement journals, and OSCE debriefs, as it helps your writing flow naturally while demonstrating critical thinking.

Gibbs’ model includes six stages:

1. Description – What happened?

Start by setting the scene clearly and concisely. Focus only on what’s relevant to your learning experience. If you need more word count for other sections – this is the section you take from.

Writing tip: Use clear, factual language. Avoid opinions here — you’re simply outlining the context. Keep super simple, no emotion or back stories.

Example: “During my surgical placement, I was asked to administer an intramuscular injection under supervision for the first time.”

Keep confidentiality in mind by using pseudonyms or general terms like “the patient” or “the staff nurse.” It’s useful in this section to write a brief sentence stating, “In the interest of confidentiality, the patient in this reflection will be referred to as patient A”. Or make a name up like “Fred”, something that is not close to their actual name.

2. Feelings – What were you thinking and feeling?

This section is about emotional honesty. Reflect on your emotions before, during, and after the event. Make sure you keep it in the moment, what were you feeling because of this event not because of an argument you had with your best friend last night. This is usually a hard section, often because were so used to saying ‘I’m fine’ it’s hard to focus on what emotion that nurse mask is covering.

Writing tip: Go beyond just saying “I was nervous.” Try to explore why you felt that way.

Example: “I felt anxious because I wanted to perform the procedure correctly and ensure the patient’s comfort.” it’s the ‘because’ that gets you a few extra marks as it shows you’ve critically thought about why you felt the way you did.

Being open about your emotions shows self-awareness which is a key component of reflective practice.

If you are interested in how you can look after yourself as well as patients check out my blog post: Why self-care matters more than ever in nursing

3. Evaluation – What was good and bad about the experience?

Now, think about what went well and what didn’t. Be balanced and fair in your assessment. Again, this can be difficult as we are programmed as humans to focus on the negative. An easy way to see if its balanced is to check your word count in each of the good and the improvement needed parts.

Writing tip: Use bullet points in your draft to organise thoughts, then turn them into full sentences for your essay. This helps structure and flow.

Example: “The positive aspect was that I prepared all equipment correctly and maintained aseptic technique. However, I hesitated when inserting the needle, which affected my confidence.” For more marks you’d expand on this sentence to make a paragraph explaining how you knew what equipment to get and how you referred to the correct nursing protocol or policy.

4. Analysis – Why did things go well or not so well? Link to theory or evidence.

This is the most important (and often most graded) part of your reflection. You need to link your experience to nursing theory, professional guidelines, or research. If you are talking about a certain condition, think about what organisations there are, for example, for Asthma look at the Asthma and Lung UK organisation, or for Parkinson’s mention research you found on Parkinson’s UK. Make sure these are registered organisations.

Writing tip: Always support your points with evidence — for example, referencing the NMC Code (2018), NICE guidelines, or relevant research articles. Make sure you research what the gold standard is for that condition or pathway. The NICE website is a good place to start as these are national guidelines and Trust policies will reflect these.

Example: “My hesitation may have been due to anxiety and lack of experience, which aligns with Benner’s (1984) ‘Novice to Expert’ theory, where beginners often lack confidence in unfamiliar procedures.” Youd expand this further by describing how else your behaviour reflected this theory. Although this is an old reference it is a theory still used in nursing. You can explore this more by getting more up to date journal articles that also reference this theory in relation to novice nurses. Showing it still has relevance today.

Showing that you understand why something happened and how evidence supports your analysis is what earns higher marks.

5. Conclusion – What could you have done differently?

Summarise what you’ve learned and consider any alternative approaches.

Writing tip: Keep this short and focused on learning, not self-criticism. Think about what you are going to do now that you have researched the gold standards, and you know how to approach this situation better next time.

Example: “If I were to repeat this situation, I would take more time to confirm the patient’s understanding before starting the procedure and ensure I use open-ended questions to encourage feedback. This would help build trust and promote shared decision-making in line with NMC communication standards.”

This section shows personal growth and your willingness to improve. It also shows that link with theory and how you are going to apply it to practice providing more quality patient care. In essence, the whole point of reflecting.

6. Action Plan – What will you do next time?

The Action Plan is the final stage of Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle, and it’s where your reflection turns into real professional development. This is your opportunity to show assessors that you’ve not only recognised what happened, but that you’ve also thought about how to improve your future nursing practice.

Your action plan should clearly outline what steps you’ll take next to enhance your skills, confidence, or knowledge. This could include further study, additional supervision, practising under guidance, or seeking feedback from your mentor or educator.

Writing tip: Be realistic and specific. Avoid vague statements like “I’ll do better next time.” Instead, show that you’ve thought carefully about how you’ll achieve growth. Mention things like training opportunities, reading evidence-based guidelines, simulation practice, or mentorship discussions.

Example:

“To build on this experience, I plan to attend a clinical skills workshop on injection techniques and review the latest NICE guidelines on safe medication administration. I’ll also continue seeking feedback from my mentor after each attempt to monitor my progress and improve my confidence.”

You could also include personal development goals, such as improving communication, managing stress, or enhancing time management on shift.

A strong action plan demonstrates accountability and self-directed learning, which are essential qualities for student nurses. It shows that your reflection has led to measurable, forward-thinking steps. This is exactly what the NMC Code (2018) encourages through its emphasis on continuous improvement and safe, effective care.

Putting It All Together

When using Gibbs’ model, your reflection should read like a story with purpose — starting with what happened and ending with how you’ll grow as a nurse.

Pro Tip: Before you start writing, jot down notes under each of Gibbs’ six stages, then expand them into full paragraphs. This keeps your reflection focused and ensures you meet each stage’s criteria.

Remember: The goal of reflective writing isn’t to be perfect — it’s to show growth, understanding, and accountability in your nursing practice.

Download your FREE Gibbs Reflective Cycle Guide

How to Structure a Nursing Reflection without using a Model

Even if your university gives you flexibility, a clear structure will make your reflection easier to read and mark.

Here’s a suggested outline for your nursing reflection essay:

Introduction

Briefly introduce the reflection topic and model used.

State what you’ll reflect on (e.g., a clinical skill, communication challenge, or patient interaction).

Description of the Event

Summarise what happened, keeping confidentiality in mind (use pseudonyms).

Stick to the key details relevant to your learning.

Feelings and Initial Thoughts

Be honest about your emotions and reactions — assessors want authenticity, not perfection.

Evaluation and Analysis

Identify what went well and what could have gone better.

Link to nursing theory, NICE guidelines, or NMC standards to show critical thinking.

Conclusion and Action Plan

Reflect on what you learned.

Explain what you’ll do differently in future placements or scenarios.

Linking Reflection back to Practise

This is where many students lose marks — forgetting to connect their reflection to professional development.

Ask yourself:

What knowledge or skill have I developed from this experience?

How does this relate to the NMC Code (2018)?

How will this learning improve patient care or safety in the future?

Example:

“After reflecting on my communication during a handover, I realised I didn’t give enough detail about the patient’s mobility needs. In future, I will use the SBAR handover tool to ensure clarity and consistency, aligning with the NMC Code on effective communication.”

Referencing and Academic Guidance

When writing an academic reflection, you should support your analysis with references from credible sources such as:

NMC Code (2018)

NICE Guidelines

Peer-reviewed nursing journals

Textbooks such as Jasper (2013) Beginning Reflective Practice or Bulman & Schutz (2021) Reflective Practice in Nursing

Follow your university’s referencing style (often Harvard or APA) and include a short reference list at the end. You properly won’t have as many references in a reflective assignment because some of the text is your experiences. More than this, reflective assignments are often a lower word count that other academic assignments so naturally will have less references in them.

Common Mistakes in Nursing Reflection Assignments

Avoid these common pitfalls:

Writing a diary instead of a structured analysis

Focusing only on what happened without analysis

Forgetting confidentiality (never include patient names or identifying details)

Not linking to professional standards or evidence

Missing an action plan

Final Tips for Writing a great Nursing Reflection

Choose a specific experience rather than a broad one.

Be honest — reflection is about learning, not perfection.

Link to theory and practice throughout.

Proofread for grammar, flow, and referencing accuracy.

Keep it within word limits but rich in insight.

Conclusion

Learning how to write a nursing reflection is more than just an assignment, it’s a vital skill that helps you become a thoughtful, safe, and professional nurse. Using models like Gibbs, Johns, or Driscoll, you can structure your reflections, link them to theory and guidelines, and show your assessors that you’re developing both clinically and emotionally. Link theory to practice and show how you would approach the same or a similar situation with more confidence now that you know how you can improve your practice. Reflect often, even if it’s not written, that 5 minutes debrief is what gets you from notice to expert.

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