Provoking Reflection in Action in Experienced Practitioners: An Educational Intervention

Stress experienced during high-risk decision-making may impair performance, but can also be a cue, provoking the move from intuitive and automatic application of expertise to reflective and deliberative approaches. This article reports an exploratory intervention designed to provoke reflection-in-action and, ultimately, to improve practice decision making in experienced clinicians. The intervention combined: classroom-based education on decision-making science, practice-based self-monitoring with the aid of wearable technology, decision-making logs intended to provoke reflection, and opportunities to engage in guided reflection-on-action. The intervention supported recognition and use of physiological cues to moderate action and decision making, and provoked experienced professionals to reconnect with the element of surprise they experienced early in their careers, and to use these moments to improve their practice.