Becoming a Reflective Practitioner: Building Value into Post‐encounter Reflections

Those who practice veterinary medicine enter into a profession that requires lifelong learning. This chapter introduces the importance of learning through reflection. In this way, veterinary professionals become reflective practitioners. This chapter will explore what it means to be a reflective practitioner and why that aspect of professional identity is so critical to a veterinary professional's development. Because of the impact of reflection on practitioners’ careers, and on career satisfaction, the art and science of reflective practice must be built into healthcare curricula. This chapter will describe how reflection has been incorporated into postsimulation assignments associated with the professional skills curriculum at the University of Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine.