Reflective Writing for General
Practitioners
What is Reflective Writing?
Reflective Writing uses writing as a means of
helping the GP (in our case) to reflect on their work and life.
There are no rules, no assessments, no forms, and no examinations.
You cannot pass or fail at Reflective Writing because the person
who it is for (the “audience”) is yourself.
There is something different about writing.
The movement of the pen across the paper allows ideas, memories,
connections or emotions to be given a voice. Writing about the
daily work, the patient who gives a gift, the relative who is
bereaved, the colleague who inspires or the issue that always
irritates can give the practitioner an insight that Appraisals and
Critical Event Meetings will never touch.
Although there are no rules to Reflective
Writing, there are helpful guides who have explored what may be
unfamiliar territory before us, and from them we can learn and be
encouraged to keep writing. That is partly what this website is
about. It is important to recognise that Reflective Writing is not
the same as Creative Writing; although latent creativity might be
awakened in the process. The writing is for the practitioner, who
might share some of what they write with others who are fellow
travellers, and occasionally the writing (after editing) might
reach a wider audience: but this is not the primary aim.
About the East Anglia Reflective Writing
Workshops.
Since 2001 the East Anglia Faculty has hosted
an annual Reflective Writing Workshop which has sought to introduce
GPs to Reflective Writing and to encourage them to continue using
writing as a means of re-evaluating, and re-valuing, their
practice. Each weekend has been facilitated by Gillie Bolton, who
has wide experience of working with health and allied
professions.
None of the twenty or so GPs who attend each
year are professional writers, but all have experienced a different
way of stepping back from the busy-ness of life to reflect on
issues small or large, humorous or sombre. Over sixty GPs have
attended the Workshops since they began. Some examples of
reflective writing from doctors who have attended the East Anglia
Faculty Workshops can be found in the links section.
If you are interested in attending the next
Reflective Writing workshop please click on the link “East Anglia
Faculty Reflective Writing 2008 Flyer” in the links section.
Gillie Bolton
Gillie is a freelance consultant who has
immense experience in the areas of Reflective Writing and
Therapeutic Writing. She is a published poet and is the author of
Reflective Practice Writing for Professional
Development (2nd Edition Sage
publications) and The Therapeutic potential of Creative
Writing: Writing Myself (Jessica Kingsley Publishers)
as well as other collaborative projects and journal articles. You
can find out more by visiting her website: see the “Links”
section.
Links:
Flier and Registration Form for 2008
For the 2008 East Anglia Reflective Writing
Workshop: Submit the 'online booking form' or download the
booking form.
Examples of writing by doctors who have
attended past workshops;
Gillie Bolton’s website: http://www.gilliebolton.com/.
Reflective Writing Forum
The Forum is only for those who have
previously attended the East Anglia Workshops. Its purpose is to
encourage the continued use of Reflective Writing by sharing
examples of work and experiences of writing. It is intended to be
an extension of the Workshops for those who have previously
attended.
The forum is currently in development
and will be available in due course.