Reflective Entry 1 – A Challenging Encounter at a Bus Stop(Using Gibbs' Reflective Cycle

 

📄 Reflective Entry 3 – Using Reflection and Critical Thinking to Solve a Dilemma
Title: Reflective Entry 3 – Responding to a Public Dilemma with Reflection and Critical Thinking

 

1. Introduction

Dilemmas are common in health and social care, where professionals often face competing responsibilities and limited time to act. This reflection explores a personal situation in which I faced an ethical dilemma involving a woman in distress and the safety of my children. I will examine the dilemma using both reflective practice and critical thinking to assess how I responded and how I could respond differently in the future.

 

2. The Dilemma

While waiting at a bus stop in London with my children, I saw a woman who appeared confused and distressed. My instinct was to help, so I approached her. Unfortunately, the situation escalated — she became louder and more agitated. My children were frightened, and I felt torn between my responsibility to a stranger in need and my duty to keep my children emotionally safe. I chose to step back from the situation. Although I felt relief for removing my children from distress, I also felt guilt and uncertainty about whether I did the right thing.

 

This scenario represents a classic ethical dilemma — two conflicting values:

The duty to help others in distress (beneficence).

 The duty to protect my own family (personal safety and safeguarding).

 

3. Applying Reflection and Critical Thinking

Using Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle (1988) helped me to process my emotional response and clarify what I felt during the experience. It allowed me to explore why I reacted the way I did and what assumptions I had made. For example, I assumed that approaching the woman would calm her, without considering whether she needed trained mental health support instead of a stranger’s intervention.

 

Critical thinking, on the other hand, helps me ask deeper questions:

 

What were the possible risks to myself and my children?

 

Was I the best person to offer help in that moment?

 

Could I have helped in a safer, more effective way?

 

Using a structured thinking process such as the DECIDE model (Define, Explore, Consider, Identify, Develop, Evaluate) would have helped me manage the situation better. For example, I could have:

 

Defined the situation as a potential mental health crisis.

 

Considered that emotional safety (for my children and myself) was non-negotiable.

 

Developed a safer action — like alerting a staff member, or calling emergency services.

 

4. Learning and Moving Forward

This experience taught me that dilemmas don’t always have a “right” answer — but they do require thoughtful reflection and evaluation. In practice, health and social care professionals face similar choices every day, and being able to pause, reflect, and think critically under pressure is essential.

 

Moving forward, I plan to:

 

Attend basic mental health response training.

 

Learn and practise decision-making frameworks like DECIDE or Gibbs.

 

Accept that sometimes indirect help is more responsible than immediate intervention.

 

5. Conclusion

The combination of reflection and critical thinking allowed me to better understand my actions and decision-making during a difficult public incident. While I initially felt uncertain about my choice, I now recognise that ethical dilemmas are complex and require more than just good intentions. Reflective tools help me process emotions, and critical thinking gives me strategies to act wisely — both of which are crucial in becoming a thoughtful, ethical practitioner.

 

📚 References (Harvard Style)

Gibbs, G. (1988). Learning by Doing: A Guide to Teaching and Learning Methods. Oxford Polytechnic.

 

Paul, R. and Elder, L. (2014). Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Learning and Your Life. Foundation for Critical Thinking.

 

Thompson, N. and Thompson, S. (2008). The Critically Reflective Practitioner. Palgrave Macmillan.