Reflection is critical to pharmacy professional practice. There are two types: 

Informal reflection includes self-questioning and developing self-awareness of our own assumptions. Usually, something happens that prompts us to informally reflect. Questions that may help include:

• What happened and why?
• Who was involved and where and when did this take place?
• What was my role in this?
• What did I do well and what could I improve?
• What was the impact (both on myself and others) of what I did or didn't do? 
• What have I learnt and what could I change to improve the outcome?

Formal reflection involves drawing on research and theory, providing/using guidance and frameworks for practice, and identifying learning needs against these. These questions may help to get you started:

• What does my role require me to do?
• Is there a framework that covers my role?
• Have I got the right knowledge and skills?
• How can I develop further?

Once you have identified any gaps, the next step is to identify the goal that you want to achieve €“ if you have no goal then you are not going to develop further. This is where setting SMART objectives comes in. SMART stands for: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic/relevant and time bound.