CPD reflection examples: six worked examples, from "attended" to "changed"

Most reflective models share the same backbone. One of the simplest is What? So what? Now what? (Rolfe and colleagues, 2001):

• What? What did you do or learn? One or two sentences of fact.
• So what? Why does it matter to your practice? What did it make you realise or question?
• Now what? What have you done differently since, or what will you do? Who benefits?

If your scheme uses a different model, such as Gibbs' reflective cycle or Kolb's learning cycle, the same test applies: an auditor should be able to point to a change.

These are worked examples written by RiverCPD to show the difference. They're not taken from anyone's CPD record. Your reflection must be about your own learning, in your own words.

Attended: "I attended a one-day course on falls prevention. It was very informative and I learned a lot about assessing older patients."

Changed: "The course showed me I wasn't using the Timed Up and Go test consistently. I now use it at every first appointment with patients over 65, and I pass on scores that suggest a high falls risk to our falls team the same day. Since the change, two patients have been seen by the team weeks earlier than they would have been. Next, I want to audit our referrals over three months to see whether the threshold we use is right for our caseload."

Why it works: it names the specific gap, the specific change, a result for patients, and a next step.

Attended: "Had a useful discussion with a colleague about a patient with sepsis."

Changed: "Talking the case through with my crewmate made me realise I'd anchored on the patient's history of anxiety and under-weighted a rising respiratory rate. I now calculate a full NEWS2 score before I settle on a working impression, even when the history points elsewhere. I've shared the case, anonymised, at our station's learning session."

Why it works: informal learning, a candid insight, a concrete change and a benefit beyond the individual.

Attended: "Watched a webinar on managing fatigue. Good refresher."

Changed: "The webinar's point about boom-and-bust cycles changed how I set goals with clients who have post-viral fatigue. I've stopped setting weekly activity increases and now agree a baseline first, using a simple pacing diary. Two clients have said the diary helped them see patterns they hadn't noticed."

Attended: "Received feedback from a patient about their MRI experience."

Changed: "A patient told me they nearly left the scanner because nobody had said how loud it would be. I now describe the noise and the length of each sequence before we start, and I check in through the intercom between sequences. I've suggested adding the same explanation to our appointment letter, and it's now in the draft."

Attended: "Completed the stewardship refresher."

Changed: "The refresher reminded me that permanent baiting shouldn't be the default. I reviewed my commercial contracts and found three sites where bait boxes had been left out long after the infestation cleared. I've switched them to monitoring-only, which reduces the risk to non-target wildlife and cuts rodenticide use on those sites."

Attended: "Read the updated guidance on assessment tests."

Changed: "The update meant one of the tests I rely on for adult assessments no longer met the guidance. I've replaced it in my standard battery, rewritten my report template to explain the change, and booked training on the replacement test before my next assessment."

• "It was very informative." It tells the reader nothing about you.
• "I learned a lot." Say one thing you learned.
• "I will try to…" Say what you did, or when you'll do it.
• "It was a good refresher." What did it refresh, and what did you change?
• Copying the course description. An auditor has read it before.

Not to write it. Regulators expect your CPD record to be your own work, and in 2026 the GPhC and the RCGP both said explicitly that AI shouldn't write reflections or submissions for you. See what each UK regulator says about AI and CPD. A reflection you didn't write is one you can't discuss if you're asked about it. AI is useful for asking you questions, and that's how the RiverCPD coach works: it asks what you learned and what changed, then checks your entry against your scheme's standard. The words are always yours.

Most schemes don't set a word count. Three to six sentences that answer What? So what? Now what? beat a page of description. Write it the day the learning happens, while you still remember what changed.