News: So what about these Reflection Logs?

Ideally, time and resources (in terms of support staff) should be made available to enable pharmacists to review the information contained in the logs regularly. Such an analysis should then ideally be discussed with staff members to identify areas of risk associated with the procedures and processes and if needs be to update Standard Operating Procedures. Indeed regular audit of such logs is considered to be indicative of good practice, and pharmacists should be asking their employers to provide the appropriate resources to carry this out.
However, beyond this some employers are requiring employees and locums to fill in personal reflection logs which are supposed to help you understand your involvement in the error, any failings you may be able to identify in your own behaviour or knowledge and lead you to actions you may undertake to overcome these failings.

The PDA supports this kind of reflective and learning exercise as long as this remains personal, this is after all, a matter of professional CPD and personal development. There have however been cases where these logs have been used by the RPSGB to investigate PDA members. By filling in these logs members can self incriminate as far as a potential fitness to practice investigation is concerned.

The PDA advises employed members to enter into a dialogue with their employers to ensure that these logs will remain personal and confidential; that they are used solely for the purpose of personal reflection and will not be used either internally or outside the company
for the purpose of instigating some form of disciplinary investigation. Employees who cannot get that assurance from their employers are advised to think very carefully about exactly what it is that they write in these reflection logs, ideally pharmacists are urged to operate their own personally held reflection logs.

Locums are recommended never to use employer's reflection logs and to maintain their own.