Reflecting on practice in children's palliative care.

: Palliative care nursing practice can be enhanced if the clinical judgements made in applying palliative care philosophy to individual situations are critically examined and challenged. A model of reflection developed specifically for children's palliative care practice is illustrated here using a critical incident in which the parents of a child with complex disabilities were helped to reduce their caring role and accept increased support. As a result of the structured reflection, the importance of assessing for signs of stress in parents and the wider family was recognised. Additionally, the need for more research specific to the needs of families with more than one child with life-limiting illness was identified as a mechanism for improving the quality of care delivered.