TITLE:
Why Expectations Matter in Pharmacy Reflection: Insights from the 5Es Reflective Framework?
AUTHORS:
Chijioke Agomo
KEYWORDS:
Reflective Practice, Pharmacy Education, Pharmacy Practice, Professional Development, Reflective Learning, 5Es Reflective Framework?
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.14 No.7,
July
17,
2026
ABSTRACT: Reflective practice is widely recognised in healthcare for fostering critical thinking, communication, clinical judgement and professional identity. In pharmacy, however, its adoption remains uneven and is often perceived as superficial, formulaic or detached from meaningful learning. Recent literature also points to reflective fatigue, avoidance of psychologically challenging experiences, and limited psychologically safe spaces for learners and practitioners. This paper argues that one underexplored aspect of reflective practice in pharmacy is the role of expectations and prior beliefs formed before events occur. Traditional reflective models focus primarily on retrospective analysis and may therefore overlook the predictive thinking that shapes perception, communication and decision-making in everyday practice. The 5Es Reflective Framework®, Expectation, Experience, Evaluation, Explore and Execute, is presented as an extension of existing models, offering a structured way to examine pre-event cognitive framing and its influence on practice. The 5Es is not intended to replace established reflective models, but to deepen reflection by encouraging pharmacy students and practitioners to examine the expectations and prior beliefs that shape their actions and interpretations. Further empirical research is needed to assess its impact across educational and practice settings. Nevertheless, expectation-centred reflection may support more self-aware, psychologically informed and context-sensitive pharmacy practice in increasingly complex healthcare systems.