Reflecting on work activities is a crucial part of professional development in health and social care settings. It enables care workers to improve their practice continuously and provide high-quality care.
Ability to reflect on work activities
Here are key aspects you need to understand and demonstrate for Unit 2.3 of the RQF Level 2 Diploma in Care.
1. Understanding Reflection:
Reflection in health and social care involves thinking critically about your own experiences—evaluating what was successful, what was not, and how these situations can be managed more effectively in the future. This process helps in personal and professional growth, enhances clinical skills, and improves patient care.
2. Methods of Reflection:
There are several models of reflection you might choose to use:
- Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle: This includes the stages of Description, Feelings, Evaluation, Analysis, Conclusion, and Action Plan. It’s useful for examining how you felt during a situation and how you can change practice in the future.
- Driscoll’s Model: This simpler model asks three basic questions: What? So what? Now what? It’s straightforward and can be used quickly and frequently.
- Schön’s Reflection-On-Action and Reflection-In-Action: This distinguishes between reflecting during the action (in-action) and after the action (on-action).
3. Recording Reflections:
It’s important to keep a record of your reflections:
- Reflective Journals: These can be written regularly to document the details of daily experiences, your thoughts about these experiences, and your plans for handling similar situations in the future.
- Reflective Essays: These may be required as formal assessments in your diploma. Essays typically involve deeper analysis and linking experiences to theoretical knowledge.
- Supervision and Appraisal Meetings: These regular meetings with your supervisor are an opportunity to discuss reflections verbally and receive feedback.
4. Example of Reflective Practice:
Consider a scenario where you and your team were dealing with a challenging behaviour from a client with dementia. Reflecting on this could involve:
- Description: Describe the situation briefly. What was the context? What happened?
- Feelings: Express how you felt during the incident. Were you anxious, overwhelmed, confused?
- Evaluation: What was good and bad about the experience? Maybe you could calm the client initially, but felt you lacked additional strategies when the behaviour escalated.
- Analysis: Why do you think the situation unfolded this way? Here, you might consider the client’s history, their specific triggers, environmental factors, and your actions.
- Conclusion: What can you learn from this experience? Perhaps you might need more training on techniques to handle challenging behaviours.
- Action Plan: Decide what you will do differently next time. Maybe you could benefit from shadowing a more experienced colleague or attending a specific training session.
5. Benefits of Reflective Practice:
- Improved self-awareness
- Enhanced critical thinking skills
- Better decision-making abilities
- Increased professional competency
- Enhanced problem-solving skills
- Greater emotional resilience
6. Challenges in Reflective Practice:
Some challenges include finding time for reflection, emotional discomfort while revisiting certain experiences, and difficulty in being objective about one’s own practice. Overcoming these requires setting deliberate time aside for reflection, seeking support from supervisors, and being honest in self-assessments.
To effectively show your ability to reflect on work activities, include specific examples in your explanations to show how reflection has led to changes in your practice or influenced your professional development. Make sure to frequently revisit your reflection methods to refine them according to your evolving learning needs and professional circumstances.
Example Answers for Unit 2.3 Demonstrate the ability to reflect on work activities
A care worker might provide in their RQF Level 2 Diploma in Care response for Unit 2.3, demonstrating the ability to reflect on work activities.
We will use the Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle for structure in this example:
1. Description of the situation:
Last week, I assisted with the morning routine of a resident, Mrs Smith, who has advanced arthritis and limited mobility. The task involved helping her out of bed, supporting her to wash and dress, and ensuring she took her breakfast and medication. While assisting her, she became very frustrated and expressed feelings of helplessness about her decreased independence.
2. Feelings:
During the situation, I initially felt anxious and unsure about the best way to reassure Mrs Smith. I was concerned about saying something that might worsen her mood, or not providing the support she needed effectively. I felt empathy for her frustration, as she was always very independent prior to her recent health decline.
3. Evaluation:
The situation had both positive and negative elements. On the positive side, I helped Mrs Smith complete all her morning tasks, and she was settled and comfortable by the time breakfast was over. However, I felt that I could have handled her emotional distress better. I was so focused on the physical tasks at hand that I perhaps did not fully address her emotional needs.
4. Analysis:
On reflecting, I realise that Mrs Smith’s frustration stemmed not only from her physical limitations, but also from a sense of losing her independence. My primary focus was on completing tasks rather than addressing her emotional expression. This situation underscores the importance of holistic care, where emotional support is as crucial as physical assistance.
5. Conclusion:
This reflective process has helped me recognise I need to develop stronger communication skills, particularly in dealing with residents experiencing emotional distress because of their health conditions. It also highlighted the need for me to be more attentive and responsive to the emotional cues of residents, not just their physical needs.
6. Action Plan:
To improve, I plan to:
- Attend a workshop on communication techniques, especially focusing on how to provide emotional support along with physical care.
- Seek advice and feedback from more experienced colleagues on how they handle similar situations.
- Practice active listening skills during my interactions with residents to better understand their emotional as well as physical needs.
- Reflect regularly on similar situations to continually improve how I handle them.
Through this reflection, it’s clear that taking the time to understand and empathise with residents’ feelings can significantly improve the quality of care provided.
Keeping a reflective journal has also encouraged me to think critically about my practice and continually strive for personal and professional development.