Introduction
This is reflective essay will discuss the events that occurred and the experience I had in my three day clinical placement. I will approach this by using the Gibbs Reflective Cycle model which according to Jasper (2013,) is simple and easy to understand . It also connects with my learning style. I will be begin by a brief definition of terms such as; reflection, communication, teamwork, empathy and healthcare professionals. I will then go on to give account of the experience using the 6 stages of the Gibbs Reflective Cycle(1998,) beginning with description, feeling, evaluations, analysis, conclusion and action plan.
Reflection is referred to as the act of exploring and examining oneself, our actions , thoughts and attitudes in order to help an individual think deep into their experience, so as to be able rectify or improve on their actions in order to move on and develop from it. According to (Gillet, Hammond and Martala, 2009, pg.164)
It was suggested that the act of reflection is rewarding because its strength helps one to work on the way an individual learns and it helps to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills it also aids in one’s personal growth and long term goals and it prepares one for the work atmosphere, helping a person to take up the habit of analysing his or her actions and event by helping to initiate consideration for long term consequences. This was clearly explained by (Jasper, 2013), where it was pointed out that reflection was linked with learning from experience, and professionals who in turn embrace reflection enjoy lifelong learning.
Communication is defined as the transfer of information from one individual to another. As suggested by Karl Jasper in his article “communication in theory and the problem of communication’ Ashley Montague and Floyd Matson went in depth and defined human communication as a clash of symbols which envelopes a lot of signs. He then ended it by referring to it as the necessity of human connection.
Teamwork can be defined as the joint effort of a group of individuals working together with respect for each other ,working together to achieve a goal, as suggested according to Alderfer 1987 Hackman ,1987 a team can be defined as a group of social individuals that are firm in a population who collaborate to achieve a goal.
Empathy is can be the define as the process for one to be able to gain understanding of sharing another persons’ feeling or experiences and visualising oneself being in their place.
Health care professionals can be defined as a group of individuals who continue to keep and maintain health buy using different, principle and procedures, they strive to get more knowledge in order to treat and prevent human illness. Who.int. (2018).
Description.
My three days clinical placement was an observatory one, I was to watch, communicate and shadow. Physiotherapists. My shift started from 8:30am -4.30pm I’m expected to arrive about 30 minutes before time. Every day came with challenging task, I work with paediatric physiotherapist, young and older adult physiotherapist and I also had the opportunity to work in an outpatient gym. The main incident I will be reflecting on took place on my 1st day on placement. The patient came in to see the physiotherapist I was observing on the day, complaining of chronic pain on the neck and he also felt the pain around his shoulder and lower back. I will also be describing how communication as a skill worked for me during my time at my placement.
Feelings
Prior to me going to my placement I was nervous, scared and anxious because I wasn’t sure of what my environment will be like, at the same time I was looking forward to it because that would be my first placement. And I was determined to enjoy every minute of it. When I found out where my placement was going to be, I was not to happy because it was too far away and I felt it was too early for me to start complaining, I felt a bit confused and didn’t know what to do, because I didn’t know how I will be able to manage to be at the trust where my placement will take place at 8am and at the same time get to my children’s school for 7am and not turn up late for my placements, so I had to think fast, I thought to myself that there can be no harm trying things I could explain my situation, and ask to start and hour later and finish a bit later in the day. And to my surprise I spoke to the receptionist at the trust I was due to resume at for my placement, she kindly transferred me to the physiotherapist in charge and she explained to me that they are completely family friendly and she would not mind me starting an hour later. I was very grateful to her and was happy that I did take the initiative to speak to the trust that I would be having traveling problems.
Later on when I started the placement we had the opportunity to be seeing an individual that had a trapped nerve and he presented himself as having a stiff neck, stiff shoulder and pain at his lumber spine. When I saw patient x appeared to be in so much pain and I felt he needed help in taking off his shirt. I felt empathy for the patient but I didn’t want to appear forward because the physiotherapist in charge told him to take his shirt off. Even though it was clear that it will be hard for him to remove his shirt. I was petrified when I saw him sweating and I had that though that he might pass out at any time. Thanks to the experienced the physiotherapist that I was shadowing on the day.
Evaluation
In hindsight, going over the incidents that took place in my clinical placement which I can clearly say they were both unique and very interesting. When I found out about how far I would have to travel to get to my destination every morning I was very furious because I felt my circumstances was not taken in to consideration before I was placed that far to gain my first experience, but by using my initiative to call and ask for help changed the situation. I was able to gain good rapport with the receptionists , the physiotherapists in the trust and every other multidisciplinary team that I met whilst on placement.
My role at my placement was to observe, take in information, and shadow a physiotherapist which I felt I fulfilled everything I needed to do and got all the information I needed, the only thing that got to me was the amount of pain patient x was in, it was unbearable to extent that he turned red and he was almost going to pass out, even the physiotherapist I was shadowing said he had not seen that in all the 10 years he has been practising as a physiotherapist. Immediately I used my initiative got him water to drink and the physiotherapist decided that he would stop the therapy for now until the nerve drugs that has been prescribed to him starts having effect. Well the therapy at that time wasn’t working so the best thing was for the patient to come back when the pain has reduced but I felt the physiotherapist should have realised earlier even though patient x just wanted a quick fix, but I felt he shouldn’t have taken any chances. For me the experience I had in my three clinical place was good and it has allowed me reflect on what I would do differently if I ever found myself in a situation that a patient will be in so much pain and I can clearly see it and I know that me waiting for his medication to take effect will be better off than to apply manual therapy then I would rather wait, for the best interest of the patient .
Analysis
I think communication, empathy, prioritisation, teamwork were the notable attitudes that I experience and likewise displayed in my clinical placement. Everyone took ownership of their actions even when the physiotherapist I shadowed dismissed patient x, he told me he didn’t realise that patient x pain was unbearable and he thought he didn’t show enough empathy, he felt that this pain threshold was a bit higher, but at the same time patient x wanted his treatment to continue, despite the fact that he was in pain, but it was a good thing that the physiotherapist stopped, and told him to come back after his pain had reduced to an extent. We both showed empathy and agreed that he should come back when his pain was reduced. Despite the fact that patient x wanted to continue his treatment we both agreed not to continue this was a good level of team work as seen through the eyes of Griffin and Hauser 1992, Lawler et al.1995, Mohrman et al.1995 who discussed teamwork as a success factor. We both worked as a team by giving the patient an informed choice that it was not in his best interest to continue with his treatment because he was in excruciating pain and he was at a risk of fainting and because patient x felt we cared he decided to take our informed advice and come back when his pain was reduced. For the trust I competed my clinic al placement, teamwork and communication was important to them and it did showed with the way patients were dealt with, they kept every patient’s feelings at the height of everything they did , their patient’s had informed choice and whenever they communicated with their patient they clear and concise as described by Hargie (2011) stated that communication constitute to the essence of human condition which means that without communication nothing can be achieved properly. Teamwork also between ever health worker and not only amongst the physiotherapist but between all member of the staff I encountered was outstanding, they all had good time management skills, their priority was well placed and this made everything did move smoothly and according to (Rutkowski, Gruder and Romer, 1983) the Trust I worked displayed a good level of cohesiveness. From the moment I found out about where I would be going for my placement I was determined to keep an open mind, realising the journey I would have to complete to get to the Trust would take a while , I used my initiative to communicate with the trust and this skill made things easier and also paved way for me. I now realised that asking a lot of question in a right way and polite manner gave me the opportunity to gain more knowledge which I used a lot in my placements I had the opportunity to prepare for the patients before they came in so I knew what to expect from every patient that I had an encounter with during their treatment, I was willing to learn and help and I showed it. I was always there to help when they needed me. I was always there to help if they needed me to. I was lucky enough to gain experience working with older adults, while on placement I showed my interest in them which in turn made them warm up to me and this created a nice environment for everyone. In the health sector, compassion is one of the qualities that should be taken seriously as a student physiotherapist and as a future healthcare professional, this is what should be displayed to service users at all times, I showed this skill and all the ‘6Cs’ while working on placement in the trust. These values were first put in place in 2002 they are compassion, communication, care, competence, commitment, and courage according to research (Department of Health, 2012). The 6Cs is very important and should always come naturally to all health workers and displayed every time towards every service user ascertaining that all patients should be at the centre of our priority daily. These attitudes for me was rewarding, I was lazy, worked hard and I made everyone realised that I was willing to assist, for me communicating well with patients and the physiotherapists I shadowed, assisted me a lot and made things go accordingly
Conclusion
The events that enfolded during my clinical placements has enabled to realise that communication is a good skill that I have, and because displaying this skill has worked for me, I will continue to use to my and others advantage to get things done in the right way and manner, even when I have little or no role to play in a situation I would always try my best to help and show empathy in every way I can and I have come to realise that when working in a team and good level of cohesiveness is displayed nothing can go wrong as discussed by (Rutkowski, Gruder and Romer, 1983).
Action plan
In future I have plan to still further develop on my communication skill because it has really work for me, the team I recently worked with and also the patients I had the opportunity to assist while I was on placement . I plan to also be more proactive in every situation I find myself, listen more to others and share others opinions and my opinions, compare it and see what works for me better and that way, I will achieve more learning from other peoples’ experiences and as well as my own experiences. And I plan to be more professional no matter what, be respectful to my colleagues and be more assertive.
In summary, the model I’ve chosen the use which is the Gibbs cycle indeed has made this reflecting exercise less difficult for me, the task and experience was at one point exhausting, daunting and overwhelming but adapting the model and integrating the tools with my view and opinion really has helped which has made me appreciate the approach to reflective style of writing and why it is being used. I now know that every member of a group no matter how small is important and have a voice, they can’t be brushed aside and as pointed by Tuchman’s (1965) reflective model.