Reflection on Academic and Professional Skills Module

As part of this module I was asked to design and complete an e-portfolio, which was to include numerous reflections communicating my experiences throughout the course work. This e-portfolio would also contain details of my achievements and learning goals. The idea behind this was to practice reflection and compile a source of material that I could perhaps use in developing my future career within veterinary physiotherapy.

Upon the module commencing the delivery of all the assignments at once was a little daunting and unclear, yet, after the second or third lecture I realised what was expected of me. I enjoyed creating the online portfolio on Wix as I had complete control over the design and what I chose to include or write about. I like being creative, therefore, it was undoubtedly the creativity element that I loved about this task. Within this e-portfolio I had to communicate feedback on sixteen peers’ portfolio’s, I enjoyed looking at others designs and communicating my thoughts and ideas. Looking at my peers’ work was a great way to increase my knowledge and awareness of numerous topics in addition to increasing my confidence in giving feedback. Also, receiving feedback was a great help and made me realise areas which I could further improve on, while also highlighting some of the strengths within my work (Slowey and Watson, 2003).

I completed a reflective module within my prior degree and, therefore, felt comfortable with the reflective assignments which I would be completing. Within any healthcare profession reflecting on practice links to safe and ethical clinical decision making (Ghaye and Lillyman, 2014). Throughout my career, I will be learning continuously to effectively adapt to changing conditions, critical reflection allows the making and re-making of myself in response to this change (Fook and Gardner, 2007).

Furthermore, I have found that feedback is important in the development of my effective learning (Carless, 2006). On receiving my first reflective assignment back, I was disappointed with the result. There was very little feedback, which left me wondering where I went wrong and how I was to improve on my work (Slowey and Watson, 2003). This decreased my confidence in completing the subsequent reflections as I was unsure on what areas to focus my attention. Again, to try and improve on my work I read a lot of my peer’s reflections, asking for advice from one or two of them. I felt more compatible with peers who had a similar learning style to me (Ender and Newton, 2000). On handing in assignments, we were instructed to give details within the ‘feed forward’ section on the cover page, this also left me somewhat confused as I had not received relevant feedback to take part in the practice of ‘feeding forward’. Relevant ‘feeding forward’ would have allowed for any false or improper work or information to emerge and be rectified prior to completing some of my larger assignments (Walker and Hobson, 2014). Perhaps I was starting to realise the extent of self-directed work within a master’s degree.

I believe feedback will be given to me continuously throughout my career to progress. On looking at some of my peers’ portfolio’s I witnessed the amount of knowledge and experience they possess, becoming slightly anxious I realised that I need to look upon my abilities and the future and start building on my experience. Upon my reading, it is evident, from several sources, that working within any professional environment comes easier to those who have had experience, making a smoother transition (Elliot-Johns and Jarvis, 2013; Hunt, 2014; Molinari and Bushy, 2011). I received a job within a veterinary clinic and experience with the in-house physiotherapist. I love working alongside the various professionals that I have met, it has increased my knowledge greatly, provided me with an insight into my future, and advanced my communication skills which will be much needed in my career. A study in 2011 (Steen et al., 2011) looked at the outcome of internships on ease of transition from student to working nurse, the internship increased confidence in completing tasks as well as improving communication skills. In support, Costello et al. (2010) demonstrated that taking part in regular skill sessions increases the ability to perform tasks effectively and increase confidence on entering a professional role.

I found the skills and knowledge development assignments within this module (welfare assignment/ journal club/ poster) helpful. Additionally, I enjoyed the internal placement day with Helena as this was beneficial in aiding my development as that position is essentially my goal. These various assignments/lectures raised awareness of different topics, increased my knowledge and skills (communication/development) in terms of professional practice and I developed an understanding of what’s needed to succeed moving into my career. Although I appreciate the learning objectives of reflections, and I find them somewhat beneficial, I feel a smaller number would have allowed me to focus more and provide further time for research.

On coming close to the end of this academic year it’s hard to believe how fast time has gone and how much my skills and knowledge has grown since the beginning of this module. I plan to double or triple my efforts from previous weeks to get to the finish line and reach the goals which I set out to achieve.

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Reference List

Carless, D., 2006. Differing perceptions in the feedback process. Studies in higher education, 31(2), pp.219-233.

Costello, J., Livett, M., Stride, P.J.O., West, M., Premaratne, M. and Thacker, D., 2010. The seamless transition from student to intern: from theory to practice. Internal medicine journal, 40(10), pp.728-731.

Elliott-Johns, S.E. and Jarvis, D.H. eds., 2013. Perspectives on Transitions in Schooling and Instructional Practice. University of Toronto Press.

Ender, S.C. and Newton, F.B., 2000. Students Helping Students: A Guide for Peer Educators on College Campuses. Jossey Bass Publishers. CA.

Fook, J. and Gardner, F., 2007. Practising critical reflection: A resource handbook. McGraw-Hill Education. UK.

Ghaye, T. and Lillyman, S., 2014. Reflection: Principles and practices for healthcare professionals. 2nd ed. Andrews Limited. UK.

Hunt, D.D., 2014. The Nurse Professional: Leveraging Your Education for Transition into Practice. Springer Publishing Company. NY.

Molinari, D. and Bushy, A., 2011. The rural nurse: Transition to practice. Springer Publishing Company. NY.

Slowey, M. and Watson, D., 2003. Higher education and the lifecourse. McGraw-Hill Education. UK.

Steen, J.E., Gould, E.W., Raingruber, B. and Hill, J., 2011. Effect of student nurse intern position on ease of transition from student nurse to registered nurse. Journal for Nurses in Professional Development, 27(4), pp.181-186.

Walker, S. and Hobson, J., 2014. Interventions in teaching first-year law: Feeding forward to improve learning outcomes. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 39(3), pp.326-338.