Reflection

THIS IS THE EXAMPLE MY CLASSMATE HAS ACHIEVED THE GRADE WITH THIS WORK

Introduction:

This product is made to reflect on my experience within a charity, and one of the cases I have been assigned to during my time spent there. This reflection will be carried following Gibb s model of reflection, that is divided into 6 stages. This reflection is also made thinking and evaluating important and fundamental practice such person-centred approach, data protection act 1998, the 6 principles of care or the care standards act 2014, in fact, all the names (charity and people) are not the original one but I will use pseudonyms to protect anonymity, to promote confidentiality, and data protection. Gibb s model of reflection was useful to track my learning through experience and ask myself the right question through all placement, maximising what I have learned from it and how I reflected on my and the charity actions (Quinn, F.M., 1998). I will call the charity helping people in the borough of Lewisham and Southwark and I covered the role of S.A.I.L. (safe and independent living). The charity works with all the people over 50 and its goal is to improve people later life.

Stage one - Descri ption:

This reflection is made based on my work experience with helping people in the borough of Lewisham and Southwark (pseudonym). During my 60h with them I could see how this charity works and evaluate the service through a fresh and critical point of view, since I was new to the job, it meant that I have been able to analyse all situations with a theoretical and critical mind setting, also necessary to make a reflection and evaluation of this new experience. Many have been the new things I have gone through, but one thing made me reflect more than all the rest, and I am talking about one of the cases I have been assigned to. What I needed to do was to contact a couple, Mr and Mrs Goldsmith (pseudonym) which both were referred by their Gp s to us and arrange an appointment with them, discuss and listen their needs, and understand in which way I could help them, and help them to complete their application for the taxi-card and deal-a-ride. Once inside the goldsmith s house I realised that there was something wrong going on, the weather was nice and hot, but it was chill compere with the temperature inside the apartment. After I introduced myself I spent a bit of time talking with them and listening to their story, it was really touching and nice, and they also started talking about all the things that changed in their life since their started experiencing all the health issues they are living with, and the difficulty for them to go out because no longer able to stand and walk for too long, this is the reason why they wanted to apply for the taxi-card and dial-a-ride, and that s why I went there in first place. After completing all I needed to do, I started investigating the temperature, it could have been that they felt cold and the heater was on, but apparently the heater was off, the curtains were closed and the window slightly open giving the chance to the wind to get in, plus their fan was also on but not really effective since I could not feel its effect on me (and my manager that was assisting me, in this case, thought the same), and they said that nothing was done, and even the social worker noticed and reported that. So I told them that I would have done my best to improve the situation and try to figure out possible solution before to leave, telling them that I would have called them back to book another appointment to complete another form (attendance allowance) that they asked about while I was there, update them about the overheating situation, and also bring them a pair of special slippers to them made with the goal of preventing falls as a gift from the charity provided by the NHS. After contacting the social worker, the propriety s estate, the council I also made researches on cheap air conditioners affordable for them (especially if the attendance allowance would have been accepted). In the end I managed to involve the repair team that went to see them and fix and improved the situation a bit, in any case, I left them some useful information about council services, and also what I found during my research, and told them to contact me in case they felt they needed extra help for this or any other reason, after that I closed the case after it.

Stage two Feelings

During this case I felt really anxious at all stages, I was scared I was not going to be able to help these people due my lack of experience since it was my first case I followed from the beginning to the end, being actually me the one investigating to find possible solutions that would have suit their will and possibilities, and I was not fully confident about what and how to do my job, luckily my manager and mentor supported me at all stages and encouraged me to keep going having always a nice word for what I was doing and she was always ready to help me or re-address me on the right path, this helped me to develop more confidence as long as I was working on this case and gave me strength and will to do my best, and also my approach to the case changed from what should I do? Am I doing right? to this is what I need to do, and this is how I get the resources I need , this change on my thought completely affected the result, I developed confidence, I carried my work smoother and I managed to achieve the result I was trying to achieve. After closing the case I felt that the problem was not the case but the lack of confidence I showed in the beginning, and even if I don t feel like I learned everything about the job, for sure I feel like I made a huge steep within the company and my development. At the end I felt also really happy that I managed to help people in their home and their quality of life will improve because of my job, this is the best and fulfilling feeling this job gave to me, and all in accordance with their will (Innes, A. et al, 2006)

Stage three evaluation

During the case I needed to send a few emails to include the charity partners into the process, I have been told to do was to write a single email and send it to all the partners. I was not feeling comfortable with this task as they asked me to do it because I thought about the data protection act, and if it was fair sharing information to two or more partners even if only a part of the email was relevant for the receiver while the rest for someone else and vice versa, and I questioned about the data protection and confidentiality (Jay, R. and Hamilton, A., 1999) and if it was allowed to send information to other partners that were not interested in all the information that was in the email, and they told me that it was something that they have asked before and there was no problem since they are all in partnership and the information are not going out of there, so the data protection act is proper followed. In the end, I managed to help the couple, however, I think I could have done more if I only had more time to follow the case through the time, so the lack of time would affect the quality of service through the time.

Stage four analysis

Talking with Mr and Mrs Goldsmith gave me a clear picture of what I needed to investigate on and which would have been the solutions suitable to their will and accessibility, basing my job on an effective person-centred approach (Innes A., et al. 2006). My researches brought me to contact different services and people, visiting the Southwark Council website and other websites (see references) whereby I found a lot of information useful for this case and not only. I also needed to take pictures to attached to their forms, to do so I needed to let them sign a form that allowed me to take pics with the office phone (data protection act) to protect also the confidentiality between service and service user. Also needed to switch my phone off to avoid distractions and be focused on the client. Company guidelines and safety also specify that we cannot share private information with clients such personal financial details, exchange personal phone numbers or visit them not during work scheduled time, and also keep the ID company card always out at all time.

Stage five conclusion

This case made me think about what my responsibilities and duty are and which are the stages to follow, it also thought me how to manage and find a balance with what I am supposed to do and how I am supposed to do things. I don t feel like I have to report anything negative regarding this experience, but I can mention a few good points I realised, my manager (mentor) and all the team was really supportive at all the time, they were always there to suggest me and give me tips on how to work, and I never felt to be alone, and this is something I noticed since my first day, they did welcome me in the team and learning the job resulted easiest thanks to this as well, and all the resources I managed to get, collect and provide are also result of this team cooperation, in fact it is thanks to them if I managed to fulfil my duty, thanks to an effective teamwork (Clements, D., et al. 2007)

Stage six action plan

this experience thought me how to face this kind of situations, and also that it is something that I can actually do, since in first place my major issue was that I was not feeling fully ready to face the tasks required, even if I also know that I am a person that needs more than one try to develop full confidence in my skills and abilities, and this experience certainly helped me on developing it a bit. I feel I still need some more time before I can consider myself formed and able to perform in autonomy, but I would certainly be able to respond better in similar situations. If I can give a bit of advice to myself before starting this experience I would just suggest being relaxed, rely on colleagues for any enquiry and give your best at all the time, and also have a clear idea of what I want to achieve and which are my strength and weaknesses (SWOT Analysis) (Dyson, R.G., 2004)

References:

- Clements, D., Dault, M. and Priest, A., 2007. Effective teamwork in healthcare: research and reality. Healthcare Papers, 7(I), p.26.

- Innes, A., Macpherson, S. and McCabe, L., 2006. Promoting person-centred care at the front line. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

- Jay, R. and Hamilton, A., 1999. Data protection. Law and Practice, 2.

- Dyson, R.G., 2004. Strategic development and SWOT analysis at the University of Warwick. European journal of operational research, 152(3), pp.631-640.

- Quinn, F.M., 1998. Reflection and reflective practice. Continuing professional development in nursing: A guide for practitioners and educators, pp.121-145.

- https://www.gov.uk/attendance-allowance

- https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/dial-a-ride/

- https://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/services/taxicard/apply-taxicard-your-borough#28

- https://famgizmo.co.uk/products/portable-multi-function-air-cooler-fan-purifier-humidifier?variant=19618308194373utm_medium=cpcutm_source=googleutm_campaign=Google%20Shoppinggclid=CjwKCAjw0ZfoBRB4EiwASUMdYRVR-TyGA0rKJ5AYnhXGBnHiun3zSrCCjxw-aeJJoGkXXEmYU5B9QxoCjuIQAvD_BwE

- https://www.southwark.gov.uk/social-care-and-support/adult-social-care/care-and-support-from-the-council/adults-with-care-needs/services/occupational-therapy-services