Relationship‐based Practice and Reflective Practice Assignment Sample

• Subject Name : Nursing

Capability Statement

About Me 

I am a student who aspires to be a health care professional. My dream job would be to work for New South Wales Family Planning as a Public Health Officer. I am driven, care about the welfare of others and I believe that I would be a good fit for the organization.

A brief introduction about NSW Family Planning - The oldest family planning services in Australia and the state's leading provider of reproductive and sexual health services. Experts working there provide health information as well as clinical services. They respect the rights of their clients, indulge in ethical practices and they treat everyone with dignity. They deal with consultations pertaining to reproductive and sexual health such as Sexually Transmissible Infections and Diseases, contraception, pregnancy menstruation, gynaecological and vaginal issues, men's sexual health, screening for cervical ad well as breast cancer. They are also involved in national and international research which aligns with their clinical services. 

My Expertise

I am studying to become a health care professional in future. I am interested and experienced in health education, spreading health awareness, research projects, project management, risk assessment and risk management. I believe that with my expertise and skills I can bring about a positive change and touch the lives of many people. I have been actively involved in projects activities which have tested my abilities and I have been successful in my endeavours so far. Every accomplished task has made me realise that being a Public Health Officer and looking out for the welfare of the people is my calling and I am ready to embrace everything that comes with it. After all these years of being involved in this field, I have more clarity concerning my plans and the next course of action. The opportunity to work for New South Wales Family Planning will take me a step further to my dream and I am confident that I will succeed in the tasks given to me. 

My Strengths and Weaknesses

I know I am not perfect. That being said, I believe in reflective practise and I am committed to the process of being a lifelong learner. Being a part of the healthcare field has taught me so much. I have learnt a lot from my past experiences and I am aware of my skills - my strengths as well as weaknesses. 

I believe that I have strong communication skills and can make a connection with people. I can express myself, get my thoughts and perspective across fairly clearly. I am a team player, believe in teamwork and I work well with all sorts of people. I get along well with people hailing from different backgrounds - I like getting to know and interacting with them as it adds to my understanding of people. You could call me a People's Person. 

Managing projects requires collaborating with others and that has helped me open up to others and work well in groups. 

Since I have a background in research-related work, I can say that I am detail-oriented and highly meticulous in what I do. Another skill I picked up thanks to being exposed to research work is being organised. Organizing, balancing and conducting projects are tasks I am fairly comfortable with. 

However, I too am human and therefore there are areas I do lack in. I am afraid of taking risks, preferring conventional methods over innovative ones. I am not very open-minded when it comes to trying new things. However, I am aware of my shortcomings and I am constantly working upon them. I do not want them to limit me and affect the quality of my work. For instance, I am trying to do something new every day, especially if it something that scares me, so that I am exposed to new experiences. I hope this practice will help me shed my inhibitions and be more open-minded. 

Values Statement 

By now, you would have understood how seriously I take my work. I am responsible, purpose-driven and want to reach out and help as many people as I can. I respect people and work well in groups. I am also willing to work on my shortcomings as I believe that self-improvement is a continuous process. Being a health professional, I understand that I need to conduct myself respectfully and ethically. I am aware of boundaries, being mindful of one's privacy, confidentiality and rights. I shall not indulge in unethical behaviours of any kind and shall conduct myself responsibly. My ultimate goal is to bring positive changes in people's lives and I understand the importance of not compromising my values in the process of focusing solely on my goal. 

Reflective Practice as A Health Professional

Given the changing and challenging times, I understand the importance of reflection as a health professional. I acknowledge the fact that I'm just as capable of making mistakes as anyone and I will have to critically examine myself from time to time. As difficult as it is to listen to criticisms about oneself, I am open to it. I understand that it will provide me with the required insight to do better in future. 

To get a better idea, reflective practice consists of 3 main domains - Self Awareness, Reflection and Critical Thinking. Self-awareness involves being aware of one's capabilities and shortcomings. Reflection deals with introspection and revisiting one's thoughts, words and actions. Critical thinking requires evaluating one's thoughts and actions - understanding what is acceptable and what can be improved upon.

Though I endorse the concept of reflective practice and plan to execute it as a professional in future, I do understand that there are certain drawbacks to the idea as well. The concept of reflective practice lacks conceptual clarity. There are ignorant views about it doing the rounds. Also, it is way more challenging of an idea than it appears to be. Another major drawback would be the unhealthy focus on the idea of 'individual reflection'. Individual reflection is subjective. Also, as much as how everyone has the scope of learning and growing, sometimes, things do go wrong in spite of doing everything right. It doesn't necessarily have to always be a fault with the "self"- the incompetency of others gets in the way too and it makes matters worse if they don't practise self-reflection. In cases like this, reflective practices do not do much good. 

I am aware that the idea of reflective practice is not an easy one and there are many roadblocks to successfully integrate it into one's daily life. It is time-consuming and a tedious process. Everyone is not always aware of the 'right' way of practising reflective thinking. There is also the problem of not being able to yield immediate results. If individuals do not get instant results, they may drop the practice in the long run. 

This is where, I'd like to believe, I'm different from others. I value my mistakes as they have made me stronger. I have become a better student thanks to reflective practices and I know that with a continuous effort I shall be able to carry it forward and integrate it into my professional life as well.

It is only when you upgrade yourself and are open to learning do you become not just a better professional but an overall better human being. I sincerely believe that we are all eternal students who learn every moment and should be open to embracing any form of knowledge that comes our way.

Closing Statements

Given the nature of my dream job and the areas I expertise in, I am sure I would be an asset to this organisation. It also helps that my ethical code and value system aligns with that of the New South Wales Family Planning, which makes me even more confident that I would do justice to my work if, given the opportunity to work there, that is. Moreover, I am mindful of my actions and practise reflective thinking, hence I'm always looking to improve upon myself and always do my best.

References for Relationship‐based Practice and Reflective Practice

Mann, K., Gordon, J., & MacLeod, A. (2009). Reflection and reflective practice in health professions education: a systematic review. Advances in health sciences education, 14(4), 595-621.

Cross*, V., Liles, C., Conduit, J., & Price, J. (2004). Linking reflective practice to evidence of competence: a workshop for allied health professionals. Reflective Practice, 5(1), 3-31.

Gilbert, T. (2001). Reflective practice and clinical supervision: meticulous rituals of the confessional. Journal of advanced nursing, 36(2), 199-205.

Finlay, Linda (2008). Reflecting on ‘Reflective practice’. Practice-based Professional Learning Paper 52.

Boutilier, M., Mason, R., & Rootman, I. (1997). Community action and reflective practice in health promotion research. Health Promotion International, 12(1), 69-78.

Yip, K. S. (2006). Self-reflection in reflective practice: A note of caution. British Journal of Social Work, 36(5), 777-788.

Duckett, H. (2002). Smoke and mirrors? Evaluating the use of reflective practice as a

management learning technique. Education-line database, December 23.

Koshy, K., Limb, C., Gundogan, B., Whitehurst, K., & Jafree, D. J. (2017). Reflective practice in health care and how to reflect effectively. International journal of surgery. Oncology, 2(6), e20.

Ruch, G. (2005). Relationship‐based practice and reflective practice: holistic approaches to contemporary child care social work. Child & Family Social Work, 10(2), 111-123.

Clouder, L., & Sellars, J. (2004). Reflective practice and clinical supervision: an interprofessional perspective. Journal of advanced nursing, 46(3), 262-269.

Information on NSW Family Planning taken from their official website https://www.fpnsw.org.au/

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