Importance of Reflection
Reflection is a crucial process in medical education and practice, providing healthcare professionals with a means of learning from their experiences and improving their skills and knowledge. Reflection is defined as “a process of reviewing an experience of practice in order to describe, analyse, evaluate and so inform learning about practice” (Boud et al., 1985).
One of the most important reasons why reflection is vital in medicine is that it allows healthcare professionals to gain a deeper understanding of their patient’s experiences and needs. Through reflection, healthcare professionals can identify areas where they could have communicated more effectively, shown more empathy or provided more appropriate care, which can help them to provide better care in the future. Reflection also allows healthcare professionals to learn from their mistakes and improve their practice. By reflecting on cases where things did not go as planned, healthcare professionals can identify areas where they could have made better decisions, taken different approaches or worked more effectively as part of a team.
In addition to improving patient care, reflection is an important tool for professional development. By reflecting on their experiences, healthcare professionals can identify areas where they need to develop their skills and knowledge and seek out opportunities for learning and development. Reflection can also help healthcare professionals to stay up-to-date with the latest developments in their field and to adapt to changing circumstances.
In conclusion, reflection is an essential aspect of medical education and practice, enabling healthcare professionals to learn from their experiences, improve their practice, and develop their skills and knowledge. By engaging in reflection healthcare professionals can provide better care to their patients and continue to develop throughout their careers.
Reflecting on Semester 1 of University
If there was one word I could use to describe my first semester at university it would definitely be busy. Amongst the academia involved in studying medicine, I have thrown myself into a multitude of diverse experiences ranging from society events to joining the university badminton team.
At the beginning of the first term I found getting my head around the workload quite challenging, and my inability to time manage well made the experience quite overwhelming. Every day we have a minimum of 2 lectures and 1 tutorial. The lectures last an hour, and the tutorials last two hours. The tutorials are an opportunity for us to collaborate, using problem based learning, within our set groups of 5 to find the correct answer to group work, set before the session. This was continuous for many weeks with breaks for formative and summative assessments, a dissection room visit and GP placement week.
During GP placement week I was granted the opportunity to see how an issue is presented/revisited at the primary care level of health. I was able to analyse healthcare practitioners reasons for completing certain tasks in certain ways and how even at a primary care setting a doctor will work with many different healthcare professionals, including: midwifes, receptionist, physiotherapists, HCAs, etc.
To help with my time management particularly, I had my meetings with my mentor, from medic mentor, and my personal tutor, from university. Following these I felt like I had more guidance on how best to manage time & understand it is okay to prioritise & cut out tasks of lesser significance.
In terms of assessments, I have had 2 formative assessments and 1 summative assessment. I am please to say I have passed all the assessments so far. However, after my second formative, where I scraped a pass I was very worried about my performance for my upcoming summative. I believe this experience motivated me to work harder for my summative exam. I made a realistic plan using SMART goals which helped me pass, in the fifth decile of my cohort. This experience taught me that it is okay not to always do well, as long as I understand my mistakes and perform well where it matters most.
During all this, I also made it onto the varsity badminton team, after attending trials a week after freshers. This has now become a frequent part of my university life. Every Monday and Thursday I train for 2 hours. I usually play in matches for leagues on Wednesday afternoon.
I have also participated in many social activities. I believe it’s just as important to give yourself a break as well as work hard, to continue your rhythm in the long term. I have been: go karting, laser tag, bowling and much more!
I have enjoyed every bit of university so far and am looking forward to my second semester.
