Reflective Journal: Reflecting on Community Work & Leadership Skills

This reflective journal documents a student's experience volunteering at Opal Raffin Place, a community engagement service, focusing on an incident involving an elderly man experiencing convulsions. The journal explores the student's unexpected role in managing the situation due to the absence of medical staff, leading to a realization of their leadership and team management skills. The reflection includes an organizational analysis using SWOT, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of Opal Raffin Place, such as its suitable accommodation and high costs. The volunteering experience transformed the student's learning approach, providing practical experience and a deeper understanding of community centers' impact. The incident significantly impacted the student, revealing their ability to work under pressure and contribute positively to community engagement, fostering a commitment to diligence and continuous learning.

Reflective Journal
Student Name: Student ID:
Subject Name: Subject ID:
Date Due: Professor Name:
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Introduction to Incidence
While working within an organisation there can be a number of challenges faced which has to be
overcome. Working at Opal Raffin Place in Calamvale was a community engagement service,
where there was a host of challenges faced. The organisation had full time employees along with
volunteers to cater to service with medical unit. One night during starting of summer’s, there was
an old man who lived with comorbidity, he started convulsion. In absence of doctors, other staffs
who could handle the situation I was asked to do it. It was a day off for doctors and other
medical professionals, the doctor who was supposed to stay had gone off as he was not feeling
well. I had to handle an old man aged 74 years facing convulsion, which was a shock to me. I did
not expect that employees and staffs working at the community center had any expectations from
me as I was working as a mere volunteer in the field. Self-reflection and Organisational analysis
through SWOT can reveal more data regarding the same. This scope of self-reflection will allow
to understand the situation in a better way.
Self-Reflection
When the situation of handling the aged man arrived late at night, at 2.00 a.m, I was half asleep.
Woken up by the emergence when all staffs and even the nurses called for my help, I was
literally shocked (Govaerts, 2010). I could not expect that the nurse could have such expectations
from me as I had no prior experience in handling such a situation. I realized that the staff lacked
decision taking capability and as it was late in the night, they could not effectively take a
decision. I though shocked sat down to consult with the nurses and then provided medical
attention based on their expertise itself. I felt that they needed someone who could guide them
into taking a productive decision to lead to a positive outcome. For the first time I was able to
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understand my leadership and team management skills. I did not possess much of medical skills
and I was merely a volunteer at the center. I had limited number of responsibilities at the center
therefore my role did not extend to any levels to make it important or integral in the organisation.
In middle of night, response time for any individual is low, though I would not have stayed back
for night duty absence of staff led me to do it. Staying for the night at the organisation made
other staffs and employees feel that I was considering future employment with the organisation
hence would go to extent to prove myself. Therefore, in absence of any help they came to me so
that any possible solution could arise.
Organization Reflection
Opal Raffin Place provides a friendly environment that is suitable for residents along with their
family. Its location is also suitable in suburbs of Calamvale. Includes dedicated staffs with
appropriate living spaces to help community residents. Though all facilities are provided but the
organisation makes it services affordable at high costs range. Often various families are unable to
afford such services.
Strength
 Suitable accommodation with
necessary facilities
 Provides palliative care, dementia care
and Alzheimer’s care as well. Medical
services
 All modern facilities and amenities as
Weakness
 High Costs
 Located in suburb at a distance from
key cities.
 Caters to a single location for old age
care only
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hairdressing salon, café, dining room
and theater.
Opportunity
 Include a broader range of services for
various age groups
 Provide attractive packages to include
broader range of patient care.
Threat
 Financial constraints
 Packages are provided at different
locations and not within single unit
The organisation suffers from tremendous financial constraints to expand and provide services.
Its service range is confined to a specific class of customers who can afford the service. This,
leads to sizable number of individual visiting the facility. There is lack of expert doctors and
other medical professionals from visiting this facility. There is a fixed number of staff and
employees, to treat special patients, there are hardly any specialized doctors visiting.
Reflect Volunteering
The volunteering experience changed by entire approach of learning. Volunteering through
community engagement provided me with practical experience with exposure in real life
situation (Boud, 2013). There has been high transfer of learning from this experience, as I
understood ways to treat and take care of critical patients. I also realized, I possessed leadership
and team management skills. Without exposure to this type of situation I could not have realized
my skill set. I was able to understand ways in which community centers works or functions.
Their positive impacts on the society was understood by me that could be used later.
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Final Reflection: Effect of Incidence
The scope of the current incident had immense impact on me as I was able to see myself in a new
light. Through this experience, I had immense stress in the middle of night. I could not call
anyone for help, neither I could go anywhere, there was limited number of possibilities in which
I had to function (Gray, 2007). At that time, I realized I needed to find a way out of this situation,
and also save the suffering old man till morning. Lacking in medical skills, first I thought that I
will not be able to do anything to save him, but then I started asking nurses on their previous
experiences. I was able to work under pressure and make a positive impact on a community
engagement process. Community services requires commitment and conformation to highest
possible levels of diligence such that there is no suffering associated with any individual. I have
been able to learn immensely from the community engagement practice. I have also learnt
several skills associated with practice, which would not been possible in absence of this
experience. Therefore, my learning curve has been significantly high with this experience and I
will use the learning in my practical experience.
Reference Lists
Boud, D. K. 2013. Reflection: Turning experience into learning. Routledge.
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Govaerts, S. V. 2010. Visualizing activities for self-reflection and awareness. In International
Conference on Web-Based Learning. Springer Berlin Heidelberg., 91-100.
Gray, D. 2007. Facilitating management learning developing critical reflection through reflective
tools. Management learning, 38(5), 495-517.
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