Demonstrating Professionalism in Health and Social Care

This report focuses on demonstrating professional principles and values in health and social care, particularly within a dementia care setting. It explores the importance of reflective practice, defining its purpose and benefits for continuous learning and improved patient care. The report outlines vario...Read More

DEMONSTRATING
PROFESSIONAL
PRINCIPLES AND VALUES
IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL
CARE

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
LO 1.................................................................................................................................................1
P 1 Purpose of reflection in health and social care practice........................................................1
P 2 Models and tools used for reflection in health and social care practice................................2
M 1 Review the ways that reflective practice is applied in health, care or supportive service
environments................................................................................................................................6
D 1 Ways in which own reflections can impact on own personal and professional development
and the experience of individuals using health, care or supportive service.................................6
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................6
P 3 Ways in which practice themes can be used to underpin reflection in learning and practises
.....................................................................................................................................................6
P 4 Illustrate link between the practice themes and other performance indicators .....................7
M 2 Production of plan for reflection on learning and development using the practise themes
and other quality assurance indicators.........................................................................................8
D 2 Assess effectiveness of the plan in supporting the development of own reflective practice
skills...........................................................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Reflection is one of the most important part of a learning process. It helps an individual
in identifying areas in which they need to bring improvement and identify ways in which they
can learn new required skills and knowledge and in order to enhance their skills, knowledge and
provide more appropriate care and service to service users (Gibson and et.al., 2017). Refection
further provides an opportunity to individuals to move forward within their professional career.
In health and social care environment also reflection and reflective practises are important as it
helps healthcare providers to identify ways in which they can provide more appropriate service
to their patients. Patients are suffering from dementia and they require more care as they are
dependent upon their carers or family members partially or completely depending upon their
dementia condition. In health and social care settings as well an individual need to adopt
reflective practises so that they can identify area of scope where they need to bring improvement
and changes that are required to be brought with health and social care practises. This report will
lay emphasis upon the role of reflection in health and social care settings and by writing a
reflective report as a care assistant working within a dementia care home.
LO 1
P 1 Purpose of reflection in health and social care practice
Reflective practise can be defined as a kind of capacity through which once can reflect on
their actions in order to engage themselves in process of continuous learning. Reflective practise
is important in health and social care practice as it helps in bringing changes and carrying
improvement within current practises (Tsingos-Lucas and et.al., 2017). It can further help
healthcare workers or other employees working in this sector to deal with sensitive issues they
experience while working. It helps in providing employees working in this sector to identify
areas where they need to bring improvement or health and social care practises in which changes
are required to be brought. There are various purposes because of which reflection in health and
social care practises is important. Some of the main purposes of reflection in health and social
care practises are as follows:
 It helps in understanding self- values, attributes, behaviour, approaches of one’s own work
which is required to be carried out. As a care assistant in a dementia care home, reflection
will help in understanding behaviour and values that one need to maintain in order to provide
appropriate care to dementia patients.
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 To work and collaborate with others effectively. As a care assistant, one needs to work with
other healthcare professionals and many other professionals collaboratively so that proper
and effective care to dementia patients can be provided, they need, requirements can be taken
care off (Sweet and et.al., 2019).
 To bring changes within one’s own and others attributes values, approaches and behaviours
like challenging hidden assumptions. There are various kinds of challenges that were faced
by me as a care assistant. One of the main challenges was to have patience. Many times, it
was a bit difficult to deal with dementia patients who used to easily get hyper and aggressive.
At that time, it was a bit difficult for keep calm and have patience to deal with them. It
helped me to understand that I need to bring changes within my behaviour and approaches
though which I can deal with such patients.
 For revising and evaluating one’s own practise and influence organizational changes. By
evaluating my practise and ways in which I and others deal with dementia patients helped me
in understanding that there is a need to bring changes within training and development
program at dementia care house. So that the required behaviour and values of employees can
be enhanced.
 It is a continuous cycle that helps in enabling and building and checking changes in order to
achieve positive outcomes (Ullmann, 2017). Reflection helps in checking whether required
changes have been brought within oneself and organizational practises adopted by dementia
care house.
P 2 Models and tools used for reflection in health and social care practice
Reflective tools and techniques help in providing a guidance to individuals reflection so
that they can identify their scope of learning and bring improvement within their skills,
knowledge and qualities in a much appropriate manner (Shum and et.al., 2017). There are
various kinds of tools and techniques that can be used by a care assistant to reflect upon their
roles and responsibilities in dementia care home.
 One to one records and group appraisals: Appraisal is one of the most effective reflective
tools that can be used for reflection. This is because, one to one records and appraisal helps
an individual in understanding their main key strength areas and weakness areas.
 Assessment and feedback from colleagues, assessors, professionals, friends, family and
service users: Feedback is another effective and appropriate tool that can be used for
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reflection as feedback from others can help an individual in understanding areas or scope of
improvement (Dinham and et.al., 2020). Like service users (dementia patients and their
family members) can help care assistant in understand ways in which they can bring
improvement within themselves,
 Records of assessors/ supervisor’s observations of practice: Supervisors or assessors play a
vital role in refection as supervisors and assessors can evaluate other performance in minute
and detailed manner.
 Diaries of practice: Diaries of practise help an individual to reflect upon activities that have
taken place within a working environment and helps them to use and apply their knowledge
and learning in their own working environment and health care practises.
 Work placement time sheets: it helps an employee to understand amount of time they have
spent at work, at a particular job or while working on a specific project or with a specific
client (Bruno and Dell’Aversana, 2017). This time sheet will help to care assistant in
understanding time they have taken with patients that has complicated medical history and
time taken with patients who has initial level dementia.
 Evidence based practises or learning on placement: Evidence based practise helps in applying
knowledge that one has gained while working within a project. This helps an individual
reflect upon applying their learning that they have gained while working and providing care
to dementia patients.
 Reflective accounting reflection models: the reflective models are one of the best ways that
can be used for writing a reflection as it helps an individual to identify their experience, their
feeling, their observation etc.
 Certificate training and CPD: CPD( Continuing professional development ) and training
certificate can also be used for refection as it helps in providing a detailed analysis of thing
that have been learnt by the individual while working health and social care settings.
 Development plan: it is another important tool or technique that can be used for refection as
development plan can easily help an individual in identifying the ways in which they can use
their current learning and available resources for bringing improvement within themselves
and health and social care settings.
Some of the main types of models that can be used for reflection in health and social care
practises are as follows:
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 Gibbs reflective cycle: it is a reflective cycle model which is used to reflect one’s learning
experience in six phases (Redmond, 2017). It helps an individual to describe their experience,
describe their feelings associated that experience, evaluate experience, analyse the situation,
conclude learning and develop action plan to bring improvement within oneself.
 Johns model of reflective practise: This model says that when an individual reflects, they
need to make sure that they look inward about their thoughts and feeling an look outwards by
considering the situation to reflect upon one’s own performance.
 Kolb’s experimental learning framework: this reflective model has four stages though which
an individual can reflect their learning experience. This model is related to an individual’s
internal cognitive process so that they can learn new concepts and create their own new
learning experience.
 Schon’s reflection in action and reflection on action: this model helps in describing refection
in action as reflecting upon a particular situation whereas chances can be still made in order
to bring improvement within outcome, rather than waiting at later stages or time (Roca and
et.al., 2020).
 Rolfe’s framework for reflective practise: this model is based upon three most simple
questions that are: what, where a particular situation is described, so what, where things that
one has learnt are described and last is now what, in which things that are required to be done
in future are described.
Kolb’s experimental learning framework will be used as example
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 Concrete Experience: While working in Dementia care homes, I have observed that
there is a need and requirement to provide training to all the employees so that legal
legislation, regulations and acts are adhered in an appropriate manner.
 Reflective Observation: While providing care to service users I have identified that
most of the employees were not aware of their roles and responsibilities towards
service users because of which most of them did not adhere basic legislation and
regulations like non-adherence of care act 2014.
 Absolute conceptualization: Due to this many times some needs and requirements of
patients were not fulfilled as a result some of them used to get hyper and aggressive.
I have learnt that adherence of legal regulations and acts helps in provide high quality
service to patients that can further help in fulfilling their needs and requirements.
 Active experimentation: proper and adequate training should be provided to
employees so that they can understand their roles and responsibilities, legislation they
need to adhere. As a care assistant working Dementia care homes it is important to
identify laws, regulations and legislations that are applicable to us and required to be
focused upon in order to provide excellent service to dementia patients in dementia
care home.
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M 1 Review the ways that reflective practice is applied in health, care or supportive service
environments
Reflection helps in bringing positive changes within health and social care environment
and also helps in provision of opportunities though which required and proper actions can be
taken in order to bring improvement within oneself and health and social care settings so that
appropriate or adequate level of care can be provided to patients (Allen and et.al., 2018). This
will help employees to enhance their overall performance and provide high quality of service to
patients.
D 1 Ways in which own reflections can impact on own personal and professional development
and the experience of individuals using health, care or supportive service
Reflection can help in various ways in personal and professional development and
enhancing the experiences of individuals using health, care or supportive service. Reflections can
impact on my own personal and professional development in many different ways. It will help
me in learning from my mistakes. I will be able to identify areas of improvement and skills and
knowledge that are required to be developed by me.
LO 2
P 3 Ways in which practice themes can be used to underpin reflection in learning and practises
Reflective practice is a simplest form of thinking about or reflecting on what you do. It is closely
linked to the concept of learning from experience, in that you think about what you did, and what
happened, and decide from that what you would do differently next time
There are many different ways in which practise themes can be used to underpin
reflection in learning and practise. There are six main practice themes that can be applied to all
the qualifications and can be used for analysing one’s own performance in workplace. six main
practice themes are:
 .Law, Regulation and ethical practice: This practice theme can be used to underpin reflection
in learning and practice by understanding ways of working, providing support and caring to
individuals by understanding roles and responsibilities of a care assistant, by identifying
dementia patient’s needs, developing communication strategies to communicate with them,
by focusing more upon person centred care (Adeani and et.al., 2020).
 Professional values, attitude and behaviour: This theme can be used to explore one’s own
values, attitude and behaviour and the ways in which they influence their work and care
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provided by them to patients and other employees. It can help an individual to understand the
ways in which positive working environment can be developed and caring relationship with
patients can be developed.
 Health and safety of the employees and patients: It can help an individual to understand ways
in which they can enhance health, safety and wellbeing of their patients, one’s own and of
others (Sudria and et.al., 2018). It can also help an individual to adhere principles of
safeguarding and protection so that they can fulfil their own roles and responsibilities in a
proper and appropriate manner.
 Valuing and promoting diversity, difference and inclusion: it can help an individual to
understand the ways in which they can provide fair and equal treatment and service to all the
service users in both within and outside work settings regardless of their personal
characteristics. By identifying the ways in which an individual can bring changes within their
own behaviour, practice and approaches so that they can meet needs and requirement of all of
their dementia patients.
 Promoting physical and mental health and wellbeing: Health is a state of complete physical,
mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
The Care Act 2014 is intended to help improve people’s independence and wellbeing. It can
help an individual in demonstrating skills and knowledge though which they can support
needs and requirements of service users (DeCoux, 2016).
 Numeracy in practice: It can help in interpreting and measuring physiological measurement
of patients and service users of dementia. It can further help in understanding and analysing
day to day statistics so that level of service and quality which are being provided to patients
can be measured in an appropriate manner.
P 4 Illustrate link between the practice themes and other performance indicators .
Performance Indicators KPIs are specific and measurable elements of health and social care that
can be used to assess quality of care. KPIs are measurement of performance, based on standards
determined through evidence-based academic literature or through the consensus of experts
when evidence is unavailable. It evaluates the success rate after the target is reached and
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it is a popular mechanism for measuring the quality of healthcare to facilitate both quality
improvement and systems management
All the practice themes are inter linked to each other and has direct link with other
performance indicators (KPI). Law, regulations and ethical practices are directly linked to
professional or governing standards that are applicable to one’s own role, like care assistants
working in Dementia care home (DeCoux, 2016). It will directly help individuals working in
health and social care settings to check whether needs and requirements of the patients and
service users are being fulfilled or not.
Not only this, it further helps in maintaining equality and diversity within health care practises
and by checking whether any kind of inequality or injustice exist within any health and social
care practices or not
Professional values, attitude and behaviour are linked to governing standards. Applicability of
governing standards within an organization is one of the main performance indicators that helps
in identifying whether high quality of service care is being provided to patients or not. In here,
mostly all kinds of standard that are issued by governmental agencies are confirmed that the
professional values, attitude and behaviour of professionals are checked properly(DeCoux,
2016).
It also helps the promoting physical and mental health and wellbeing when the target
satisfaction of employee and service users are met.
And the KPI and health and safety of the employees and patients are a relation when a
standard service are maintained and improved the service quality by viewing in a satisfactory
level.
M 2 Production of plan for reflection on learning and development using the practise themes and
other quality assurance indicators
Law, Regulation and ethical practice
Improvement: To improve the efficiency of the services
Activities: Following the laws, rules and regulations of health and social care services by
studying and training.
Frequency: monthly
Professional values, attitude and behaviour:
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Improvement: To improve the health and experience of the patients and the family.
Activities: by training, group discussion, growing good interpersonal skill.
Frequency: fortnightly
Health and safety of the employees and patients:
Improvement: service quality of the work and professional knowledge.
Activities: training is the most important part to get the required standards.
Frequency: monthly
Valuing and promoting diversity, difference and inclusion
Improvement: To make the patients feel more welcome and safe and make it more person
cantered and respect their values
Activities: by understanding the culture and training.
Frequency: every 2months
Promoting physical and mental health and wellbeing:
Improvement: To improve overall satisfaction of employee and service users
Activities: by doing physical exercise and training
Frequency: in monthly
Numeracy in practice
Improvement: To use of IT technologies and make the care more effective and efficient
Activities: more training ,studying and read books and getting knowledge mathematics
Frequency: in monthly
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.
D 2 Assess effectiveness of the plan in supporting the development of own reflective practice
skills
By day to day Training and supervision circumstances plan are quite effective because it
can help in enhancing overall knowledge and awareness of employees. It can also help them in
understanding different ways in which needs and requirements of service users can be fulfilled.
For example: training and supervision will help in understand ways in which I can prioritize my
work, needs and requirement in an appropriate manner. This is because many times I fail to
complete a task on time as I face difficulty in prioritizing my work accordingly.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it has been identified that reflective practice plays a vital role in
health and social care settings. It helps in effective development of professionals working within
health and social care settings. The reflective practice helps care in identifying their strength and
weaknesses so that they can bring improvement within their skills, qualities and knowledge so
that they can provide high quality support and care to patients and service users. It has also can
be concluded that there are various kinds of models that can be used for refection in health and
social care settings that can further help in personal and professional development and enhance
experience of service users in an appropriate manner.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Adeani, I.S and et.al., 2020. Using GIBBS reflective cycle in making reflections of literary
analysis. Indonesian EFL Journal (IEFLJ). 6(2). pp.139-148.
Allen, K.L., and et.al., 2018. Developing reflective practice in teacher candidates through
program coherence. Teaching & Learning Inquiry. 6(2). pp.81-96.
Bruno, A. and Dell’Aversana, G., 2017. Reflective practice for psychology students: the use of
reflective journal feedback in higher education. Psychology Learning &
Teaching. 16(2). pp.248-260.
DeCoux, V.M., 2016. Kolb's learning style inventory: A review of its applications in nursing
research. Journal of Nursing Education. 29(5). pp.202-207.
Dinham, J., and et.al., 2020. Effective teaching and the role of reflective practices in the
Malaysian and Australian education systems: a scoping review. Asia-Pacific Journal of
Teacher Education, pp.1-15.
Gibson, A., and et.al., 2017, March. Reflective writing analytics for actionable feedback.
In Proceedings of the seventh international learning analytics & knowledge
conference (pp. 153-162).
Redmond, B., 2017. Reflection in action: Developing reflective practice in health and social
services. Routledge.
Roca, J., and et.al., 2020. Developing reflective competence between simulation and clinical
practice through a learning transference model: A qualitative study. Nurse Education
Today. 92. p.104520.
Shum, S.B., and et.al., 2017. Towards reflective writing analytics: Rationale, methodology and
preliminary results. Journal of Learning Analytics. 4(1). pp.58-84.
Sudria, I.B.N., and et.al., 2018. Effect of Kolb's Learning Styles under Inductive Guided-Inquiry
Learning on Learning Outcomes. International Journal of Instruction. 11(1). pp.89-102.
Sweet, L., and et.al., 2019. Developing reflective capacities in midwifery students: Enhancing
learning through reflective writing. Women and Birth. 32(2). pp.119-126.
Tsingos-Lucas, C., and et.al., 2017. Using reflective writing as a predictor of academic success
in different assessment formats. American journal of pharmaceutical education. 81(1).
Ullmann, T.D., 2017, March. Reflective writing analytics: empirically determined keywords of
written reflection. In Proceedings of the Seventh International Learning Analytics &
Knowledge Conference (pp. 163-167).
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