Reflective Journal: Healthcare Internship, Employment, and Reflection

This reflective journal provides a comprehensive account of a student's experiences during their healthcare internship and subsequent employment. The journal delves into various aspects of their professional development, including case management, supervision, and teaching methodologies. It reflects on the challenges faced, such as initial nervousness and the transition from academic settings to real-world clinical practices. The author discusses the importance of communication skills, teamwork, and the implementation of care plans, highlighting the impact of both apprenticeship programs and employment on their understanding of healthcare practices. The journal also explores the development of professional values and ethical behavior, emphasizing the significance of continuous learning and adaptation in providing effective patient care. Through these reflections, the student illustrates their growth from an intern to a healthcare professional, underscoring the importance of practical experience, mentorship, and self-assessment in shaping their career path and approach to patient care.

Reflective Journal

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Case Management........................................................................................................................1
Supervision and Teaching............................................................................................................2
Evidence of the values and behaviour.........................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Reflective practice refers to the ability of reflect on actions and experience gained while
engage in a continuous learning process. For health practitioners, it is considered as the core
component of describing the way of developing professionally (Nadaf, 2018). Without it, self-
growth and learning process might become harder, that affect job satisfaction as well. It could be
argued here, that reflection at its best, reflect on what’s gone or well badly during on-going
learning process, is an unstructured but natural aspect of healthcare professional’s role. Under
the present report, I have reflected on my experience I have faced during my apprenticeship
period and after than in employment. For this purpose, components concerned to make
discussion includes way of managing work, implementation of care plan and more.
MAIN BODY
Case Management
To achieve the personal career aspiration and for becoming a registered professional,
apprenticeship programme offered by healthcare associations plays a major role in learner’s life.
They help in understanding environment and way of managing the work in hospitals, to provide
extensive care to patients for better well-being of them (Piotrowski, 2018). Such programme also
give opportunity to engage in on-going work, for understanding healthcare practices and their
importance in professional development, which is highly essential for learners to gain clinical
experience before getting employment. In this regard, after completion of academic studies,
when I got chance to complete my internship from one of the reputed healthcare organisation,
then I was much excited. It provides me an insight about clinical practices and way of working in
cooperation with other professionals, for improvement of patient care in future. Initially, I was
feeling scared due to non-professionalism and new environment which is completely different
from academic classes (Foster, 2018). But yet I have worked on my nervousness and tried to get
engaged properly with other fresher and seniors, as well as work on my low confidence also.
During initial period, my seniors after seeing my nervousness, give me support to
understand the whole environment. For this purpose, I have get opportunity to work within in a
team first, where I have learnt about importance of communication skill. In health and social
care, this skill underpins everything which helps professionals to develop effective relationship
with team-members and patients to improve quality of care service (Wesley, Hamer and Karam,
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2018). In this regard, I have evaluated that poor communication among inter-professional team
members can affect the quality of care received by patients negatively. This may result in arising
risk of patients for recovery of their well-being state. I’ve noticed during clinical practices in
internship period, a number of factors present that lead to create poor communication, such as
usage of professional jargon, abbreviations and un-understandable handwriting (Moore, O’Brien
and Thomas, 2020). Therefore, underpin this aspect, made me to take it as personal objective
where I work on avoiding these behaviours. For this purpose, I have concerned on using those
jargons that are universal, so that chances of miscommunication can be minimised.
But experience getting from apprenticeship programme is somewhere different from actual
employment, because during this period, situations have been created to enable learner how to
deal with same. While when a professional get engages in job, then it was difficult for them to
provide care treatment directly without any support of seniors or team-members (Pearce and
Breen, 2018). For managing the work and clinical competency, it is required to accumulate the
evidence based knowledge first, with adequately understanding of cultural diversity as well as
care services received by patients. During clinical practice, I used to maintain competency
standards for providing effective services and reflecting on my own practice, including areas
where development is essential for addressing the psychological, physical, physiological,
emotional as well as spiritual needs of patients (Wesley, Hamer and Karam, 2018). This would
help in taking relative actions on time for setting care plan and serving best treatment
accordingly.
Supervision and Teaching
Coming into clinical experience of mine, initially I was ready to learn a lot from on-going
training in internship, however I am not sure about how much I would learn actually for
professionally development of skills (Boyer, Mann-Salinas and Valdez-Delgado, 2018). Even
though I was only the one who has selected in the class so, it gives me confidence to believe on
myself for becoming a good healthcare professional. The experiences I have got here, is related
to management of own work, handling differences case, work load as well as implementation of
care services in line with current evidence. Along with this, taking immediate actions regarding
with individual's health and care needs are invaluable for my knowledge, which I never
been understood by listening lectures or sitting in classroom only. Therefore, internship program
has envisioned myself to work in an outpatient treatment setting and get knowledge about how to
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deal with complex situations at workplace (Nelson and et. al., 2018). My seniors have really
pushed me to come out of my comfort zone in initial few days and get engage more in
understanding and enhancing clinical experience, however, it has paid off in the end (Nelson and
et. al., 2018). Therefore, by the end of first two weeks I was pretty much doing on everything on
my own under supervision of senior staffs including the note taking.
I would especially able for appreciating how much I was able for learning about clinical
experience and used the same in my own working practices. Working under guidance of seniors
and supported members, made me able to identify my own strengths as well as weak areas where
I need to work more to become an effective health practitioner in future. For this purpose, I have
started on setting goals that need to be completed during internship period (Boyer, Mann-Salinas
and Valdez-Delgado, 2018). Even though I didn’t see myself in the acute care setting but still I
was able to get engage in on-going learn a lot about role of health care system in creation of flow
of patient care works. I have recognized that working in an outpatient setting, give opportunity to
professionals to treat numerous patients who have just come previously from an acute care
setting. So, all support and supervision has enabled me to say confidently that I am in right field
and will work effectively in future clinical experiences.
However, after getting employment, I have felt that clinical experience got from
apprenticeship programme can be transformed only into profession, if I would work on my
confidence first. I was also confident about way of dealing with critical situations and problem-
solving, but being not able to come up from some situations with an effective solution because of
lack of actual clinical experience, impact on performance of mine. For an instance, performing
venepuncture where an adult had very poor vein but my first attempt was failed to help out this
patient, so I felt was very demotivated. But with cooperation of staff then enables to me learn on
how to deal with such situations where patient has bad veins and what other alternatives can be
taken if first attempt was failed. A number of same situations have been occurred during my first
job, where I have felt that for handling such problems, it is better to work in team-work for first
two or three years in associations. This would enable practitioners to develop both personal and
professional qualities for offering best care services.
Evidence of the values and behaviour
One of the major difficulties for implementation of a care plan faced by health professionals
is the lack of clarity about their role in giving treatment and relief to patient immediately (Moore,
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O’Brien and Thomas, 2020). This type of difficulty might arise due to poor communication,
where provision of fields especially for clinical practice requires proper understanding among
team-members about specific role of each, so that quality of services can be maintained (Pearce
and Breen, 2018). These barriers however, undermine the conditions for welcoming learners,
tutors and teachers towards meeting the apprenticeship standards in care setting. But this
experience is quietly different from actual working experience that I have felt after getting an
employment. Transformations of assumptions basically arise by the event of following
professionals in terms of observing day to day functioning process of own (Foster, 2018). So, I
had also assumed initially after completion of apprenticeship programme that I have grown all
basic knowledge what this job is entailed with, but by getting more engaged in care setting plan
in my first job as practitioner, I have faced a lot of troubled situations, in terms of taking decision
about specific treatment plan, way to question with patients, how to assess them and so on. In
this regard, any mistake arise issues related to ethics and certain behaviour which is essential to
be possessed by each professional in healthcare field.
Therefore, to work in efficient manner and in collaboration with together, it was important
for professionals to understand each other within clinic setting. In order to maintain values and
ethical behaviour in this field, I have worked more on development of professional relationships
with others positively (Nadaf, 2018). But since during apprenticeship I never get a fully
understand and opportunity to show my abilities in giving out best performance, for providing
care services to patient. So, now when I got this job, I really felt about more clarity that was
needed to understand about surrounding role in care setting plan. As a consequence of this,
enable me to witness some of team-members work and engage closely with them for providing
treatment. Being professional relationships as well as understand roles of others, therefore, has
lead me to acknowledge myself with unique qualities, abilities and skills which make a learner to
become effective healthcare professionals.
CONCLUSION
From all over discussion, I would have to say that clinical experience during internship and
after engagement in healthcare employment, 0has transformed my understanding of myself and
entire way of working in province of care practices. It has transformed my weakness into
abilities to show my professionalism while working within a team, for improvement of quality of
care services. Both apprenticeship period and real working experience lead me to see my area of
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interests I held and the thing that was most presentable to me for reflective a future profession in
my work. I came into my experience which I didn’t know before career path which I really
wanted to take, so, apprenticeship programme provides me chance to better mould myself
towards professional development in healthcare field. Through observations including clinical
practice, I have managed to develop my professional skills as an independent learner and as a
member of healthcare team. Along with this, having been assigned within patient loads,
medications and reflecting on what I went and how I become able to employ a range of abilities
and knowledge, let me to create a better environment for showing professionals in healthcare
sectors, where critical thinking, adequately problem solving, working in collaboration with etc.
are just few examples.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Boyer, S. A., Mann-Salinas, E. A. and Valdez-Delgado, K. K., 2018. Clinical transition
framework: Integrating coaching plans, sampling, and accountability in clinical practice
development. Journal for nurses in professional development. 34(2). pp.84-91.
Foster, S., 2018. Apprenticeship reforms extend career options for new and experienced
staff. British Journal of Nursing. 27(8). pp.465-465.
Moore, K. A., O’Brien, B. C. and Thomas, L. R., 2020. “I Wish They Had Asked”: a Qualitative
Study of Emotional Distress and Peer Support During Internship. Journal of general
internal medicine, pp.1-6.
Nadaf, C., 2018. Perspectives: Reflections on a debate: When does Advanced Clinical Practice
stop being nursing?. Journal of Research in Nursing. 23(1). pp.91-97.
Nelson, S. W. and et. al., 2018. Intern as patient: a patient experience simulation to cultivate
empathy in emergency medicine residents. Western Journal of Emergency
Medicine. 19(1). p.41.
Pearce, C. and Breen, B., 2018. Advanced clinical practice and nurse-led clinics: a time to
progress. British Journal of Nursing. 27(8). pp.444-448.
Piotrowski, C., 2018. The status of the Beck inventories (BDI, BAI) in psychology training and
practice: A major shift in clinical acceptance. Journal of Applied Biobehavioral
Research. 23(3). p.e12112.
Wesley, T., Hamer, D. and Karam, G., 2018. Implementing a narrative medicine curriculum
during the internship year: an internal medicine residency program experience. The
Permanente Journal. 22.
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