QQI Level 5 Work Experience: Reflective Diary and Report Analysis

This document is a comprehensive work experience report from a student in the healthcare field. It comprises a reflective diary with five journal entries detailing real-life experiences, challenges, and learning outcomes within a healthcare setting. The entries cover various aspects of patient care, including communication challenges with non-English speaking patients, the importance of cultural competency in treatment, the significance of effective management practices within a residential care home, and the critical role of patient safety protocols. The report also includes a skills audit, an overview of relevant legislation, reflections on the student's role during the work placement, and an evaluation of the work experience with future plans. The student reflects on incidents, highlighting their learning, and outlining strategies for professional improvement. The assignment demonstrates the practical application of theoretical knowledge and the development of essential skills for healthcare professionals, offering valuable insights into the realities of the healthcare environment.

Running head: WORK EXPERIENCE
WORK EXPERIENCE
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1WORK EXPERIENCE
Table of Contents
PART ONE: REFLECTIVE DIARY..............................................................................................2
JOURNAL 1................................................................................................................................2
JOURNAL 2................................................................................................................................4
JOURNAL 3................................................................................................................................6
JOURNAL 4................................................................................................................................8
JOURNAL 5..............................................................................................................................10
PART TWO: REFLECTIVE REPORT.........................................................................................12
PORTFOLIO.................................................................................................................................15
Skills Audit................................................................................................................................15
Legislation.................................................................................................................................20
Participation on work experience..............................................................................................23
Your own role while on work placement..................................................................................26
Evaluation of work experience and future plans.......................................................................28
References......................................................................................................................................31

2WORK EXPERIENCE
PART ONE: REFLECTIVE DIARY
JOURNAL 1
Entry No. 1
Date:
I would like to firstly highlight the fact that I work as a healthcare assistant in one of the
residential care homes of Ireland and on an everyday basis I am required to take care of a large
number of elderly patients and also look after their medications. I am normally required to offer
care to the English speaking elderly people and I am well suited for doing that. However, on the
date mentioned above one of my colleagues had to take a leave due to some unavoidable
circumstances and I was asked to take care of her patients one of whom was from Spain and not
well versed in the English Language. Furthermore, I myself was not fluent in the Spanish
language and thus I was not being able to understand the things that she was trying to say or for
that matter the things that she wanted me to do. Needless to say, I was completely at sea and
apart from the prescribed medication I was not being able to cater to any of her needs which in
made the patient very irate. Luckily, one of our health care assistants speaks fluent Spanish and
thus I took his help to cater to the needs of the patients and fulfill her treatment needs.
The most important thing that I learned from this incident was the importance of the
process of communication within the work which is being performed by me. The issues that I
faced with the patient arose since we were not being able to effectively undertake the process of
verbal communication because both of us did not speak the same language. More importantly,
the communication challenge that I faced with the patient not only adversely affected the quality

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of care which was offered by me to her but at the same realize the importance of non-verbal and
gestural communication processes within the field of my work. Thus, I should have taken the
help of the process of non-verbal communication or for that matter taken the help of different
kinds of gestures for effectively communicating with the patients. This in turn would have
substantially helped me to overcome the issues that I faced and therefore I would say that this is
the most important thing that I learned from the concerned incident.
The incident clearly indicates that I need to develop the skill of non-verbal or gestural
communication and I am positive that undertaking different kinds of workshops, skill
development programs and others would help me to effectively acquire this particular skill.
Furthermore, I am optimistic that the acquisition of this particular skill would not only enable me
to effectively communicate with the patients or understand their needs but would also help me to
offer the best quality healthcare treatment services to them. Thus, I would say that the incident
that I mentioned in this journal is likely to positively affect me at the professional level by
facilitating my acquisition of the non-verbal and gestural communication skills.

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JOURNAL 2
Entry No. 2
Date:
The incident that I would like to discuss in this journal actually helped me to understand
the importance of the concept of cultural competency and the different benefits that the
healthcare professionals can derive through the effective usage of the same. A few days ago we
received a patient who is from the indigenous background and he was suffering from food
poisoning. Furthermore, after diagnosing him our healthcare professionals tried to administer
him the required medication through injections but he refused vehemently to take any injections
and also objected to intake the medications. Some of the healthcare assistants tried to calm him
down and urged him to take the medication yet there was no change in his mindset. Finally, I
approached the patient and tried to understand why he didn’t want to have the medications,
which is actually going to relieve his pain and also cure him. He replied the usage of injections
was not allowed in his culture and thus he was refusing to take the same. I assured the patient
that we will not force him to take the injections and after consulting the doctor we will certainly
find a middle ground. The doctor who had checked on the patient after listening to what I have to
say agreed to replace the injections with capsules and tablets of the same medicine which the
patient readily agreed to intake.
The major challenge that we faced in this incident can be ascribed to the aspect of
cultural differences between the culture that we followed and the cultural background from
which the patient hailed from. Thus, it can be said that the most important learning experience
that I derived from the concerned incident is the knowledge about the concept of cultural

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intelligence or cultural competency and also the benefits that the healthcare professionals can
derive through the effective usage of the same. For example, had I been able to this concept then
the treatment services would have been offered to the patient in a much better manner and that
too without any confusion which adversely affected the quality of care which was offered by us
to the patient. Therefore, I have decided to take the help of different kinds of workshops and
other kinds of programs for the effective development of my cultural competency or cultural
intelligence. I am hoping that this would facilitate my understanding of the treatment needs or
that matter the treatment requirements of the patients in the best possible manner and thereby
help them to offer the required amount of care or treatment services to them. This in turn is likely
to facilitate the process of my own professional development as well. Thus, I would say that
rather than being a negative one the incident under discussion here was a positive one and helped
me to understand the significance of the skill of cultural competency and also the need of the
healthcare professionals to use the same for offering treatment to the patients.

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JOURNAL 3
Entry No. 3
Date:
The incident that I would discuss in this journal is related to the issue of effective
management practices and also the benefits that the residential care homes can derive through the
adequate usage of the same within the clinical setting. We have around 15 registered nurses, 5
doctors, 15 healthcare assistants in our residential care home and it is the duty of the nurse leader
to prepare the roaster of all these healthcare professionals. However, on the given day it
happened that the majority of the healthcare workers of our care home took their week-offs on
the same day and thus it became very difficult for the remaining healthcare workers to
effectively manage the patient flow. Furthermore, around 8 healthcare workers who were present
in the given day had to complete the job role of the entire care home while offering the required
care or treatment services to the patients who belonged to the doctors and the registered nurses
who were absent on the concerned day. Thus, the doctors have to firstly go through all the
reports of the patients and after that administer the required treatment which consumed a
substantial amount of time since they were not aware of the medical history of the patients. This
in turn adversely affected the quality of healthcare services or for that matter the care that was
offered to the patients in the care home on that particular day.
The most important challenge that I face in the incident under discussion here can be
attributed to the fact that in the absence of the required number of healthcare workers due to
ineffective planning of roasters I was required to handle a substantial amount of workload while
ensuring to offer the best quality treatment services to the patients. Thus, I would say that the

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most important lesson that I learned from the concerned incident can be ascribed to the
importance of effective management practices within the healthcare setting and also the need on
the part of the nurse leaders to effectively plan the roaster of the healthcare workers. This in turn
is likely to facilitate the adequate completion of the work of the healthcare organizations and also
ensure the fact that the desired quality of healthcare treatment services or care is being offered to
the patients as well.
In the light of the incident under discussion here I have realized the fact that in order to
attain adequate professional development I need to improve my management skills which in turn
would help me to effectively manage the different affairs of the healthcare organizations. I am
hoping to attain effective management skills by way of attending different vocational courses,
training programs, workshops and others so as to acquire the kind of skills that would enable me
to effectively plan the roasters of the various healthcare workers, the work that we are required to
perform and others within the healthcare organizations. Thus, I would say that the concerned
incident was an important one for me since it taught me the importance of effective management
practices within the healthcare setting.

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JOURNAL 4
Entry No. 4
Date:
The incident that I would discuss in this journal taught me the importance of the concept
of patient safety and also the ardent need on the part of the healthcare professionals to take the
help of adequate safety measures to safeguard the safety as well as the wellbeing of the patients.
In the incident under discussion here, I forgot to change my safety gloves after administering a
patient who was suffering from diarrhea and immediately went on to administer a patient who
was suffering from viral fever. I would say that because of the high workload that are required to
handle within the care home it completely slipped out of my mind that I needed to change my
gloves after treating each of the patients so as to ensure the safety of the patients and also to
ensure the fact that they do not have to suffer from any unnecessary infections. Furthermore, a
colleague of mine was quick to realize my mistake and thus adequate antibiotics and other
medicines were injected to the patient suffering from viral fever to ensure the fact that he would
not have suffer because of my negligence.
The most important learning experience that I gained from the incident under discussion
here can be ascribed to the fact that regardless of the workload that we are required to handle we
would never ignore the concept of patient safety. This can be explained on the basis of the fact
that disregarding this concept would jeopardize the health condition of the patients rather than
improving the same and in some of the serious cases the results can even be catastrophic.
However, at the same time I would like to say that the high workload that the healthcare
professionals are required to take care of within the healthcare setting often makes it very

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difficult for them to take into account the concept of patient safety and this as a matter of fact is
one of the major challenges that the majority of the healthcare professionals including me face.
Having said this, the importance of the concept of patient safety cannot be denied and thus it is
important for the healthcare workers to ardently follow the same.
In future, to avoid to mistake that I committed I have decided to be more mindful and
also devote more attention to the work that I am performing. More importantly, I have also
decided to undertake a personal research regarding the concept of patient safety and the different
ways in which it can be followed effectively. I am hoping that this would help me to improve the
quality of the healthcare treatment services which are being offered by me to the patients and
thereby help me to attain the desired level of professional development as well. Thus, it can be
said that the incident under discussion here was an educational one for me and thereby likely to
facilitate my professional growth as a healthcare assistant as well.

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JOURNAL 5
Entry No. 5
Date:
This journal would focus on an incident which taught me the importance of effective time
management and also the benefits that the healthcare workers can derive through the effective
usage of the same within the healthcare setting. A few backs I had to take an early leave and thus
I needed to attend to all the patients who were my responsibility within a certain specific amount
of time. However, since I had not effectively developed my time management skill or ability
effectively till now so I found it really very difficult to attend to all the patients within the
stipulated time. Thus, I had to take the help of my colleagues for the completion of the different
tasks or job roles that were allocated because of my inadequate time management skills.
The most important thing that I learned from the incident under discussion here can be
attributed to the fact that I was able to learn about the importance of the concept of time
management within the particular context of the healthcare setting. For instance, had I possessed
adequate time management skills then I would have been able to attend the different patients
adequately and thereby offer them the required healthcare treatment services. However, since I
didn’t posses this particular skill I had to take the help of my colleagues for the adequate
completion of the job roles which I was required to complete within the care center.
More importantly, the major challenge that I faced in the incident under discussion here
can be attributed to the fact that my lack of time management skills or abilities hindered the
effective completion of the different patients that I was required to take care of. More
importantly, it had been seen that the healthcare workers are often required to work under

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stressful conditions and also handle large volumes of work. Thus, it can be said that the
acquisition of this particular skill set becomes important from the perspective of my professional
development since it will not only enable me to effectively complete the different job roles that
would be delegated to me but would also help me to offer the best quality healthcare treatment
services to the patients as well. Furthermore, I am hoping to acquire the required time
management skills by way of attending different workshops, skill development programs,
vocational courses and others. These are likely to help me to acquire the skill under discussion
here and thereby facilitate the process of my professional development. Thus, it can be said that
the incident under discussion here was an important one from my perspective since while making
me understand the importance of the time management skill, it also made me understand the
professional growth that I can attain through the acquisition of this particular skill.

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PART TWO: REFLECTIVE REPORT
Introduction
As stated by Singh (2015), the healthcare workers are required to have different
important skills or abilities like cultural competency, time management, management skills,
effective communication skills and others. Anderson, McKee and Talbot (2017) are of the
viewpoint that the effective usage of these skills helps the healthcare workers to offer high
quality treatment services to the patients and also adequately complete the diverse job roles that
they are required to complete within the healthcare setting.
Aims
The aim of this reflective report is to undertake a critical analysis of the learning that I
have derived through my work in the residential care home and also my plans moving forwarded.
Main learning in relation to healthcare practices
As the journal entries clearly indicate my work experience in the residential care center
was an important learning experience for me. More importantly, I was able to understand the
kind of skill sets or for that matter the abilities which the healthcare workers require in order to
offer adequate healthcare services to their patients taking into account their different needs or
requirements. Some of the important ones in this regard are cultural competency, effective
communication skills (both verbal and non-verbal communication skills), adequate management
skills, time management, the need to take into account the safety of the patients and others. The
effective usage of these skills or abilities is directly related to the quality of the healthcare

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treatment services which are being offered to the patients and thus it becomes important for the
healthcare workers to inculcate these skills or abilities (Kaye et al. 2015).
Key pieces of learning and awareness in terms of your integration into the healthcare Team
The work which I undertook in the residential care home clearly indicates that I do not
possess the above skills or abilities that the healthcare workers are required to have so to cater to
the treatment needs of the patients. This in turn is likely to make my integration within the
healthcare teams of the different healthcare organizations a very task. Thus, it becomes all the
more important for me to effectively inculcate these skill sets so as to attain the right level of
professional growth as well as development.
Positives and Negatives of your Work Experience
As already mentioned, the work experience that I derived was a great learning experience
for me and I was not only able to know that I lack but also the skills that I need to acquire in
order to work in the healthcare sector. I would say that this is perhaps the most important
positive aspects of the work which I undertook in the residential care home. For instance, the
experience that I gathered by working at the care center clearly indicates that I lack non-verbal
communication skills, time management skills, management skills, cultural competency, patient
safety skills along with other ones. However, an analysis of the skill sets of any healthcare
worker would reveal the fact that these are some of the most basic skill sets that they are required
to have and thus it becomes important for me to acquire these skills so as to succeed in the
healthcare sector. The positive aspects of the work experience notwithstanding there are some
negative aspects of the same as well. For example, I personally believe that the experience that I
got was very limited in nature since I was required to work with only the elderly patients and this

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in turn substantially narrowed down the exposure that I got. This in turn is the most important
negative aspect of the work experience that I got.
What you would do differently during Work Experience should you get the opportunity
again
I would say that the mistakes or the errors that I made while working at the residential
care home under discussion here can be attributed to my lack of knowledge and also skill sets.
However, presently the educational course that I am undertaking along with the different skill
development programs had substantially enhanced my skill set and also knowledge base. Thus, it
is likely that if I get the same opportunity again I would not make the same mistakes or errors
again and would try to offer the best quality healthcare treatment services to the patients.
Plans Moving Forward
The work experience clearly indicates the skills that I need to develop so as to attain the
desired level of success within the healthcare sector. Thus, I have decided to take the help of
different workshops, vocational courses, skill development, programs, training programs and
others for the effective development of the skills that I lack and also the ones that are needed to
work within the healthcare sector.
Conclusion
To conclude, the healthcare workers are required to possess different skills which in turn
facilitates the completion of the diverse tasks or for that matter the job roles that are being
delegated to them. Furthermore, the quality of the healthcare treatment services that are being

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offered by the healthcare workers greatly depends on the effectiveness with which they are being
able to use these skills.

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PORTFOLIO
Skills Audit
Edwards et al. (2015) are of the viewpoint that the healthcare treatment services which
are being offered to the patients by the healthcare professionals depends on the conglomerate
usage of the different skill sets that they have and also the effectiveness with which they are
being used by the healthcare workers. Adding to this, Guise and Wiig (2017) have noted that the
different skills that the healthcare workers possess are meant for the attainment or for that matter
the achievement of different objectives which in turn determines the overall quality of care that
is being offered by them. For instance, the adequate usage of the concept of cultural competency
or cultural intelligence helps the healthcare workers to take into perspective the cultural
traditions of the patients within the practices or the measures which are being followed by them
for offering the required treatment services (Gasiorek and Van de Poel 2018). This can be
explained on the basis of the fact that the healthcare treatment practices and also the beliefs
varies from culture to culture and the individuals from a particular culture generally like to
follow their cultural traditions only (Kaye et al. 2015). On the other hand, the adequate usage of
the other skills like time management, patient safety, effective management practices, verbal and
non-verbal communication skills and others not only helps the healthcare professionals to
effectively complete the job roles that they are being allocated to complete but also administer
high quality healthcare treatment services to the patients as well (Hecht, Buhse and Meyer 2016).
An analysis of my own skills, knowledge, qualities and others and the ones that I intend
to possess so as to work effectively in the healthcare are listed below-

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Skills, Knowledge and Personal Qualities Audit
I currently possess:
Skills Knowledge Qualities
The skills that I presently
possess which are likely to
help me to work in the
healthcare sector are effective
verbal communication skill,
critical decision making skill,
the ability to handle work
stress and be calm under
stressful conditions and
others
The knowledge that I
presently have is largely
related to the theoretical
concepts of healthcare
treatment services which I
have acquired through the
educational course that I am
undertaking presently
The most important qualities
of mine which are likely to
help me work effectively
within the healthcare sector
are the fact that I am honest,
hard working in nature,
completely dedicated and
others
I would like to possess:
Skills Knowledge Qualities
The skills that I need to
acquire so as to work
effectively within the
healthcare sector are non-
verbal or gestural
communication skills,
I personally believe that in
order to work effectively
within the spectrum of the
healthcare sector just the
theoretical knowledge
derived from the educational
The qualities that I need to
acquire in order to work
effectively within the
healthcare industry are
passion towards the
healthcare work, empathy for

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cultural competency or
cultural intelligence, effective
time management,
management skills and others
institutions is not enough.
Thus, I would to gain an
insight into the practical
implementation of the
different theoretical concepts
that have been taught to me
by the educational institution.
the people and others
The learning goals that I have outlined for myself from the placement that I am taking,
the strategies that I would use for the achievement of the same along with the contingency plans
are elucidated below-
 Gathering an in-depth or insightful knowledge regarding the manner in which the actual
treatment services are being offered to the patients. This is important since often it is seen
that the actual implementation or for that matter the usage of the theoretical concepts
which are being taught in the educational institution is very different from the ones which
are actually being used within the spectrum of the diverse healthcare organizations.
Furthermore, I intend to achieve this particular learning goal by closely observing the
working style of the different healthcare professionals and learning as much as possible
from them. The contingency plan that I have developed is to request the healthcare
professionals to offer me the notes of the patients that they have written down so as to
understand the manner in which treatment needs to be offered to the patients.

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 The second learning goal that I have formulated is to develop my cultural competency by
getting the opportunity to work closely with the different healthcare professionals. I
intend to achieve this goal by trying to understand the cultural traditions of the healthcare
professionals and the manner in which they modify it as per the needs of the patients to
offer them the required healthcare treatment services. The contingency plan which I have
developed is to interact with the patients and by analyzing their cultural tradition develop
my own cultural competency.
 The third learning goal that I have developed is to gain a working knowledge of the
manner in which the healthcare professionals take into account the concept of patient
safety. I intend to achieve this goal by closely observing the behavior of the different
healthcare professionals with whom I would be working with. The contingency plan that
I have developed for the achievement of this goal is to analyze the manuals, records and
others of the healthcare organization so as to understand the practices related to patient
safety that they are required to follow.
The most important challenges which galore the health support industry presently as per my
understanding are listed below-
 The ever-increasing number of cybercrimes had placed the private or the confidential
medical history of the patients which are being saved by the healthcare organizations for
reference purposes at a high risk
 The increase amount of political interferences in the operations of the healthcare
organizations had emerged as an important challenge for them
 The reduction in government and private funding is another important challenge that the
concerned sector is presently facing

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 The unethical practices followed by the pharmaceutical industry for the manufacture of
drugs or medicines is also taking a toll on the healthcare services offered by the health
support industry
 The lack of resources available for the treatment of different chronic illnesses is another
important challenge
The most important opportunities which galore the health support industry presently as per
my understanding are listed below-
 The opportunity to save the lives of thousands of people who are suffering from various
terminal illnesses through the effective usage of different kinds of innovative
technologies
 The opportunity to reduce the death rate of the world by offering state-of-the-art
healthcare treatment services to the patients
 The opportunity to improve the quality of drugs or medicines which are available to the
patients by effectively collaborating within the pharmaceutical industry
 The opportunity to improve the quality of treatment services or care which is being
offered to the patients through the usage of adequate practices

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Legislation
As stated by Coeckelbergh (2015), the different legislations, policies, procedures and
others of the national government related to the healthcare sector are important since they greatly
influence or for that matter guide the practices which are being followed by the healthcare
organizations. Mitchell et al. (2016) are of the viewpoint that these are usually being designed by
the healthcare department of the nations taking into perspective the treatment needs or the
requirement of the patients along with the socio-economic or the socio-cultural climate of the
concerned nations. Adding to this, Bryant et al. (2016) have noted that the primary objective of
these legislations, policies or the procedures is to improve the quality of the healthcare treatment
services that are available to the patients and thereby help them to lead a fruitful life.
As discussed by Carter, Boden and Peno (2019), the healthcare department of the
different nations have formulated policies, legislations, procedures and others in collaboration
with the national government of the concerned nation for guiding the different affairs of the
healthcare organizations, be it related to the healthcare services that they offer, the manner in
which it is being delivered, the recruitment policies followed by them, the safety policies
followed by them and others. For instance, it is seen that the different healthcare organizations
are required to take into account the various legislations related to employment for the
recruitment of the healthcare professionals. Some of the most important legislations related to
employment that the healthcare organizations are required to follow are “Employment Equality
Act 1998”, “Equality Act 2004”, “Employment Equality Acts of 2004” (dealing specifically with
discrimination at work) and others (Citizensinformation.ie 2019). Wrigstad, Bergström and
Gustafson (2017) are of the viewpoint that the major objectives of these regulations are to ensure
that equal employment opportunity is being available to all the individuals and discrimination is

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being not meted out to them, the recruitment of the healthcare workers is being done on the basis
of their qualification or experience and not on the basis of other factors like their ethnicity, race,
gender and other factors. Adding to this, De Iongh and Giles (2015) have noted that the effective
usage of these legislations ensures the fact that the healthcare workers do not have to face any
kind of discrimination within the healthcare organizations and are being able to work adequately
to provide the best quality healthcare treatment services to the patients.
According to Mitchell et al. (2016), along with the legislations related to employment, the
different healthcare organizations are also required to take into account the diverse regulations
related to health and safety as well. In this relation, it needs to be said that the most important
legislations related to health and safety that the healthcare organizations are required to follow
are “The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005”, “Health Act 2007 (Care and Welfare
of Residents in Designated Centres for Older People), (Amendment) Regulations 2010”, “Mental
Health Act 2008”, “Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Act 2013”, “Social Welfare and
Pensions (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013” and others (Irishstatutebook.ie 2019). Carter,
Boden and Peno (2019) are of the viewpoint that the primary objective behind the usage of these
legislations is to ensure the safety of the patients and also the healthcare professionals by taking
into account the factors which can adversely affect the health as well as the wellbeing of both the
patients and the healthcare professionals. More importantly, it had been seen that the different
healthcare organizations in order to safeguard the safety of both the patients and also the
healthcare professionals are presently taking the help of different kinds of hand-hygiene policy,
effective waste management policy and others (Bryant et al. 2016).
Wrigstad, Bergström and Gustafson (2017) have noted that the effective usage of these
policies as well as legislations have helped the different healthcare organizations to reduce the

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instances or for that matter cases wherein the patients and the healthcare professionals would get
infected because of the disregard of safety policies. As discussed by De Iongh and Giles (2015),
these are important since they are likely to help the healthcare organizations and also the
healthcare professionals who are related to them to substantially improve the quality of
healthcare treatment services which are being offered by them to the patients. In the light of
these aspects, it can be said that effective usage of the different governmental policies,
procedures, legislations and others is important since on the one hand it helps the healthcare
organizations to comply with the stipulations of the national government and on the other hand
offers them the opportunity to improve the quality of healthcare treatment services which are
being provided by them.

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Participation on work experience
Fox et al. (2016) are of the viewpoint that the aspect of meeting deadlines is more
important within the spectrum of the healthcare sector perhaps than in any other industry because
even a minor delay can cost the patients their life. Adding to this, Everett-Thomas et al. (2016)
have noted that if the healthcare workers are being able to complete their different tasks within
the deadline which had been stipulated to them then this not only enhances the safety of the
patients but also ensures the fact that the best quality healthcare treatment services are being
delivered to them as well. In this relation, I would like to elucidate an important incident while I
was working at the residential care home wherein I was required to meet deadline and I am
happy to say that I was able to complete the task within the deadline that was given to me. The
incident happened a few months ago when my supervisor asked me to prepare the medical
reports of six of our patients who would be shifted to another residential care home within the
next three hours. It was not only an urgent work but at the same time a critical one since one
mistake on my part would have adversely affected the recovery process of the patients. However,
by keeping myself calm I was able to meet the deadline that was being given to me.
As discussed by Aveling et al. (2015), the interpersonal skills are important for the
healthcare workers since it not only helps them to make the patients understand the diseases or
for that matter the illnesses that they are suffering from but also helps them to make the family
members of the patients understand the things that they need to do to help the patients recover.
Adding to this, Detroyer et al. (2016) have noted that the interpersonal skills also facilitate the
process of communication among the healthcare workers which in turn substantially improves
the quality of care that is being provided to the patients. A few days ago our nurse leader could
not make it to the care home because of some personal issues and on that particular day the work

25WORK EXPERIENCE
load that we were required to handle was extremely high. Furthermore, the lack of coordination
among us also made it almost impossible for us to complete the work. Thus, I realizing the
gravity of the situation gathered all the healthcare workers and through the adequate usage of the
process of communication was able to make them understand the gravity of the situation and also
the things that they needed to for the management of the situation. This in helped the healthcare
professionals to work accordingly which in turn helped us to administer the required healthcare
treatment services to the patients.
According to Stanyon et al. (2016), the healthcare workers in the present times along with
the required knowledge and basic skill sets also need to have adequate technological knowledge
or for that matter the skill to work with the devices that are based on recent technologies.
Everett-Thomas et al. (2016) are of the viewpoint that within the healthcare sector it is seen that
the healthcare professionals are increasingly taking the help of different kinds of innovative
technologies for improving the quality of treatment services that are being offered by them to the
patients. Our care home had made the entire building completely paper-free and thus all the
reports of the patients are being sent to the doctors via emails. A few weeks ago one of my
seniors called me to his cabin and asked me if I could help him to find out why no new emails
were entering into his mail box. I checked his inbox and found that its capacity was full. Thus, I
asked him to delete some of his junk mails and also the ones which he didn’t needed and after he
did this he was able to once again receive new mails.
As stated by Berger and Frey (2015), the HIQA regulations are intended to model the
healthcare services which are being offered by the healthcare organization as per the regulations
or for that matter the legislations stipulated by the national government. Rasoal et al. (2017) are
of the viewpoint that the most important roles of HIQA are to formulate the regulate standards

26WORK EXPERIENCE
that the healthcare organizations are required to follow, undertake inspections to check whether
the standards or the stipulations are being followed by the healthcare organizations or nor and
also to review the same as well. I would like to say that while working I forgot to change my
gloves and because of this I received a significant amount of scolding from my senior since it
was in direct violation of the patient safety policy stipulated by the HIQA. Thus, from then on I
always ensure the fact that I completely abide by the policies and the procedures of the HIQA
and also the healthcare services offered by me are in aligned with the stipulations of the same.

27WORK EXPERIENCE
Your own role while on work placement
I am of the viewpoint that my primary responsibility as a healthcare workers is to help the
patients recover from the illnesses that they are facing by offering them the best quality
healthcare treatment services while taking into account the aspect of patient safety into
consideration. More importantly, I personally believe that for a healthcare worker to productive
or for that matter efficient he or she needs to work effectively within a team. Thus, during my
placement I tried to be a team member and thereby tried my level best to help my teammates
along with performing the work roles that were delegated to me. For example, I always tried to
help my seniors to prepare the medical reports of the different patients and also helped them to
administer the required treatment services while they were on their usual rounds. More
importantly, in order to be productive or for that matter to be of value I also tried to help my
seniors with the different emergency cases as well.
There were various challenges that I faced while on my work placement and in retrospect
I would say that they actually helped me learn many important things about the job that the
healthcare professionals are required to perform. For instance, one of the most challenges that I
faced can be ascribed to the gulf between theory and practice and thus in the initial few days I
was not being able to relate any of the things which was going on around me since I had only
theoretical knowledge and no idea about the way they were actually used in real-time scenarios.
Another important challenge that I faced can be ascribed to the fact that prior to this I never took
care of the elderly people or for that matter administered treatment to them however during this
placement the majority of the patients I dealt with were elderly patients. In addition to these, the
inadequate skill sets or for that matter the abilities that I possessed substantially contributed
towards the problems faced by me at the placement under discussion here.

28WORK EXPERIENCE
There were various positive outcomes of the placement which I undertook and also I was
able to learn many new things as well. For instance, I was able to substantially enhance my
knowledge base and know the manner in which the theories or the concepts that had been taught
to me in the classroom were being actually used within the real-time scenarios. Furthermore, I
was also able to acquire different information skills like cultural competency or cultural
intelligence, non-verbal or gestural communication, management practices, time management
skills and others. More importantly, the placement under discussion here also offered me the
required amount of exposure of working with actual patients which in turn had substantially
boosted my confidence as well. Thus, I would say that overall the placement had different
positive aspects and I personally believe that the same had made me more competent to offer
adequate healthcare treatment services to the patients.

29WORK EXPERIENCE
Evaluation of work experience and future plans
I would like to say that during the placement I ensured to show my active participation in
the different tasks which were allocated to me and also the diverse group works that were being
delegated to us. More importantly, by way of actively participating in different kinds of work on
the placement I was not only able to learn many things but at the same time substantially
enhance my skill sets as well. Furthermore, before joining this placement I had only theoretical
knowledge related to the health support work and no practical experience of the same. However,
it was during this placement that I was not only being able to get the right kind of exposure for
the first time but also gain an understanding of the manner in which the theoretical concepts that
had been taught to me in the classroom were actually being used. In addition to these, I was also
being able to inculcate different important skill sets that the healthcare workers are required to
have from my seniors like non-verbal or gestural communication, cultural competency, time
management skills and others. These are likely to help me to offer the best quality healthcare
treatment services to the patients and thus I would say that the participation and the progress
which I showed on the placement needs to be positively graded.
I was able to learn many important things while working on the placement and I am
hoping that these knowledge or information would help me in the later part of my professional
career in the healthcare industry. For instance, an important knowledge that I was being able to
derive during the placement was the importance of the concept of patient safety and also the
negative aspects of the disregard of the same. In this relation, I would say that the concept of
patient safety is an important one that all the healthcare professionals are required to follow so as
to safeguard the safety of the patients and also of themselves as well. In addition to these, I was
also being able to gain a working idea of the manner in which the elderly patients were actually

30WORK EXPERIENCE
being offered treatment services and to my surprise this was substantially different from the
techniques or for that matter the practices that had been taught to me in the classroom. More
importantly, I was also being able to get insightful information about the different important
skills that the healthcare workers are required to possess and this in turn helped me to gain an
idea about the skills that I need to acquire so as to work within the healthcare industry.
The first thing that I would do in any similar jobs in future is the fact that I would not
repeat the mistakes or for that matter the errors which I committed while working on this
placement. More importantly, I would try to effectively implement the knowledge or information
regarding the different important concepts like patient safety, safety procedures and others that
the healthcare professionals and also the healthcare organizations are required to use, for the
completion of the different tasks or the job roles that would be delegated to me. In addition to
these, I would also try to utilize the skill sets which I have gained while working on this
placement into practice so as to offer the requirement healthcare services to the patients and also
to facilitate the process of their recovery as well. Furthermore, I would also try to be much more
attentive on the job so as to learn as much as I can from my seniors and also my colleagues as
well. These in short are some of the things which I would like to do if I manage to get any
similar work in future.
Moving forward, I would like to enhance my skill set and also the knowledge that I have
so to obtain the required competency to work within the healthcare industry and also have
adequate skills to offer the desired healthcare treatment services to the patients as well. For
instance, I am hoping to take the help of different kinds of vocational courses, workshops,
training programs and others for the effective development of the skills that are needed by the
individuals to work within the health support industry. In addition to these, I would also focus on

31WORK EXPERIENCE
the things which are being taught to me in the classroom since without having an understanding
of the theoretical concepts I would not be able to understand the practical implications of the
same. More importantly, I would also try to get more work placements as well as internships
wherein I would be able to work with the healthcare professionals and learn the best practices of
administering the required healthcare treatment services to the patients from them. These in short
are three of the most important things that I intend to do moving forward.

32WORK EXPERIENCE
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