3. Using reflection and critical thinking to address health and social care dilemmas and solve problems

3. Using reflection and critical thinking to address health and social care dilemmas and solve problems   -by alexandra-iulia.popa19@bathspa.ac.uk 

One of the tools in enabling one to address health and social care dilemmas and solve problems in the development of a reflective journal. The three-step- the reflective framework is the technique that can help to develop the systematic reflective practice in order to improve one’s personal and professional skills (Hegarty, 2011). It enables one to follow easy steps, taking self away from the situation and viewing it after it happened and emotions are down. 

The first step of the framework is the description of the event. It requires one to write down what has happened, including environmental circumstances, people who were involved and their actions during the event, self-experience, actions, responses to the event and how did it make one feel. Once the description notes are recorded it is time to analyse. The second step of analysis includes many questions, why did the event happen, was is building up/expected or sudden/unexpected event, why one and others reacted in that particular way, did it lead to positive or negative outcomes and why. The purpose of the second step is to become an active and reflective learner. Once all the questions are analysed and answers are proposed, it is time to move to the final step of action. The first part of the final step in case of a negative outcome is to establish errors that occurred and what could have been done to avoid them. In contrast, if the outcome was good, it needs to be identified what has led to the successful result. The second part of step three is to plan actions for the future in case of a similar event. 

The important point of the reflective journal is that it has to be done in writing on regular basis. Writing enables one to concentrate on the details, create sections, graphs or tables for better visual understanding, put emotions aside, take self away from the event and view it from the side. Moreover, it teaches to separate description from the analysis and set the time for reflection. In addition, it allows to go back to the previous section and add things if remember extra details. After completing two steps it allows one to read through them when drafting an action plan for future practice. It teaches to carefully identify and analyse by following simple steps, which in some time would become a habit of doing it on regular basis subconsciously and evolve into a critical reflective person and professional.

   The other good way to address the issues in the health and social care sector is the establishment of two-way communication through the implementation of the feedback system for both: colleagues and clients. It is important to note that feedback is closely linked to reflective practice as enables multiple dimensions’ view and eliminates personal biases. It allows to take into account the opinion and feeling of the other people of interest and assess the impact of self-actions on the wider social network which is crucial in health and social care practice. There are frameworks that help the feedback implementation. One of the widely used feedback models is the DESC feedback receiving/giving technique that contains four steps: description, effect, solution and conclusion (Levey, 2013). It is strongly advised to collect/do it in a writing manner and use notes for communicating it back to those concerned. The first step of description includes identifying personal observations, event or course of actions. The second step is the effect that the event or course of actions had on one personally. This includes the emotions and feeling, or disciplinary effects like warning or notices from above as a direct result of the mentioned event/actions. The step of the solution is the personal opinion of what could have been done differently in order to avoid failures, errors and achieve better outcomes in the future. This could either be a firm form of an opinion or an invitation to collectively propose problem-solving action. The final step of the conclusion includes an explanation of consequences for all the parties if the behaviour would change to the proposed one. It is like “building a contract of commitment” between all people involved. Feedback is an extremely useful part of reflective practice, as well as, of overall communication.

 

The paper provided insight into reflection within the health and social care settings, by breaking it down into three main parts of theories and models of reflective practice, value and application of critical thinking, and application of reflection and critical thinking in order to tackle the problems. It introduced and explained the various tools and frameworks that enable and encourage the learning of reflective practice. Moreover, it evaluated the significance of developing self-reflection in a sense of personal and professional growth.

References:

Aveyard, H. (2015) (2013) A Beginner's Guide To Critical Thinking And Writing In Health And Social Care (UK Higher Education Humanities & Social Sciences Health & Social Welfare). Paperback.
Fook, J. (2012. 1st Edition. Critical Reflection in Context: Applications in Health and Social Care Routledge
Key web-based and electronic resources
Free Ethical Learning and Development Resource for People and Organisations
http://www.businessballs.com/reflective-practice.htm
The Foundation for Critical Thinking website for Students and Professionals
www.Criticalthinking.org

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