The questions to support trainees can be used as an aid to the assessment of the ‘reflect’ competencies by the training officer or assessor. It is important that these are shared with the trainee, as this will enable the trainee to understand what success looks like in relation to reflecting on the competencies.
In the curriculum the ‘considerations’ section can also help you and the trainee. All of the areas in the considerations don’t need to be covered, and you can consider other things not listed as the reflection will be unique to the trainee and their experience.
This guidance includes suggestions from trainers who attended the reflective practice workshop at the National School of Healthcare Science Collaborative event on the 27 March 2023.
Guidance for the trainee to make the most of their observations
- Before you start:
- be clear what the purpose is – why you are doing it
- understand what the expectation of the competency is – what you will gain from it (success criteria)
- be prepared e.g. undertake relevant background reading – discuss with your Training Officer what this might be
- Ask questions about what you observe or make a note of questions to ask later.
- Take notes, write down what you see and how it made you feel.
- Make a note of anything you are unsure of to ask for clarification later.
- If you feel it would be beneficial, don’t limit yourself to the one experience e.g. shadow more than one professional; attend more than one MDT etc.
Questions to support trainee with reflections
Spend some quiet time thinking about the experience so that you might learn from it. Use a model of reflection of your choice and use the considerations section of the competency to help guide you.
These questions might help you to complete the competency:
- What have you observed or learnt from the experiences?
- How do these observations or experiences fit in with your own experiences / expectations? Were there any surprises? How did you feel about it?
- How have your views changed as a result of your observations or experience?
- How will your observations or experience influence or impact on your own practice or behaviours? What action will you now take? What will you take from the experience moving forward?
Assessing competencies
When assessing the reflect competencies, consider the following:
- Does it satisfy the competency and demonstrate insight?
- Are the conclusions drawn from the reflections evidence based?
The reflection should consider the topic area set out in the competency.