Introduction

Reflection is a process of exploring and examining ourselves, our thoughts, feelings, opinions, actions, and experiences to improve the way we work and care for patients (Boud et al. 2003). The purpose of this essay is to reflect on how effective communication and professional skills is essential in healthcare, types of communication and communication in the workplace. Also, this essay will explore the advantages and disadvantages of working in a team and the problem faced as a team taking care of Hollie. Also, I will conclude the essay with an action plan for my personal development.

Communication and Professional Skills

Significantly, according to Cheek (2009), Communication is the process of passing on information from one person to another. Communication is crucial in developing a relationship with patients, colleagues and building trust. Most complaints in the healthcare emanate from poor communication between the staff members and the patients. Further, this course taught me that effective communication is essential, because it creates more precise and more streamlined work procedures, builds healthy relationships, increases productivity, influence stronger problem-solving and decision-making, and enhance the professional image.

Additionally, I learned that the ability to communicate effectively with colleagues, supervisors, managers, and staff is essential regardless of the organization where I will work. Excellent communication skills can help me to get employment, obtain promotions, and be successful throughout my career.

Throughout this course, I realized that it was essential to incorporate listening which is a vital part of the communication process. However, good listeners can make good communicators, but bad listeners have a hard time comprehending what they are asked to do. I learned that I could practice active listening, which is something I lacked and needed to improve. Further, active listening requires paying close attention to what the other individual is saying, rephrasing their points, and asking clarifying queries to enhance understanding. In essence, active listening causes a better understanding of what the other person is saying and makes the receiver of the message to respond appropriately.

Additionally, non-verbal communication includes hand gesture, body language, the tone of the voice, and eye contact that send the message an individual is transmitting. Therefore, an open stance that consists of relaxed legs and open arms and a friendly tone would make an individual approachable and encourage others to speak openly. Also, eye contact is crucial in a conversation. For instance, looking into the eyes of another person show that the listener is concentrating and shows respect (Wood 2015). However, it is considered rude to stare at a person for too long. For instance, if a person does not maintain eye contact, it would mean that they are hiding the truth or they are uncomfortable.

Significantly, excellent verbal communication requires concision and clarity. Concision and transparency mean that a person should only say enough, not too little or too much. Further, the sender of a given message should use as few words as possible that are direct and more precise (Freeman and Neale, 2010). This view also applies when communicating through an email or a phone. If the communicator rumbles on, the listener will lose concentration or will not know what the discussion is on.

Also, in the healthcare setting, staff should communicate with patients to ensure successful treatment. Friendliness is another critical skill obtained from the course. Importantly, through a personal question, friendly tone, or a simple smile, the person communicating will encourage the listeners to engage in an honest and open conversation. An excellent communicator should be open-minded. It is crucial to listen to what the other person is saying and understanding their perspectives first. Further, if a person willingly gets into a dialogue with people he or she disagrees with, it creates productive and honest talks.

Significantly, showing respect is another vital way of being a good communicator. In a conversation, it’s encouraged that a person uses the name of the recipient, makes eye contact, and participate in active listening (McGovern 2013). These actions create a person feel appreciated. In essence, when talking to a person, it is vital to avoid distractions by staying focused throughout the conversation. Additionally, it is crucial that one conveys respect when writing an email by editing the message to ensure it is not sloppily written, and not confusing to the recipient.

However, communication cannot be useful if one does not choose the medium of conveying messages rightly. A vital communication skill that I learned in the course is deciding how to communicate with different people and have the opportunity to interact with service users and how they communicate which will help me in my career. Apart from communication skills, I learned about professional skills. A crucial professional ability I learned is interest in work. Being interest in a given job shows how enthusiastic an individual is and how much pride they have in completing their tasks.

Additionally, this skill is crucial since an employer desires to see employees being eager and passionate about achieving their job and helping them enhance their firm as a whole. In essence, happiness in the workplace is the ultimate booster of productivity. Also, taking the initiative is another professional skill that employees feel is a self-starter.  It is essential for the employees to perceive the workers as motivated when they complete the assigned work and ask for additional tasks after they finish. The employee should identify what they need to do in the company and complete tasks without supervision. The most important aspect is taking the initiative in the workplace to obtain more knowledge and skills about the organization and in the process, they become more valuable to the company.

Also, planning and organizing help the employees complete their responsibility in a timely and efficient way. The skill to plan and organize is crucial in the fast-paced business world due to the need to multitask with the aim of staying ahead. Organizing and planning is an important skill one needs to improve on because without planning and organization it will be challenging to work in any workplace. Additionally, there is a need to set goals in the workplace. As an employee, one has to set individual goals at the beginning of my work duration and work towards attaining these goals progressively. Quite significantly, an employer would expect their workers to focus on their goals, by referring back at them and regularly improving their skills and abilities to attain them.

Notably, goals are paramount since business models are established on the objectives to ensure there is progress, and objective met. Importantly, setting up goals is an effective way of creating and attaining various objectives. The goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely (Key 2011). The ability to learn refers to the amount of knowledge, information, abilities, and skills that a worker can obtain while doing a given job. It is crucial for an employee to see the progress in their work to help them discover new opportunities.

Further, I learned that the quality of work is another professional skill that was emphasized in this course. Employers want to see no errors at all especially in the healthcare setting, where medical errors have fatal consequences. Lack of mistakes means that the employee is careful in their job and ensure tasks are completed exceptionally (Hepworth et al. 2016). Although employees are not encouraged to be workaholics, they should ensure they have enough work done in a day to be beneficial in the organization. Creativity in the workplace refers to the overall productivity of the workers.

It’s important to note that, the employees should be imaginative and bright to make initiatives that make their business ahead of the rest in a competitive setting. At the workplace, the employees are expected to integrate and reflect on their prior learning (Hargie 2017). Therefore, there is a need for me as an employee, to reflect and think deeply about experiences at work or school and apply these factors in my current work activities. Further, one learns that a worker should have the ability to relate their previous knowledge to the present issues. This skill is a valuable asset for anyone as a worker and a student, and as one reflects on their experiences. Additionally, I will learn new concepts and enhance my creativity in the workplace and help me when I’m doing my work placements.

Further, Judgment is another professional skill that one obtains from the course. Judgment is essential because it helps employees to resolve issues and dilemmas. Notably, employers hire employees that they feel could make professional and sound decisions as working in healthcare involves human lives. The employees should have problem-solving skills to make sound judgments (Miller and Mohrman 2008). Therefore, as an employee, I should be competent to deliver assignments on time and not be late to work. Also, from the course, I learned to be responsible for ensuring that I am reliable to colleagues.

Additionally, I realized that interpersonal behavior is essential in the workplace which is something I have to improve on. Interpersonal behavior includes being part of a team, building effective relationships and focusing on being an excellent team player. In most cases, organizations rely on cooperation and teamwork. Although conflicts are part of any workplace,  one should know how to handle conflict as an employee. In essence, the ability to consistently and effectively handle interpersonal challenges is crucial. Employees should resolve disagreements without compromising their job or others.

Hollie

Significantly, taking care of Hollie as a team was important because it helped me to listen to others to boost my confidence. It was challenging, but it enabled the team members to support their colleagues, and take responsibility for the tasks of the project given (Guntly et al. 2005).

Old age is also a sensitive phase where older adults require comfort and care to have a healthy life without anxiety and worries (Enriquez and Walton 2012).

Additionally, the use of a team to take care of the vulnerable elderly is essential. In a group, I learned that communication and understanding role is crucial for effective interpersonal working. A team environment needs collaboration, brainstorming, and joint projects. However, working efficiently in a team requires patience, tact, and the willingness to work with others. This group work taught me that the team members needed to have the right mindset, be respectful and appreciate the contribution of others (Oandasan et al. 2011). In a team, the better the team members work with others, the more successful they are likely to be in attaining their various goals.

Although taking care of Hollie as a team was useful, some challenges came up. For instance, the absence of trust since some team members was adamant to be vulnerable with others. Some were not willing to admit their weaknesses, mistakes, or need for help (Berk 2017). Some members had a fear of conflict, and others lacked commitment. Some team members avoided accountability and others paid little attention to the team objectives. However, working in a team was very difficult and multifaceted. The huge challenge for the members of the group was how to manage the procedures of the organization while at the same time each member is trying to maintain their lives and this is something I have to improve on.

Significantly, the teamwork failed because my team did not apply the standardized procedures which include planning, interventions, and co-operation. We should have planned adequately on the treatment, personal hygiene, and feeding of Hollie. These responsibilities would have eliminated the misunderstandings and internet issues that led to some members missing their slots. Therefore, The intervention should be on programs that are familiar to each member of the group. This intervention would have facilitated the performance of daily duties. Besides, it would have helped with the adjustments and adaptation of each member of the team’s lives.

On the other hand, we lacked co-operation as well as coordination with each other. Working in a team taught me that cooperation and coordination would have helped the team members to fill up for those who were missing their slots due to health issues and other problems. Hence, the application of standardized procedures would have helped majorly in improving Hollie’s health. Therefore, caring for Hollie has taught me so much on how teamwork operates which will make me an excellent occupational therapist in the future.

Primarily, the whole experience was refreshing and helped in developing my skills. In the future, I intend to use the skills obtained such as effective time management, solving a conflict in a team setting, and being accountable. In the future, I am likely to be a better team member by effectively communicating with my colleagues and asking for help when I need it. Additionally, I will be keen on team objectives, and keep track of my duties and the time is taken to attain them. Also, I will be respectful of others and appreciate everyone’s opinion and effort towards achieving team development.

Conclusion

In conclusion, reflective practice is an essential skill in healthcare. Therefore, reflective practice is a great way to increase confidence and become more proactive and courageous in the future. Communication, professional skills, and teamwork are vital in working in any healthcare setting. Therefore, it is important to improve my communication skills and the ability to work in any team. Also, reflective practice will help me to improve the quality of care I give to patients and also enhancing my clinical knowledge. As a student occupational therapist, communication skills will ensure the effective treatment of patients. Further, patients can trust me more, and this makes treatment faster and timely. Also, building my professional skills will help me know how to reinforce confidentiality, reduce judgment, build respect with patients, and empower patients on self-care.

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