Essay
Work Experience assignments 1 and 2
- Institution
- PEARSON (PEARSON)
All criteria covered for this module
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Work experienceHarvard references
P1
Developing skills and attributes
Reflecting on own skills and attributes and areas of development
The health and social care student book 2 said that Important preparation for work experience is to
reflection your own skills and attributes, and areas for development. In order to do this properly, you
need reflective skills. Reflective practice means actually imagining an event or circumstance, so you
are able to learn from it. If something has gone well, you can then say why it did and use what you
have learnt so you are able to reciprocate it in other circumstances when you need to during work
placement. If something has not gone as well as you hoped, you can think about why this was so
that you can then work on it, so you are prepared for if you need to do it again. Reflection also aids
you to get why certain tasks are done in a specific way. For example, the health and social care
student book 2 said that if you are on work experience in a primary school you may see a learning
mentor spend 10 minutes at the start of each day with a young child with behavioural difficulties.
Upon reflection, this would make you understand why this exercise relieves the child of any stress at
the start of each day, reminding them how to act and why and how they should behave
appropriately. Therefore, this would result in a better-behaved child who is more likely to listen and
act the way others do.
Developing professionalism
Being professional means applying the rules and regulations set by the workplace and by regulatory
bodies into your work. According to the health and social care student book 2, this will include
punctuality, dressing well, finishing tasks to a professional standard, good time-management, acting
responsibly, being prepared for meetings, treating others with respect, good attendance, doing what
you say you will do to the best of your ability, listening well and following procedures and policies.
You may show some of these attributes anyway but will further develop them during work
experience, learning from the example set by your colleagues.
Communication and interpersonal skills
Communication skills include listening, speaking, non-verbal messages and writing, be it written
down or over an electronical device. They allow you to exchange information with others without
having any difficulties if done effectively. According to the health and social care student book 2,
good communication skills are very important when working in health and social care as they help
you to things such as develop good relationships with the service users and with their families and
friends. This means you can understand and meet their needs, develop positive relationships with
colleagues and other professionals, share information with people using the services, by providing
and getting information and, report on the work you do with individuals. Interpersonal skills are
what you use to communicate with others in person. This includes how it is said and also and the
non-verbal messages you send such as body language and voice tone. In some situations, the way
you dress may also have implications on the way others communicate with you as it may give across
a certain message.
Organisational skills- time management and prioritising tasks
, Good time management means that you complete tasks in order to feel in control of you day-to-day
life, rather than feeling anxious, stresses or confused. Good time management according to the
health and social care student book 2, includes prioritising tasks and making sure you have breaks to
relax, which will make you more effective. For example, in the workplace if you know that you need
to ask someone something about your role, you could write down exactly what you need to ask
them, so you don’t have to keep going back and forth to ask them questions. As a result, this will
avoid you wasting their time and would make you more respected in the work place as it is clear you
are interested in your role and want to succeed
Prioritising tasks means finishing the activities that are most important first as then you can deal
with the less important tasks later when you have the time. It also means you can complete activities
efficiently and finishing it well, but it may be that you could have used your time better by noticing
the tasks which needed completing first before attempting anything else
Technical skills- data handling and using specialist equipment
To be used properly, information needs to be taken and written down in an appropriate manner.
This is called data handling. All data has to be placed in its correct place and in its correct format so
that it is able to be used effectively by the people that need it. Every individual will have separate
systems for data handling, and you will be informed on how your work experience setting does this
during your induction. They will also have certain policies and procedures in place and codes of
practice written by regulatory bodies, such as the Care Quality Commission, for you to look at and
follow at all times. The health and social student book 2 said that data can be as simple as a name,
date of birth and address but it can also include tables, graphs, and images, such as scans.
Specialist equipment may be needed in order to take a person-centred approach towards the
requirements of a service users, such as a stair lift used to take a disabled, non-mobile person
upstairs safely. You will see the equipment in use at your work experience placement but will not be
allowed to use it unless it is to help a service provider who is using it. You should be able to use
other equipment, such as thermometers, but only when being monitored by your supervisor who
should train you to use some equipment during your induction if needed. The health and social care
student book 2 said that, in the workplace, service providers are expected to keep up to date with
developments in specialist equipment
Teamwork skills
Teamwork is really important in health and social care workplaces as it enables both service users
and professionals to get the care and support they require. Resources are shared between
professionals in order to ensure good teamwork is being demonstrated. A positive relationship with
your colleagues is vital within health and social care as you need to be able to have trust in one
another in order to do your job properly. Therefore, you should express respectful and friendly
attitudes to endure that this is the case. All colleagues will have a role personal to them within the
workplace which all contribute to the car they provide. The health and social care student book 1
said that this is as important for teams who work together every day in a setting such as a care home
as it is for teams who may only see each other occasionally, such as in medical or community care.
Confidence and personal responsibility
Confidence is not something that can be learned from other, it is something that you have to teach
yourself due to it being a state of mind that requires development. The health and social care
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