Values & Beliefs
Values and beliefs are an important consideration in care work. Values and beliefs that I have learned on this course are about human needs and Maslow Hierachy of needs which are basically just the same thing. Maslow's Hierachy of needs is a theory in psychology. Maslow subsequently extended the idea to include his observations of humans' innate curiosity. His theories parallel many other theories of human developmental psychology, all of which focus on describing the stages of growth in humans.
Maslow Hierachy of needs covers self-actualisation which talks about ones personal growth, realising personal potential, and fulfillments. It is not always clear what a person wants when there is a need for self-actualization.
Self-esteem which talks about achievement, status, responsibility and reputation. After the first three needs have been satisfied, esteem needs becomes increasingly important. These include the need for things that reflect on self-esteem, personal worth, social recognition and accomplishment.
Social needs talks about love, belonging and affection. Relationships such as friendships, romantic attachments and families help fulfil this need for companionship and acceptance, as does involvement in social, community or religious groups.
Security needs talks about protection, security, order, law, limits, stability and etc. Security needs are important for survival, but they are not as demanding as the physiological needs. Examples of security needs include a desire for steady employment, health insurance, safe neighbourhoods and shelter from the environment.
Last but not least Physiological needs talks about basic life needs- which are air, food, water, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep and etc. Maslow believed that these needs are the most basic and natural needs in the hierarchy because all needs become secondary until these physiological needs are met.
Care Value Base
I have also studied the Care value base which talks about dignity, privacy, respect, diversity and good communication skills. The seven principles of the care value base are;
- Promoting anti-discriminatory practice
- Maintaining confidentiality of information
- Promoting and supporting individual’s rights to dignity, independence and safety
- Acknowledge individual’s personal beliefs and identity
- Protecting individual’s from abuse
- Promoting effective communication and relationships
- Providing individualised care
A Care Value Base is a principled policy code which tells how carers need to act in different situations; they are not allowed to discriminate against anyone, be mean, or to provide privileged care for their patients. Examples of this may be if a member of staff talks about a service user and their personal life issues to another member of staff or take this outside the care sector, this issue could really upset the service user. Therefore staff should always maintain confidentiality of information. Also another example would be when staff don’t give service users their independence and treat them like they can’t do anything for themselves, this often makes the service user furious and put their self-esteem down. Providing the correct Care value base helps make a difference in the life of other people.
P3) Produce and monitor an action plan for self-development and the achievement of your personal goals.
I will now talk about why I want to create an action plan as part of my assignment. An action plan is always good and will help a lot. In future I would like to gain more knowledge and achieve skills which I need for higher education. In general I believe I can change myself and my behaviour by creating this action plan and actually sticking to it, in order to reach my destination. Extra knowledge and personal skills will support me with my studies at university level with the course of my choice which is midwifery.
My plans to achieve my goals are to set myself goals which I can actually achieve and know I am capable of achieving, strategise and plan well, take it into action and my progress regularly to see where I am at and how good I’m doing. My plan is to go university to study midwifery, get my qualifications and become a midwife because that’s the job I have always wanted from a young age. I believe I can achieve if I just follow my action plan and do what is required.
Plan
My plan is to;
- Achieve great UCAS points in order to get into the midwifery course
- Pass this course with straight distinctions in order to get my maximum UCAS points for university
- Look for voluntary work whether it is paid work or voluntary, in order to achieve good work experience and great skills.
- To be competent in Numeracy, literacy, & I.T. skills
- To get prepared for interviews & internal exams
- Complete my UCAS application form with very excellent personal statements.
Working
I would like to work as a midwife after I have completed my three years of university studying the midwifery course. Midwifery is not an easy career, you have to gain a lot and work hard. In order to become a midwife I will need to get good qualifications especially in maths, English and science. Get myself into voluntary work for experience and good results after I have completed it. I also need to write C.V. and research more about my career. There’s so much I can do such as go on the internet, read news papers, go to job centres and visit the university campus where I would like to go.
P4) Describe your progress against your action plan over the duration of the programme.
I have made some progress regarding the action plan. I have attended a university open day so far and completed my personal statement. My first action plan regarding higher education was to get distinctions in all my assignments. So far I have only achieved 4 pass marks and 2 merits and no distinctions but I will now work hard to achieve my goal.
In order to achieve distinctions in the rest of the year I am going to create myself a time table which manages time in each thing I do, stay more focused to try and get my assignments done on time and hand them in when they should be handed in. Be more disciplined, responsible and well-organised.
To ensure that my assignments are in the right order and planned out well, I will need to attend all my classes so that I don’t miss out on vital information, write down notes in the class so that I can read back on it when I go home, research on certain parts of the unit and make sure I write in a presentable and professional way. Making sure your assignments are well-organised I need to include a contents page, a front cover of the assignment and a reference page which is very important and useful for the tutor, so that they are aware of where you got your information from.
P5) Produce and reflect on your personal and professional development portfolio.
Reflect is when one is casting back on their experience and professional development. It something I am going to do and show what I have learnt now from the mistakes I have made in the past, how I changed it and what I thought I could have done better to improve my experience and professional development.
I believe that I have gained a lot of experience and knowledge on my personal and professional development, during these years of college studying health and social care. I have become an independent individual and my communication skills have also improved. Before I started the course my grades were not very good, I was more likely dependent on my teachers and family and I did not have faith in myself that I could achieve something in my life.
There were things in life that messed up my qualifications which is why I am here today otherwise I would have been in University this year or even at work. The things that messed up my qualifications were my teachers not motivating me, change of environment, family problems, and getting bullied at school. I have learned from my mistakes and I feel like I have been pushed to become a better person now. It makes me feel great, more motivated and confident within myself.
My first work experience placement was in college with students who had special needs. It was not a placement of my choice but I thought I would give it a try and see the outcomes of it. I have achieved so much within the two weeks I worked with these students and the member of staff. They made me feel very welcome and I was given a timetable which really helped me a lot. I gained verbal communication skills, I learnt to plan and organise and also I was willing to support and learn from both the staff and students. I am looking forward on going to my second work placement and hopefully I will do twice as much work and achieve a great deal of knowledge and experience.
In this criterion I have attached my C.V and I am going to be reflecting on each section of this document. The first section I am going to start off with is Personal Profile & Skills. I don’t feel that there is anything I need to change in this section, everything I have said is true. I am a hard working individual, I enjoy working as a team or on my own however in this section I said that I am focused I believe that I recently just gained that skill because I don’t think I was focused on my studies or anything else. I was often distracted but somehow I managed to gain my focus back on my studies and concentrate on what I needed to do especially when I started BTEC health and social care level 3 towards the end of year 1.
The second section is about my Qualifications. Now in this section of the document I believe can make many changes. I will reflect on my grades and talk about the reasons why i haven’t achieved much in the past. My grades were always something that had put my self-esteem down and made me feel like i would never be successful. I have had many family problems during my years of secondary school, not enough motivation from teachers and also changes of environment had confused me a lot and put my grades down. whilst i wasn’t receiving enough attention and motivation from my teachers they had put me in a lower class with other students who had bad grades which decreased my confidence and self-esteem and that results to have less concentration and focus on your work, hence the reason why i am re-taking my numeracy and English exams. This will help my ways into higher education.
Last but not least the sections about Education & Work Experience of this document talk about my previous school and my current college, previous work placements i have worked and gained experience from. During education at secondary school the grades that had received were not very good, i then started college on an OCN Care Pathway course which boosted me up a little and helped me gain knowledge step by step. I had some great teachers which supported me in every step of the way. I passed this course and gained a level, since my work was above all great work and i had good grades i skipped level 2 Health and Social Care. I was transferred straight to level 3 of BTEC health and social care. I am proud of where i am today and what i have achieved. I did my first year and i am currently completing my second year which is quite tough. My experience during work placement was great but i wish i could improve one or two things. I did two work placements during my studies in both secondary school and college. I am very much looking forward to my next work placement.
Professional Development
I believe that my professional development eventually became better. I am very dedicated to work, I respect others and the job that I was doing and I communicate very well with individuals around me. I always try to improve my intelligence and knowledge through studies and training. I really enjoy what i am doing right now and hope to do more in life and help support individuals and add the highest value in the life of others.
Fatima Abas
D.O.B: 18th August 1992
Nationality: Netherlands
Address: 36 Wilton Estate, Greenwood Road, Hackney, London, E8 1BD
Telephone: 02072545846
Mobile: 07904563878
Email: [email protected]
Personal profile & skills
I am a very confident, enthusiastic, energetic and hard working individual. I am happy and capable of working on my own or as part of a team. I also have good communication and listening skills. College experience has really changed me as a person; I have gained a greater sense of independence and maturity. I treat others the way I would like to be treated, I respect their privacy, I am polite and understand the needs of others. I am very determined and focused. I have taken part in many enrichments and performances during secondary school and college.
Qualifications
English (D)
Maths (E)
Applied science (double award) (EE)
Religious Education (C)
Drama (A)
Music (D)
BTEC Health & Social Care (P)
OCN Care Pathway Level 1 (P)
Adult Numeracy (Entry 3)
Application of number level 1
Education
2003-2008: Holte Visual & Performing Arts College (Birmingham) GCSE- music, drama, R.E, English, maths, science, Health & social care
2008-2009: Waltham Forest College- OCN care pathway
2009-2011: Waltham Forest College- BTEC national certificate in health and social care level 3 (present)
Work Experience
Bloomsbury Nursery, Nechells, Birmingham, West Midlands, B7 5BX
Date: 15th Oct 07 till 19th Oct 07- 1 Week
Job duties, Nursery nurse assistant;
- working with children under the age of 4
- helping when preparing lunch for children
- reading stories
- organising different activities
- caring for them
- keeping them entertained
Additional learning needs centre in the lowery building (ground floor) Waltham Forest College, Forest Road, Walthamstow, London, E17 4JB
Date: 10th May 2010 till 24th May 2010- 2 Weeks.
Job duties, Teachers assistant;
- supporting the students with their work, activities and etc
- communicating with the students
- going on outings together with the students and staff
- writing my daily report and diary
- assisting on preparing class activities
- help out with tidying the classroom
Interests
I am a down to earth and outgoing individual, who likes exploring places and meeting new people of all backgrounds because it will prepare me for work life. I enjoy working and caring for children hence the reason I have chosen BTEC Health & Social Care but I love taking part in all aspects of the working environment. In college I have also taken part in events such as Black history month, valentine’s day party, eid party and etc. I love being involved in enrichments which are taking place within the college.
REFERENCES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST
P6) describe one local health or social care service provider and identify its place in national provision.
In order to answer this criterion I am going describe one local health or social care service provider and identify its place in national provision. The local health and social care service provider that I am going to talk about is the NHS.
Most people identify readily with health and social care services that are available locally. In the UK, health and social care services are provided predominantly by the public sector of the economy but some services are also provided by the private and voluntary sectors.
Public sector organisations are funded by the state through taxes. Health services are paid for almost entirely through central taxation, with a small proportion funded from national insurance contribution. All public health services in the UK are funded through the Department of Health (DH) and provided directly or indirectly by the National Health Service (NHS).
In England, dental, optician and social care services are only completely free to those in receipt of certain welfare benefits. Everyone else pays a contribution to, or the full cost of, the health or social care service by paying charges or fees, for example, prescription charges for medicines and spectacles or residential home fees. If not provided by the NHS.
The NHS was formed in 1948 to provide a service of health care that was free at the point of care. During the decades since it begin, the NHS has seen many changes and is now the largest organisation in Europe.
Local Health Services
- Primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible for the majority of the NHS budget. Each local PCT commissions doctors (GPs), health centres and other community-based services to provide primary care.
- Community hospitals are run by PCTs but they pay acute trusts, responsible for one or two local hospitals, to provide secondary care for patients in their geographical area.
- Foundation trusts are hospitals that have opted to be self-governing rather than government by the DH.
- Mental health trusts provide hospital – and community-based care for those with mental illness.
- Ambulance trusts are responsible for transporting patients to hospital for emergency care and for planned treatment.
- The NHS is involved in children’s trusts as they become established across the country.
The NHS direct provides a 24 hour health care information and advice service either by telephone, online and by digital television. The NHS blood and transplant authority was established in October 2005 and manages the National Blood Service, supplying blood products, organs and tissues for transplantation.
Ofsted is the regulator responsible for the inspection of schools, colleges, children’s services, youth work and teacher training. It is directly answerable to Parliament.
Informal care- is care provided for others on a good neighbourly basis
Formal care- care provided by workers who are part of a health or care service organisations.
P7) describe the roles, responsibilities and career pathways of three health or social care workers.
In order to answer this criterion I will start of by looking at three career pathways of health and social care workers. Within Health and Social Care sector it includes the ability to analyse things together as a team and critically analyse information. Also the abilities communicate effectively with individuals, think logically, put together well-judged arguments, administer time, gain knowledge independently and use ICT effectively.
A sizeable proportion of the total workforce in the UK is involved directly or indirectly in health or care service provision. The government has made development of the health and care workforce a priority, to enable services to adapt effectively to demographic and technological changes. In this way, workers will have the skills to deliver care in new ways and raise standards. There are a very large number of different job roles available in health and care work. Those with professional qualifications and experience have more senior job roles and more responsibility for making decisions about others both service users and staff.
All health, care and education professionals who work in the UK must be registered with the relevant UK professional body. Professional qualifications gained in the European Union and a few other named countries are accepted automatically but those gained in other parts of the world are subject to scrutiny by the professional body before registration is granted.
In health and care work, the pathways to reach a particular job role become more diverse as you proceed beyond your initial practitioner or professional qualifications. Experience of health or care work is valued in a wide range of workplaces, not just those in health and social care- the career pathways may take you into industry, work abroad and the voluntary sector.
SOCIAL WORK
The Code of Practice for Employers of Social Care Workers sets down the responsibilities of employers in the regulation of social care workers. The Code of Practice for Social Care Workers is a list of statements that describe the standards of professional conduct and practice required of social care workers as they go about their daily work. The career pathway of becoming a social worker could start from taking up the course of BTEC national in health and social care level 1, 2 or 3 or you can either take up an access course to social work if you are at the age of 19 and over. You might even consider applying for a voluntary job to gain more experience, work as an assistant social worker or you could get sponsored to go university by your work company and then when you are done, you will still have your place there and work for them again but as a professional social worker. If you attend university you would study social work for 3 years, get your degree, get into the working department as a qualified social worker become either a manager or even a teacher.
Roles & Responsibilities of a Social Worker
• Protect the rights and promote the interests of service users and carers;
• Strive to establish and maintain the trust and confidence of service users and carers;
• Promote the independence of service users while
Protecting them as far as possible from danger or harm;
• Respect the rights of service users whilst seeking to ensure that their behaviour does not harm themselves or other people;
• Uphold public trust and confidence in social care services;
• Be accountable for the quality of their work and take responsibility for maintaining and improving their knowledge and skills.
M1) Analyse the impact of key influences on personal learning processes on own learning
In order to answer this criterion I will analyse the impact of key influences on personal learning processes on own learning. I will be using Kolb's learning cycle and i understand that learning comes in two difference forms practical learning and theory learning, but theory always needs to be applied to practice and show your experience and what you have learnt. A cognitive ability is the ways in which you think. Using your knowledge and experience. I believe that I learn in both ways but i prefer practical because i actually have a go at what i am doing and experience something from it whereas theory learning you are writing but you don’t actually know what it is sometimes. Sometimes the environment you are in can effect your education and your learning. If you live in an environment which is not so good and neither will your learning. However, the attitude and behaviour you get from people may also affect your learning. For example you teachers and your family if they
Don’t have a positive attitude towards your learning or education then that might trigger something too within you.
KOLB'S EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING CYCLE
Kolb's theory helps us understand the way adults learn. A cognitive ability is the ways that individuals learn. Kolb suggested that during adolescence and early adulthood we begin to develop instinctive preferences for the way in which we process information and use it to make sense of our experiences. Kolb’s learning cycle has four different stages of learning, it is possible to enter the stage at any time but for the learning to be effective it has to be followed in a correct sequence.
Kolb's four different stages each described as follows:
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Concrete experience- this stage is where you carry out or participate in an action or actions.
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Reflective observation- this is the reviewing or reflecting stage where you think about the things that you performed and what happened during the concrete experience.
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Abstract conceptualisation- this stage is the concluding stage in relation to the concrete experience, often called the theorising stage. It is the stage where you use all the information that you have gained about the experience to organise your thoughts into an order and try to make sense of the experience.
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Active experimentation- this is the planning or trying out stage of Kolb's cycle. The important point here is that you tackle an aspect of the activity differently from the first time, and also demonstrating that you have learned from the first concrete experience.
M2) Explain how the action plan has helped support own development over the duration of the programme.
In order to answer this criterion I will be explaining how the action plan has helped support my development over the duration of the programme. During the OCN Care Pathway and BTEC Health & Social Care programme I have gained great knowledge and that is something I did not think I could achieve. I have learned to research on certain subjects and gather so much information in order to complete assignments and tasks. This will help me to go university and study the course of my choice. Even the targets I have set for myself have helped me to be more serious about my career path and my future.
Setting the action plan has helped me to apply for university through UCAS; I have also learned how to write my personal statement and my curriculum vitae. I have realised that my teachers and friends have been a great support towards all this and motivated in every way possible.
The targets I have set for myself have helped me gain certain skills which will help me enormously. I have gained great work experience within the health and social care sector. I have achieved in Maths, Literacy, I.T., and work placements that I had attended for two weeks as part of my health and social care programme. I believe my voluntary work will also give me great experience and help me to get into university. I have received great support in order to achieve good qualifications and I understand that there are different routes for everything we do in life.
Whilst I was on this programme my behaviour and attitude towards everything has become positive even though it was quite negative sometimes. Since I had set myself an action plan my punctuality, attendance and time management have improved. I always attend every class and on time and make sure I make time for both my college work and social life. I have managed to hand in assignments, focus on the importance of this programme and my future. I dedicate myself more to this programme and I have gained great communication skills. Reference can be very supportive: I feel very proud of myself that I have come all this way, very motivated and happy.
M3) Reflect on own experience and use three examples to explain links between theory and practice.
In this criterion I will be reflecting on my experience and use three example to explain links between theory and practice using Gibbs reflective cycle. The first example I will be using to link to this criterion is Numeracy, the second one will be work experience and the third one will unit 5.
Example 1: Numeracy
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Description: I was never good at numeracy skills. Every time I had an upcoming exam I would panic and think I would fail. Numeracy was a subject I never really understood much but I tried my best in every aspect of the area.
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Feelings: I was very nervous and scared whenever it came to numeracy exams or mini practice tests. I hardly think positive but try in order to achieve something; otherwise I feel really low and not motivated enough to get a good grade.
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Evaluation: Overall I achieved a level 1 in numeracy. The thing that was good about this experience is that I learn something at least even if its not that huge, I also get another chance and practice well to improve my grades and the bad thing about this experience is that I hate numeracy and when I get hard questions I often give up.
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Analysis: I am actually proud of myself because I didn’t think I could achieve anything in numeracy after my grades went down hill in secondary school. However I managed to achieve a level 1 which was great and I will improve this by revising and paying more attention in maths class and complete the work that has been set for me.
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Conclusion: I could have done more practice tests on paper or online to test my own knowledge and learn from my mistakes.
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Action plan: I can try to practice more on the harder questions for example I am not very good with fractions, So maybe I can work more on that. Pay more attention in class and try to complete tasks and work sheets which are given to me.
Example 2: work experience
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Description: My first work placement in college was with students within the college who had additional needs. I worked with students from all different ages who additional needs; each and every one of them was very different. They all had their character and they I enjoyed my time there. Both the staff and students made me feel very welcome.
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Feelings: At first I felt nervous and scared but everyone at the work placement made me feel so welcomed that I didn’t want to go. The two weeks I had there went by very fast and I didn’t want to leave. Sometimes I did feel threatened by the students because they would act in way I didn’t appreciate towards me.
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Evaluation: The good thing about this experience was that I was treated with respect and like a member of staff and the students really liked me. However, the bad thing about this experience was that one of the staff members was sometimes very careless whenever I wanted my work experience diary signed and the students were often very hard work.
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Analysis: I enjoyed doing work experience with these students, I even thought for a minute if maybe that was the right career path for me. I was very good and achieved different skills during my time there. But I don’t think I will choose this as my career path because it’s not something I actually want to do.
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Conclusion: I think that I could have taken my role a bit more serious because I didn’t inform a member of staff about one the students behaviour towards myself and that I didn’t appreciate the way I was being ignored when I asked to get my diary signed.
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Action plan: Furthermore, if this kind of situation arose again I will speak up instead of being silent and get things sorted out as soon as possible. I will also make sure people take me more serious.
Example 3: Unit 5
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Description: Unit 5 was about the fundamentals of anatomy and physiology this unit obviously involves science which I am not very good at. I believed that I could not achieve this unit and this scared me a lot but I tried my best and did what I could do. This unit also involves the functioning of the body systems associated with energy metabolism and the homeostatic mechanisms.
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Feelings: I felt very worried, nervous and anxious when I was completing this unit. I am not very good with science and the body functioning systems.
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Evaluation: the good thing about this experience is that I achieved something and learned about how the body functions and the different organs and what they do. They bad thing about this experience was that I did not complete the unit at my best ability and I know I could have done better.
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Analysis: I started this assignment off thinking I wasn’t going to pass but I managed to at least achieve something. I believe I could have put more hard work and effort into my assignment.
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Conclusion: I think that I could have done better and asked more help from my teachers in order to achieve this unit. I could have also managed my time well and do more research.
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Action plan: If this kind of situation arose again I will do more research, use books, ask teacher for help if needed instead of struggling and handing the assignment in late.
D1) Evaluate how personal learning and development benefit others.
I will evaluate how personal learning and development benefit others in order to answer this criterion. Personal Development is such a broad trade. It sorts from physical fitness to increasing your income to recuperating your frame of mind. Personal Development is the act of developing yourself and as you develop, so will your atmosphere. Personal learning and development also benefits others if you support your learning.
Learning is a progression by which we gain knowledge, skills and an understanding of abstract concepts. You start learning from birth and the learning process continues through formal schooling and even right through to adulthood.
I am going to look at a certain group to create an appropriate evaluation. The group I have chosen is peer group (in the classroom environment). I will begin by discussing the peer group and by doing so I will evaluate how personal learning and development can benefit this particular group. The ways that peer groups within the classroom environment evaluates on personal learning a development is by assignments, group presentations, feedback and give own opinion. This can also benefit others by them asking questions and comparing situations.
My personal learning and development can also benefit others by sharing my own knowledge, sharing any new knowledge that I have gained and anything I have learned through my experience. Sharing my ideas with, work and learning from each other. I may also use Kolb’s cycle in order to help others benefit from my knowledge and experience.
D2) Evaluate own development over the duration of the programme
In order to answer this criterion I am going to evaluate personal development over the duration of the programme, how well I have developed and why I have developed more in some areas and less in others.
During the time of this programme I have gained a lot of knowledge, I am able to research appropriate periodicals, websites, books and other references to draw together the required information. I have become more independent, I am able to work without supervision in unfamiliar surroundings and make a full contribution. My communication skills have also increased greatly, I am able to cooperate with others, make a variety of contributions to help the group achieve its goals and I understand that every individual is different, has different needs and feelings/behaviour. There is so much I have developed during this programme and it makes me feel proud of myself. I have the ability to know what is wanted, to negotiate assertively (not aggressively) and to come to a mutually agreed outcome. I believe that I am calm and can manage something’s on my own. I have become a better person in life and more mature about what I want to do in my future and serious. Furthermore, I believe that in some areas I have developed better and less in others because of my ability of understanding. For example in the area of some assignments such as unit 5, I have developed less because it involved science and I was never competent in science but I developed more in equality and diversity because of my understanding, I believe that I am fair and don’t discriminate against others for whatever reason. I believe that everyone is equal and has human rights. My career choice has always been midwifery even after I started this programme it never changed.