The lesson “Learning Collaboratively” showed me the importance of establishing and having good interprofessional relationship with other professionals in and out of our field. This relationship can affect the service that we provide to our patients, that’s why we have to collaborate well with other professionals in order for us to give the optimum care that our patients need. Also, each member has his/her own role in the team and it is important that each one is aware of the role they play. On the other hand, in the lesson “Patient Centered Care”, it reminded me of how important it is that we include the patient in every decision-making process that we have. We need to collaborate not just with the healthcare team, but also particularly with the patient and their family. We should always keep in mind that our patient is our top most priority and all services should be catered to their benefit. 

 

 
2. What did I discover about myself?

At first, I never really thought about the importance of establishing this good interprofessional relationship with other members of the healthcare team. However, after viewing unit 1 and 2, I realized how our personalities plays a big role in establishing this good interprofessional relationship with others. As for myself, I do get shy easily and it is sometimes hard for me to get along with other people, which could affect my performance. That’s why it is important that I develop and enhance my social skills and go out of my comfort zone so that I could be able to work comfortably in the future. 

 

Everything that I have learned in this course will surely be beneficial to me both on a personal or professional basis. This course could help me develop myself more in order for me to become a more competent physical therapist in the future. All patients should be treated with utmost care just like how we treat our family members. Moreover, all services should be applicable to all kinds of patients whom our professional services and attention are needed. 

“Alone we can do little; together we can do so much.” Indeed, that by working collaboratively, much better results are yet to come to fruition. Though we may come from different disciplines and have different approaches when it comes to targeting the problematic areas of our patients, still, as healthcare professionals, we must remember to be open-minded about the ideas of each other. It is always best if we adopt such thinking that every one of us has our own set of strengths and expertise to render and match the appropriate services needed by our patients. But most importantly, proper communication is integral. To assume our roles in the rehabilitation team at their finest, we must then know how to interact and coordinate with the other professionals. By exhibiting clear and intact communication in an interdisciplinary team, we can achieve synergy; thereby, resulting in benefits such as less possibility of committing medical errors and improved efficiency of healthcare services.

 

Patient-centered care depicts the importance of the interrelationship between the patient/client and their healthcare providers. With this in mind, I believe that it is essential for us to not settle on knowing about the difficulties being experienced by our patients. But also explore the context and environment that affects their health and wellness. The concept of patient-centered care is similar to what we are practicing in the occupational therapy discipline, which is "client-centeredness." In promoting client-centeredness, we are then tasked to establish the profile of our patients, which requires us to probe the possible barriers and supports in the environment, as well as the performance patterns such as the routines, habits, and interests of the client, which we can tap into when promoting maximal participation in our interventions.

 
What did I discover about myself? 

One discovery I have learned about myself after watching the two modules was that I am an open-minded person. All of us know that innovative thinking gives birth to the current solutions and remedies we are experiencing. Likewise, as mentioned, this IPE course is just one of the many solutions derived to address the inefficiency in the delivery of healthcare services worldwide. Hence by taking an active role in this course and becoming an open-minded person, I believe that we are already at a headstart on contributing towards becoming dependable team players of the rehabilitation team in the future.

 
In which areas, personal or professional, will I use what I learned? 

 

In promoting interprofessional collaboration and patient-centered care, I believe that two factors persist as the most integral. And these are communication and sensitivity. Truthfully, I think that my communication skills are poor given that I am an introverted person and do not speak English fluently. But after realizing that I am working towards becoming an efficient member of the healthcare team in the future, I think it is time for me to step up and implement appropriate actions to hone my skills.  Because failing to communicate one's opinions to other members of the interdisciplinary is certainly the culprit of the majority of errors in our healthcare provision. And, I do not want to allow myself to be someone who commits the same mistake.

Being sensitive is always easier said than done. Being sensitive entails one's metacognition of knowing what others may feel once you start to do anything particularly to/for them. "Pagkapa" is one famous term in our Filipino language, which typically means someone trying to adapt to or study the feelings of other people. I believe that in the delivery of our healthcare services, it is important that we get to assimilate the feelings and preferences of our patients, which we can use to quickstart the establishing of our rapport and relationship.

As much as being equipped individually as a clinician is important, knowledge about collaborative practice is also significant.  This is because interprofessional collaborations can help in making our plans more individualized for our patients. It could also help us look at ideas in a multidimensional way; seeking other professionals’ insights and opinions about the approach that we are considering. I also learned that the interprofessional practice identifies core competencies that are important to ensure that the approach itself is effective and stays true to its goal. These core competencies should always be considered every time we do collaborations to ensure that we are able to deliver quality healthcare to our patients. In connection, patient-centered care is important because in planning our treatment and intervention, it’s important to take into consideration the perspectives of the patient themselves, as well as their families’ and loved ones’. This is to ensure a better overall experience, not only for the patient, but also their family members. With this approach, it would yield greater improvement and health outcomes, as everyone involved in the situation is collaborating and their perspectives are taken into consideration.

2. What did I discover about myself? 

I discovered that somehow, just like what the interprofessional practice suggests, I like working with other people and getting others involved in an activity. I value collaboration and teamwork every time there’s an opportunity to share perspectives, gain insights from one another, and build new ideas out of our brainstorming. 

I can use what I learned both as a student and as a future healthcare professional. As a student, I’d be able to apply my learnings in interprofessional practice during group activities such as the activities in this course. I would always remember to value the importance of collaborating and knowing each and every one’s insights with regards to the activity. I could also apply this when I become a future healthcare professional, as I would have multiple opportunities to collaborate and work with other healthcare professionals.

 

In our future practice as allied health professionals, we would be encountering cases of patients wherein some areas that need to be worked on might not fall under our scope of practice. A patient may seek help from a speech-language pathologist for communicative needs, a physical therapist for a neuromuscular intervention, an occupational therapist for management of daily functioning, and so on. Although there are a lot of key professionals involved in patient management, we do not work individually as if the areas of our practice do not intertwine with each other. Interprofessional collaboration would always be evident as it is vital to patient care. Working collaboratively with other professionals would maximize the efficiency of our treatment. Through teamwork, we are able to learn from each other and consider other professionals’ input in our patient management process. In terms of patient-centered care, I have learned that we should view our patients at the center of the healthcare system wherein they are the focus and not their disease or disorder. We have to consider a lot of factors which may influence healthcare delivery such as the current status of the healthcare system, the support that the patient receives, access to care, and continuity of care. 
 
 2. What did I discover about myself? 

 

Back then, in the context of group activities, I used to like working individually. I perceived working in groups as ineffective for me because I learn better when I experience activities alone. However, as time goes by, I became more of a team player especially when I entered the college of rehabilitation sciences. After watching the recorded lectures, I have realized that collaborative team approach is a hallmark of our patient management in our future practice as clinicians. There will always be a need to collaborate with others in order to provide quality and effective management to our patients. 

 3. In which areas, personal or professionally, will I use what I learned? 

 

I believe the highlight of our lesson is mainly collaborative approach not just gearing towards patient care but also towards the development of the collaborating professionals. Through interprofessional collaboration, we are able to gain insights from each other and integrate these insights to our management plans. Personally, I would use these learnings to better myself when it comes to group works in our courses. I’d consider my groupmates’ inputs and engage in an insightful discussion with them in order for us to benefit and learn from each other. As a member of an organization in CRS, I could also apply these learnings to improve my skill as a student-leader. Professionally, I would apply these learnings in my practice as an SLP in the future. I would take every patient management as an opportunity to collaborate and learn with other allied health professionals in order to provide the quality care that our clients deserve.

The thing I learned the most or was probably reinforced more throughout the lessons is to always listen to the other person or be open towards the other person. We have to be open to other people’s beliefs and insights in order to able to work well as a team and learn new things that others may know or may specialize in, that we have not yet experienced or learned. Being open also applies to our clients because we have to find compromises in our expert process and their interests and level of perception. We need to be able to establish rapport and get along with them well, and we should be able to explain their current state in a way that they would understand. It’s important to take into account both the client and your teammates’ ideas and interests. Your teammates’ have their own specializations that could further help the client develop holistically. Having a good relationship with clients and having an open client-professional relationship could help the client become more motivated to go through with the rehabilitation process.

     2. What did I discover about myself?

I guess I discovered or felt more like I need to be more conscious of other people. I usually conscious of other people’s movements and I observe them but from afar usually since I’m pretty contented being independent on a normal basis. The lessons made me realize that I should also make an effort to get to know people around me up close and how influential this value or action is in our profession, since it is something needed to establish rapport with clients as well. I’ll have to work more on being interested in others, conversing, and getting to know people up close.

      3. In which areas, personal or professionally, will I use what I learned?

Personally I think openness and interest in others could help me get closer and converse more with my friends, and deepen relationships with family members as well. Professionally, it would help me adjust and get to know the varied personalities of clients, establish rapport, and create training programs that the client would find fun (based on their interests) and would still help them continuously develop. 

I have learned numerous insights from our previous sessions. First, we must hone our own expertise in our respective fields. Second, we must familiarize ourselves with the roles and responsibilities of other professionals and gauge how we can communicate with them effectively. Third, we must spend some time with our co-collaborators, may it be in a formal or an informal setting so that the communication barriers will be gone. The last thing that I have learned from the collaborative lesson, is that the members of the team should empower each other so that we can deliver the best quality care for our patients. 

In school, we are bombarded with objective lessons. Most of us study for the sake of ourselves, in order to pass our courses and in order to finish our degrees. However, when we practice our professional skills in the future we must realign our priorities and put our focus towards the betterment of our patients. First, we must communicate with them in a caring and compassionate manner. We should respect their culture, opinion, preferences, needs, wants, and decisions. Our approach in treating them should be holistic and it should not only be focused on their physical symptoms. Thus, we must help in improving the well-being of the patient and not just only their physical health. We must always consider their capabilities, support system, and aspirations.

2. What did I discover about myself? 

This course has helped me to discover some things about myself. First, I have discovered that I am very curious about other people too. Before, I thought that I don’t care about others and I feel like I am a little self-centered. However, after some meetings with my groupmates, I realized that I also want to learn more about them, what happens in their programs, and I also want to relate with them. Before entering college, I was somehow ignorant about my program (physical therapy). But at the current time, I have realized that my program is now a part of my identity. Then, after some collaborations with other members of the group, I have distinguished and my program and its uniqueness from their programs. 

I have discovered some things about myself, thus, I can use these in order to improve how I will work with others. First, I will use this curiosity and eagerness to learn in discovering our strengths and weaknesses. Thus, when we need to work on numerous collaboration projects, we can work effectively and we can produce high-quality outcomes. Second, I will use my knowledge as a physical therapy student in our future endeavors. I expect that we will encounter some problems in the future, may it be professional or personal. Therefore, I will try to gauge what I can offer in solving those problems. Afterwards, I will try to speak up and contribute effectively. 

What did I discover about myself? 

As an Occupational Therapist, Collaborative Learning and Patient Centered Care are terms that were already brought up during the first year. These terms are also being continuously used in our lectures up until now since these 2 topics are key points into achieving the best outcomes for the client. I learned that IPCP is not just about multiple professionals having the same client. It entails a rapport among the professionals themselves as well since they need to understand the capabilities and limitations of each other. Maybe where one professional is lacking, the other professional is excelling in. With this, all the problem areas of the client can be targeted. IPCP promotes a client-centered approach because before they do their own thing, the team members first establish the main goal of the client. From there, they will pick out the individual strengths in their profession which they can utilize during the therapeutic program. These strengths will be integrated into each other like a puzzle to make the most efficient therapeutic program for the client. Another important aspect in Patient Centered-Care is Holistic care, which involves paying attention to the whole person. If we consider the client as a whole, taking into account the different factors in their lives, it will be easier to integrate this therapeutic program into his/her everyday life. 

2. What did I discover about myself?

I am an introvert and I do not like to talk to people other than my friends. I realized that if I wanted to go into healthcare, then I should learn how to work with other people. I have a hard time being open-minded since I am used to being independent and I have a habit of disregarding ideas that are not mine. I need to learn how to listen to other people, and to contribute my ideas as well during group discussions. 

3. In which areas personal or professionally, will I use what I learned? 

I will use these learnings during my current education and also during my OT practice. As a 3rd year Occupational Therapy student, we have a lot of groupworks. I can apply my learnings here by being a responsible groupmate. I will listen to others’ opinions and share my knowledge as well. There is a big possibility  that when we combine everything that we know, we will produce a better and comprehensive outcome. In terms of being a healthcare professional, I will make sure to consult with other healthcare professionals that I think would be beneficial to my client before starting interventions. I will focus on the goal, and do my best to achieve it. 

2. What did I discover about myself? 

3. In which areas, personal or professionally, will I use what I learned?

Physical therapists or physiotherapists are regarded as movement experts, who provide improvements in the quality of life of their patients, regardless of their age and diseases. Professionally, physical therapists do not only provide exercises and treatments for their patients, but rather, they can also develop treatment plans and goals, restore function, prevent occurrence of disability, and much more. They are also the one responsible in attaining the independence and promoting the overall health of their clients. 

 

On the other hand, physical therapists’ non-professional role includes being a motivator and companion to their patients and the patient’s family. Acquiring these disabilities could have a great impact in the physical, mental, and psychological well-being of the patient. That’s why as a physical therapist, it is also important to show empathy towards our client and their families. We can be a motivator by providing them support, comfort, and motivations while they face these challenging events in their life. Additionally, as physical therapists, it is also important that we develop and establish a good relationship with our colleagues. One way to achieve this good relationship is to build and develop friendship with them. We can become friends with our colleagues in order to support and help each other. 

Every member has his/ her own assigned role in the team.  Each member should understand his/her role properly so that he/she will be able to know what is expected in him/ her to be able to work effectively and efficiently for the team. Additionally, role clarity is important in every team because it can help the members know what tasks they need to accomplish, what their goals are, and what outputs are expected from them. Knowing your specific role can help you achieve and produce better performance outcomes. Moreover, role clarity can assist the team to divide tasks easily and assign them to the right person. Role clarity can also help the team organize their plans, prevent misunderstandings, and achieve their goals or objectives. 

As an Occupational Therapist, it is a common occurrence for us to be highly involved in our clients’ lives since our goal is to maximize their participation in their occupations and daily activities. In order to provide an effective intervention plan, the OT should know the client thoroughly including all the contexts of the client’s life. With this, there is a thin line between the professional and non-professional roles and responsibilities.

 

An OT taking on a professional role entails the technical parts from the Evaluation up until the Discharge plan. An OT evaluates the effect of the client’s condition on the participation of their occupations. OTs also assess the home and work environment, the technicalities of the client’s tasks, the scope of the client’s roles, and more. The most important professional role of the Occupational Therapist is the development of treatment plans that meet the client’s goals. 

 

The non-professional role of OT is being a part of the client’s support system, whether it be a comforting sister, a friendly playmate, whatever kind of support the client needs. For example, an anxious child has a problem with talking to his peers. This kind of behavior is brought about by his condition. What an Occupational Therapist can do is to become the child’s friend. Instead of being his therapist, we become his playmate, his friend, his confidante. 

 

Role clarity is the key to effective and efficient team performance. If the members of the team know their own roles and how these roles contribute to reaching the common goal, then there will be a higher probability of successful team performance. Aside from knowing what your own role should be, it is also important to communicate every member’s role to the whole team. When all of these individual roles operate in coordination and synergy then it promotes a healthy work environment with good strategic plans and operational efficiency. 

As speech-language pathologists, we must be aware of the different roles and responsibilities that one must fulfill to provide quality health care for their patients. In terms of professional roles and responsibilities, it is our duty to ensure that we are equipped with the skills to assess, diagnose, and give appropriate intervention to our patients. We also have the responsibility to advocate for our patients; to be their voice and extra hands to help them become more functionable in the community. In terms of non-professional roles and responsibility, one of our roles is to become a safe space for our patients. Therefore, establishing good and healthy relationships with them, and their family members as well, would help in the delivery of good quality healthcare. We are also to empathize with them and learn to understand and see them beyond than just their assessment and evaluation reports. This is where individuality in terms of making assessments and intervention comes in. Through these realizations and setting of our roles and responsibilities, we can become competent, compassionate, and committed professionals in our chosen field.  

 
2. What is the value of role clarity among members of the team?

In knowing and having clarity among the roles and responsibilities of every healthcare professional included in the IPE team, we can fulfill our duties efficiently and effectively. Role clarity is important so that every HCP in the IPE team would know that their role is very crucial not only during a period of the patient’s course of treatment, but throughout the whole process. Through these efforts, it would have a positive effect on the patient’s intervention. Since every member in the IPE team realizes their own roles, all areas that need to be developed are given attention, which leads to improved and greater treatment outcomes for the patient.  

Beyond the pursuit of helping clients participate in their desired and meaningful occupations, I believe that being an OT also dynamically accords us to assume the role of a motivator for patients who may feel downtrodden or hopeless as an effect of their condition. In our classes, we are taught about the importance of developing our therapeutic use of self (TUS), wherein we learn and become more insightful about the attitudes we present to our clients. Becoming well-versed in human behavior allows us to appropriately match our TUS to each of our clients' needs and states, helping us relate and empathize with them easily. From a professional standpoint, OTs are responsible for assessing an individual's ability to perform activities and design appropriate treatments to address their needs or help them achieve their goals of independence, confidence, and control within their lives. Hence, promoting client centeredness is always the cornerstone of the OT profession.

 

●     What is the value of role clarity among members of the team?

When working in an interdisciplinary team, it is essential that we highly value role clarity among members to avoid overlapping treatments or wastage of resources. Likewise, as early as now, we should already understand the expertise and scope of each member so that we know whom we should refer for advice had our patients encounter such a specific problem that is beyond our capacity. Although, typically, rehabilitation professionals work as a one-man's team in the Philippines due to their low number. Nevertheless, we should remember that working with others will always yield the best results.  Valuing role clarity also begets each professional the respect that they deserve. Hence, we are already in the 21st century; we, therefore, cannot afford to keep the old and unruly stereotypes associated with each profession anymore. Being knowledgeable about the duties and responsibilities of each professional for the team is just a straightforward way for us to remember the value of everyone. Even though we may be working with varying treatments or having different subgoals, still, in the end, we are working in synergy towards one goal – which is improving our patient's health and well-being. In the rehabilitation team, no professional is either superior or inferior to the other. Regardless, we must see ourselves collectively to a point where our patient's progress becomes our sole determinant of whether we become successful or not in our management.

Occupational therapist helps improve the clients’ performance in their daily lives which is important in promoting one’s well-being. It is the OT’s responsibility to know what the client wants and what the client needs. It is our responsibility to try and help the client achieve their goal with full independence or with assistance. Part of our professional role is to provide interventions to improve the client’s performance in their day to day activities such as work, feeding, bathing, etc. However, it is also our role to assure the client up to what extent of service we can offer. This can be considered as a non-professional role wherein the therapist must find a way for the client to cooperate during the therapy session. If the client is being uncooperative, this may affect him, the therapist, the team, and the client’s family. This may also be due to depression that they may have attained due to the sudden disability. As a therapist, it is our role to help them be hopeful that they can go back to their daily lives despite the disability; being part of the client’s support system to help them be motivated during the therapy session as well as to improve the client’s quality of life. At the other hand, there will always be different cases which some may not be able to achieve therefore no unreasonable promises shall be made such as promising to be fully independent after the therapy when in reality there is a need of assistance. That is why work ethics are imposed to distinguish when the professional line between the therapist and client.

Role clarity is important among members of the team because we are aware there are some overlaps with our jobs. Focusing on one problem at a time may and providing various intervention to attain the goal faster is one of the benefits of working as a team. In order for that to happen, there is a need to have role clarity to avoid any repetitive interventions made towards the client which may lead to the misuse of time that is important to the client. Furthermore, having role clarity is also needed when creating a plan for the client so that activities given are geared towards achieving the same goal. Moving on, role clarity also helps the members of the team of their roles and responsibility towards the intervention process as well as in the team. Having to know what your role is in the team will give you the right of say to how the intervention will go. This will give you a more effective way to work with the team to reach the overall goal. It would be difficult to not have role clarity since if a member does not clearly know their roles, this may lead to negligence and disrupt the whole team dynamics.

As speech language pathologists, our professional roles and responsibilities are generally to evaluate, diagnose, and treat conditions affecting one’s speech, language, communication, and swallowing abilities. We play these roles in various settings such as in clinics, hospitals, schools, etc. Thus, we cater to patients across various demographic backgrounds. Furthermore, it’s our duty to ensure that we are able to give the best course of treatment in order for our patients to have adequate skills for communication and swallowing. We don’t only work with patients themselves but also with their families and caregivers. Therefore, our non-professional responsibilities include creating a favorable environment for patients and their families in a way that their goals match with ours and the tasks we provide in therapy. Having mutual trust and respect is also important as well as a safe environment that allows open communication between the family and clinician to achieve successful treatment. 

2. What is the value of role clarity among members of the team?

Role clarity is important in a team because it entails clear communication of responsibilities among the members. When roles are clearly defined and understood, each member would be equipped with a framework of what is expected from them and how to evaluate their own performance. Therefore, conflicts are less likely to occur since it decreases the chances of overlapping duties among the members. When role clarity is ensured, productivity is increased. Hence, success and effectiveness of the team is likely to be achieved.

The professional role of a speech-language pathologist is to assess, evaluate, diagnose, treat, and manage patients with communication and swallowing issues. As communication and swallowing experts, they focus on a lot of domains, namely; speech, language, hearing, fluency, cognitive-communication, and swallowing. SLPs cater to patients across all ages and across a vast number of conditions and disorders. The main responsibility of speech-language pathologist, just like other rehabilitation professionals, is to deliver optimum and individualized care with assessment and therapy guided by principles and evidence-based practice. As part of the healthcare system, they always aim for the enhancement of their patients’ well-being and overall quality of life. Aside from these professional roles and responsibilities, speech-language pathologists also serve as their patients’ friend and caregiver. Through counseling and home programs, SLPs reach out to patients and their family in a heart-to-heart manner. Such approach is geared towards establishing a harmonious relationship with one another and providing an environment of care and compassion.

As the old saying goes, “There’s no ‘I’ in ‘Team’”. Patient management is not an individual task but rather a group one. In order to provide efficient and quality care to our patients, we have to learn how to coordinate and collaborate with each other. However, before we work together, it is important to get to know the roles and responsibilities of each other first. By knowing your team members well in terms of their scope of practice and profession, you get to know what could be done to improve your patient management. For example, there are certain domains in which we could not treat because it is not within our scope of practice. By knowing the right professionals for the job, we could refer our patient so that they would receive the necessary care for that certain domain. Overall, role clarity serves the purpose of reducing risks and maximizing effects. When professional think and work as a team, positive outcomes in the patient’s well-being and quality of life may be obtained.

A sports scientist is someone who integrates concepts about physiology, anatomy, nutrition, a little psychology, and periodization (the timing of training plans) in order to elicit the desired adaptations from a client or an athlete, or help them achieve their maximum fitness. This is done through tweaking our coaching language and our programs to specifically cater for the client/athlete’s needs and goals. It is concerned with improving fitness in both the general and special population, and is also concerned with strengthening to reduce the risk of injury. In simpler words, the professional roles include coaching or eliciting change in a client by translating concepts about health to better suit and motivate the client based on their current level. It is also ensuring proper planning for athlete preparation so that body adaptations are at maximum level during competition phases while refraining from overtraining or fatiguing the athletes.

Non-professional roles include acting somewhat as a teacher, especially when teaching the benefits of certain training programs and answering questions about general health, this is also seen when we guide athletes through their training. Another non-professional role is to be somewhat of a friend to the clients or the athletes because it is essential to establish rapport in order to create and effective and specific training plan, this is also essential when understanding what motivates and drives clients in order to ensure their active participation in the program. Being a “friend” also helps clients be comfortable with the training program and helps them trust you more with their goals and with their motivations. In sports specifically, being a “friend” and somewhat of a teacher to athletes and teams helps you know how to motivate them during hard training sessions and especially during games. 

Being a sports psychologist and nutritionist is also a non-professional role for sports science. We are thought the concepts and understand these disciplines up to an intermediate level in order to be able to observe with clients and athletes at a basic level regarding this discipline, but progressing and giving advice specifically in these fields are usually handed to the specialized professionals. If we want to become a sports psychologist as well, we will need to take further studies. 

2. What is the value of role clarity among members of the team?

It is essential to have role clarity in order to know up until where we may intervene with. It would be harmful for the program and the clients if members without the adequate knowledge in that field, would give advice or programs in that said field. It may also cause confusion. Role clarity is also essential in order to be able to work well within the team and ensure quality interventions/programs for the client because knowing what your role is and what others’ roles are would help one know who to consult in order to piece together a holistic program that has the least amount of room for error. Role clarity also elicits communication between members because we are curious of what their inputs are and what their professions are, which would help us learn different disciplines and general knowledge in different fields as well. Role clarity also helps us grow respect for different professions and helps us learn how to work with others in a team, it also reminds you that while you may know what is best for the client, it also essential to gain inputs from others because they may see perspectives that you may be blind to. 

Based from the videos, it can be seen that all members in both videos are prepared to discuss the case from their discipline-specific perspective. All of them have thoroughly researched and studied about the case and condition of the client prior to their meeting. Sufficient data gathering about the case of the patient and the needs of the patient was done. They were also able to prepare their individual written or printed notes that could guide them throughout their meeting. They were knowledgeable about how their specific role and profession could contribute to the treatment in the condition of the patient.

Although almost all members in both groups engaged and contributed in the discussion, we could still see the difference between the first and second video. As for me, I think the second video was more appealing and engaging compared to the first video since all members of the second video was eager to share their knowledge and opinions to everyone. We could see that they are able to work more as a team because they are interacting well with each other. They all have an equal opportunity in sharing their thoughts and knowledge to other members. All members also quietly listen to other people talk while waiting for their turn. The discussion is fairly distribute among team members because they valued and respected the time given for each member. On the other hand, the members on the first video was seen less cooperative and not much valuing the opinion of other people while talking. Some members are seen doing unnecessary things and not paying attention to the person speaking. The discussion is not much distributed among team members because it can also be seen that there is one team member that serves as their leader, who had the most input, giving other people less chance to talk and share their opinions. Also, not all members actively contributed and cooperated much compared to the other group.  

At the end of the video, some of my takeaways were the importance of active participation in a group discussion, the importance of valuing the opinion and giving respect to other when talking, and the importance of having great teamwork. Not participating in a group activity could affect the overall outcome of the group. Maybe your opinion could be helpful in accomplishing the task and making a better output. Next, it is important that we know how to value and respect other people’s opinion or when they are talking. We have to be able to learn how to accept opinions and learn how to show that we are interested on what the other person is talking about. Lastly, having good teamwork could help the group produce a more quality outcome and better solutions and conclusions for the given problem.

It is important that we know how to reflect on practice in order for us to be able to improve ourselves and become a better individual and professional in the future. Reflecting could help us identify our own strengths, weaknesses, and how we could incorporate these things in our future practice. In our field, we deal with people’s lives and we should always aim for excellence since we wanted that our patient will be able to improve and be free from any conditions. Reflecting could also help us make better decisions and help us give our best and quality service to satisfy the needs of our patients. Additionally, by analyzing and reflecting, we could also understand ourselves better and could avoid mistakes from happening in the future. 

The first skills that is needed to reflect on practice is self-awareness, which is needed to identify our own strengths, weaknesses, feelings, and thoughts. Next, we should also have the ability to describe, critically analyze, and synthesize to know why the problem happened and what are the things that we have to avoid in order for it to not happen again. Lastly, we also have to know how to properly evaluate in order for us to come up with the best action or intervention in the future for our patients.

 

Out of the several models, my favorite model of reflective practice would probably be Gibb’s Reflective Cycle because it focuses on our experiences and how we could be able to learn from it. We could reflect and learn from our past experiences and use it to improve ourselves and not make the same mistakes that we did before. As a future healthcare professional, problems and mistakes are sometimes unpredictable and inevitable. But this doesn’t mean that we should forget about these problems immediately without even trying to analyze and reflect on our mistakes. That’s why, it is important that we constantly learn how to process and analyze our past mistakes and find a better solution in handling that situation again in the future. 

 

Gibb’s Reflective Cycle could help me process the situation in a more systematic manner and the guide questions provided could assist me in analyzing the problem and create a better solution, decision, and action plan. When I encounter problem in the future as a health care professional, I should first ask myself, “what happened?”. In this stage, I should be able to describe the events that happened and the things that I find challenging in that situation. After describing, I will now evaluate how I felt during and after that experience. Both positive and negative feelings should be considered because both could help you in analyzing the situation. After evaluating my feelings, I will now perform situational analysis by evaluating and weighing both pros and cons during the experience and look at the situation in different perspectives. Next, I could now come up with a conclusion and reflect on the things that I should have done in order to not make the same mistakes anymore. Lastly, I will create an action plan and use it whenever I encounter the same mistake again. The plan that I will execute will now be better and I am now more confident in handling my patients. 

During my senior high years, I was elected as our school’s student council president. Every September, our school would celebrate Teacher’s Day and the student council would prepare programs specially for the teachers. Our team agreed to have a meeting in order to propose ideas and suggestions on what theme and activities should we prepare for that day. Everything went by smoothly until the week before the program. One group of performers suddenly backed out stating that something came up with them and was unable to perform. We respectfully accepted their decision, understanding that their problem is more important than performing on that day. After that situation, I immediately held a meeting with my members stating what actions we should take for that problem since the flow of the program that was already finalized will also be affected. Some of my members stated that we could remove that segment and just adjust the sequence of the performances and program because of a lack of time to prepare and practice. However, some also suggested that maybe we could still invite other guest performers to perform and fill in for that loss. Due to the different opinions of both teams, I decided to weigh in the pros and cons of both sides and evaluate which actions is better to take. I also asked for the help and guidance of our student council advisor if what actions are best to take. After some time of analyzing and deliberating, our team decided to just adjust the sequence of the program and not to invite other performers since there is a lack of time to practice for their performance. 

 

For the sub-competencies, I think respecting the unique culture, values, roles/ responsibilities, and expertise of my member is important to consider. Since we have different opinions, it is still important that you listen to their explanation and consider what they are feeling. Each member has their own competencies and expertise that can still be helpful in the accomplishment of the activity. Also, we should also learn how to work in cooperation with those people who can contribute to or support the execution or delivery of the program. It is important that as a member of the team, we must learn how to cooperatively work with each other in order to provide more quality and better outcome. 

Reflective practice is integral in healthcare; this allows each healthcare professional (HCP) to develop their critical analysis in realizing the possible successes and limitations of the services/treatment they have rendered to their patients. Considering that not all learning is scoped within written resources, thus it is highly encouraged that each HCP constantly reflect on their experiences. Through a reflective process, the experiences of HCP then undergo breaking down into new forms of learnings, suitable to be applied for their context/setting. From the lecture, it was stated that there are six important skills that an HCP must develop for effective reflective practice; however, in my opinion, I believe that the overriding skill among them is critical thinking. I believe that being a critical-thinker allows somebody to be more open-minded in accepting one's limitations, thereby allowing him to resort to a reflection of his experiences that generates a variety of suitable and innovative discoveries. Being a critical-thinker also is integral for filtering out information that is irrelevant and generic for our concerns it is one step to ensure that patient-centered care is rendered whereby the patient's context and situation are acknowledged.

Since our first year in OT, we are already taught to apply Borton's Developmental Framework in our reflection paper; thus, up until now, it became a part of OT's culture for making reflective papers. Without a doubt, this framework is easy yet in a way systematic as compared to others, thereby making me favor it the most. During our OT visits, this reflective framework allowed me to arrive with such comprehensive realizations from the situations I have observed for each facility - but most importantly, it helped me learn concepts that no book or journal can ever offer. Likewise, considering the vast effects of the pandemic at the present, it leaves me a little hope that our internship next year will be conducted face-to-face. Nevertheless, I believe that reflective practice will become an integral strategy to further expand our theoretical and more so clinical knowledge in our discipline. Regardless of whether our internship will be done telehealth or face-to-face, what is most important is that we get to make the most with the situations we are provided and that we get to learn from them.

 

This experience occurred during the creation of our final project in one of our major subjects. The output is to accomplish a case-based analysis wherein several guide questions must be answered and supported with research. As far as I can remember, it was the third time that we were assigned to do such a case with a similar format and with everyone having the same tasks repeatedly. However, during our initial discussion, some members raised their concerns regarding how unfair the distribution of the questions was and that the number of persons in a particular question may somehow be inadequate. From there, we began to review the format and the guide questions and see what modifications we could do to ease the tasks and roles of each member. However, judging from the looks of that meeting, our leader was not able to meet the demands of those who raised such concerns, which in turn made everyone stick to their original responsibilities. Those members who raised their concerns were just left to do their tasks as is, making them dread our leader and the process of creating our group output. 

 

In hindsight, such experience from my group can be considered as an example of an ethical dilemma - wherein a person may be left with two viable courses of action - which both have inherent advantages and disadvantages.  

 

 

Thinking about it, there could have been other viable strategies that our leader could have undertaken to meet everyone's individual and collective needs. Perhaps, during that time, he just felt restricted to explore other options. Because upon the reviewing of the case-based analysis format and guide questions, the group could have pointed out more strategies to address the concerns such as picking similar items that can be infused into one, or that other groupmates could have volunteered themselves to help other members with their tasks. 

 

Through intensive evaluation, it is observable that our group lacked the quality of respect and understanding of the needs of each member. Some of us were just willing to do it our way, despite not accommodating the preferences and predicaments of other people. With the learning of the sub-competencies of an IPE team, I hope that come the time that I encounter such a similar experience, I would not just remain a passive member who would either agree or disagree depending on the choice of the majority. I hope to develop the courage to stand up, for other members, and likewise let their voices be heard and acknowledged by others. Because as competent healthcare professionals in the future, as early as now, we must begin to develop a trusting relationship with others while we pay attention to their problems and concerns, without minimizing their importance.

Considering that PLA3 is a video output, communication and teamwork among each member are undeniably salient. In creating the structure and flow of the video, everybody is expected to pitch in their ideas to ensure that the video will be of its best quality.  However, with the differences in one's schedule and academic workloads, it was difficult for the team to find a common time to corroborate their ideas for the video production. In fact, the group only met once to coordinate and plan for the possible information that should be scoped for their whole video. And with that limited amount of time, the group facilitators were only able to entertain and accommodate partial ideas from everyone. Also, since almost half of the team came from the Department of Physical Therapy, it was easier for them to adjust and coordinate with their fellow PT students, thereby ensuring faster and unilateral decision-making for the whole group. Furthermore, teamwork is essential considering the different aspects comprising such video production – therefore it was important to identify who will act as the scriptwriters, speakers, and editors. 

Overall, it was clear from this output that our group is still working on establishing unified team identity. The majority of the members are still hesitant to share and express their views and concerns, resulting in uncomfortable and lackluster discussions. As an OT student, I admit it was tough for me to communicate my thoughts because our field uses jargon and language that other professions may not understand. Nevertheless, I believe that with proper scheduling and enough non-academic conversations, gradually, our team will be able to open up and break the different barriers of communication that prevent us from expressing ourselves fully to everyone. More interactions may be necessary to develop our interpersonal skills and discover the possible overlapping among each of our disciplines in which we can optimize to bring about our shared team identity.

I think with that, the main problem we have really encountered was time and scheduling. It was very difficult to find a time slot that everyone was free or doesn’t have a prior meeting/schedule to attend to that can cut short their attendance in the meeting. With this kind of problem, we can either reschedule until everyone can attend or if it’s impossible to be complete: compromise. Take notes of what happened during the meeting and share it with those who are unable to attend the meeting, as well as do a recap if ever another meeting is scheduled and those who were absent in the previous one can already attend. Through this, all members would still be updated on what transpired during meetings, as well as be reminded of what their roles and expected contributions are for the activity. 

With my example, there were some sub-competencies I have observed. First is working in cooperation with the team (Sub-competency #6). If we had not listened to each and everyone’s opinion regarding the song and its difficulty, we wouldn’t have a good performance wherein everyone is less focused on “not making a mistake”. Second is managing dilemmas as a group (Sub-competency #9). In all kinds of groups or teams, it’s always important to remember that you shouldn’t be carrying the burden alone. You have a group that you can discuss the problems with. This way, finding solutions would be easier and wouldn’t be heavy only on one end. In my case, we were able to talk about the problem, and eventually find a solution, as a team. Last is developing trust with your team (Sub-competency #7). When we made the decision to change the song, it was not easy, especially because all efforts to play that song would be wasted. However, we were able to trust each other and our decision, that it would be better for everyone’s sake, and it would yield a better outcome for our worship service. 

 

Reflective practice helps us evaluate ourselves; what we could’ve done better, what we ought to retain as our personal strategies, attitude, and habits in order to become better clinicians for our patients. According to our lecture, the skills needed to reflect on practice are the following: self-awareness, description, critical analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and action. Self-awareness involves us being aware of the improvements that we need to do. It then involves description or elaborating more on these reflections. The following skills after, which are critical analysis and synthesis involves finding and generating solutions that can work to improve oneself. Then comes evaluation, which involves looking back at our performances and critiquing how we are as clinicians. After thorough evaluation and looking for solutions, it would be nothing if we don’t do action, which is sort of similar to walking the talk or bringing our ideas of improvements to life.  

 

 

My favorite model of reflective practice would be the Gibb’s Reflective Cycle. It involves six phases: description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusions, and action plan. What I like about this model is that it’s very thorough and detailed per stage. I can apply this model in my future practice through using it as a guide to evaluate myself (or my IPE team) when handling clients, especially when encountering certain situations wherein reflective practice is very much needed or important.  

 

Our group still has a lot to improve on. Personally, I think that improving communication during meetings should be our goal. We can work on this by planning ahead. Each member should have read the worksheet before the designated time for meeting. This is important since it gives each member the time to think on their own. If everybody is prepared, then everyone would have ideas to contribute. In addition, we should also work on the communication itself. Our group needs to build a relationship with one another so that we can freely voice out our thoughts. We shouldn’t have second thoughts on speaking up since we should be bouncing off our ideas with one another in order to create a cohesive output. Since we don’t have a lot of free time, we can work on our camaraderie by maintaining conversation in our group chat. Whether it be through sending funny facebook posts, jokes, or even random how’s your day messages. As for me, my goal for myself is to speak up more. This is because I only speak up in conversations because I am required to. I choose to be quiet even when I have my own ideas because I am shy and I always hesitate to butt in. There is always room for improvement when it comes to communication. There may be a leader to facilitate the meeting, but every member should have their own input. In order to present  a better output, everyone should work on themselves and make an effort for the group.

 

Just like how our group usually does, we met online in order to discuss how we would do PLA3. The members are all very respectful of each other and there is good balance between respectful silence and actively giving inputs. I find that our group interacts seamlessly and maintains a professional attitude. The members don’t seem shy to give their opinions or disagree with something, but it is always done in a respectful manner, so our answers are always strengthened and possible weaknesses and small disagreements are easily resolved. We’re pretty good at coming to a compromise, so we’re usually all on the same page when discussing answers. 

The roles of each member was very clear because we were divided into script writers, video editors, and speakers. The essential parts such as the content of the video and the way it would be delivered were discussed as a group and was very insightful. Everyone followed the internal deadline and everything went well. Overall, the communication of our team is very good and very professional. 

The task at hand was essentially to decide the contents of the video, how it would be delivered, and how the tasks would be equally separated. It was nice how the members knew their strengths and would volunteer for certain roles such as speaker, scriptwriter, or editor. My particular role was being a scriptwriter because I was more comfortable writing and researching rather than speaking. I gave suggestions during the meeting on what the contents could be and wrote a part of the script as well. As a result, I think it was well received by the whole group and we all re-checked things to make sure that everything was good before the execution. There was just a small issue about the length of the script and how we had to shorten it a little.

The need to shorten the script a little meant that I had to approach my partner for the certain part and discuss with her which parts we could combine or shorten in order to make the script more concise. I felt confident in approaching my partner since she was very approachable and it was easy for us to be able to edit the script together, giving suggestions to one another.

I feel like the situation was something that can only be realized once the script itself is done, so I really have nothing much to keep in mind of during the process other than to continuously be respectful when voicing my ideas and to keep the time limit of the video in mind when writing a script. I feel like it is just essential to take in criticisms maturely during these situations and to communicate respectfully in order to reach a good outcome. 

I was part of the softball varsity team during elementary and high school. During games or during training, we would have to decide on plays as a team and which play to go with so that all the members would know how to move properly in accordance to the plan. I was usually positioned as the short-stop, one of the infielders. I was also part of the team since I was in 6th grade so I would usually lead how we would go about our plays.


2. What actions did you make? 

I usually execute the plays itself and suggest which plays may be appropriate for the current situation of the game. I sometimes remind as well the consequences a certain play may cost us and which ones seem more fit for the situation, defending it along the way. There are certain situations where in numerous plays are applicable so there’s sometimes debate or discussion about which to choose to maximize the situation.


3.  Is there any specific sub-competency applicable to the situation?

I think the appropriate sub-competency to keep in mind during this situation is (1) work in cooperation with the members, (2) place the interests of the patient, in this case, our very own game outcome as the center, (3) respect the roles and responsibilities of each member, and (4) develop trust. It is essential to build respect for each member of the team in order for the team to be comfortable with voicing out their opinions on the situation, this would lead us to seeing different perspectives and possible alternatives that are in the best interest of our game performance/outcome. It is essential not only to put the game in the center but also the current abilities of the team members, whether it could cause injury or not. Developing trust within the team is essential to be able to confidently execute plays.


4. What was the outcome?

We usually come to a consensus after a few seconds or minutes of discussing since we have to make decisions mid-game. We’re used to respecting one another’ suggestions and are usually comfortable with straightly picking out which play to go with. If there are errors, we say sorry and try to do better, but we uphold respect and trust within the team. We usually are able to go with and decide the best plays that would maximize the game situation.

Reflection on practice is essential because it helps us identify our possible weaknesses and further improve our interventions. Our practices are always changing due to new-found studies and because they are tweaked towards the uniqueness of each patient case. Thus, it is essential that we always check and re-check our actions and interventions to ensure that we are giving the best possible intervention we can for our clients and in order to ensure seamless teamwork between the members of the IPE team. 

Skills such as introspection, description, critical analysis, evaluation, synthesis, and action is essential. This is because these skills help us look and reflect on what we are currently doing or help us become more aware of ourselves and then slowly think of ways on how to improve ourselves. Then, once we’re done thinking, we could then apply this in a more concrete manner or actions through synthesizing and through our interventions. Evaluation is also essential so that we could continuously go through this process every time we are doing something so that we continuously improve. Personal values such as humility and respect are essential as well because humility helps us look at ourselves and acknowledge what we may be doing wrong or what we may be lacking, whereas respect is essential when accepting other people’s opinions.

My personal favorite is Gibbs’s Reflective Cycle. This is because it gets into the feelings of the individual as well, which I think is very essential towards reflection. It also starts with looking at the situation in an unbiased manner first through the description phase. Then, it takes into account feelings and experiences which is where the individualized accounts come in. To me, it is essential because taking in your feelings and experiences during your reflection could help make the whole reflective cycle memorable to you because you remember how you felt about the said experience, and in turn would help one easily remember your course of action to improve the said topic you’re reflecting upon. This connection and easy memorability is essential for pulling out these experiences in future practices so we have basis for our actions and would not repeat the same mistakes twice. In my practice specifically, this could be done to take into account both how I make training programs for specific sports and possible experiences I had with certain athletes in order to improve my programs for them and have a basis when making new programs for them. 

 

The sub competency that can be applicable here is respect the unique cultures, values, roles/responsibilities, and expertise of other health professions, but in this case we should respect the roles and responsibilities of the other team members. For my other group members, they found it insulting that this girl thought we weren’t responsible enough to do our tasks before the deadline. Maybe she also thought that we weren’t capable enough or that she could do a better work than us. We all thought a lot of things that she could have assumed of us because she was never willing to communicate. The roles and responsibilities were discussed as a group for a reason and every member should respect that.

Teamwork includes collaborating and cooperating with other members to achieve a common goal effectively and efficiently. It should involve the participation and contribution of all members of the group. Communication is also important to consider for the team to work well and avoid confusion and misunderstandings. 

For PLA 3, our group decided to meet after IPE time last October 5. We first discussed and collaborated regarding whether we should target a general population or a specific population. Some members preferred the general population while some preferred a specific population, which is geriatrics. Due to contrasting ideas, the group decided to have a vote and follow the majority. We then discussed whether what kind of video output we wanted to present. Since everyone agreed on doing a TED talk, we chose this technique. We then decided to divide the tasks equally among members and subgroups were made for all members to have a specific role and responsibility. Lastly, we all agreed and set an internal deadline for the output of the group. 

I think one of the challenges that our group faced was that some members felt shy in expressing their ideas and suggestions during the meeting. Since we came from different departments, some were not too comfortable in sharing their opinions with everyone.  It is better if we try to work without the awkwardness and shyness as this could also affect the quality of work that we could produce. Maybe that member’s idea is better or could contribute to the betterment of our output. As a member, I would try to encourage everyone to openly share their opinions and try not to be shy around others. 

Overall, communication, brainstorming, and teamwork were still achieved since almost all members had a chance to share, contribute, and exchange their ideas and suggestions for the betterment of our work. Also, all members fulfilled their roles, met the deadlines, and gave their best for us to come up with quality output and submitted on time.  

PLA 3 is a video-making activity that aims to describe communication and teamwork especially, in our case, with a specifically targeted population. One good thing about our groups is that we met with each other to discuss what we would be doing among ourselves with everybody present to make sure that everyone’s thoughts and inputs are heart of. Through the zoom meeting, we were able to express our different views and opinions regarding how we would be going through with PLA3. We were also assigned with different roles for the PLA including scriptwriters and video editors. Personally, I was placed in charge of being one of the people to deliver the presentation and record some voice recordings and videos of myself. 

During the entire discuss, I personally felt that some of our groupmates were not very vocal about their thoughts and remained quite silent in our meeting. As one of the members of the group who usually kept the conversation or flow of the activity going, I found it difficult to make sure that all group member’s thoughts were heard of. Finding a common time to meet beyond our IPE class time was also rather difficult especially since we belonged to various programs and sections in our group. One problem we also faced was agreeing on whether we should focus on a specific population or we should just focus on how an IPE team would deal with populations that have specific needs in general.

With these in mind, one way to make our groupmates more engaging is to familiarize ourselves more with each other through icebreaker games or the like. This way, we could also be more comfortable with each other so that group members will not be shy during our group meetings, hence we can make sure that everyone’s thoughts and opinions are heard. On the problem with finding a common time, what we usually do is decide to meet each other in the evening where we are sure that none of us have classes. One other way we could solve this problem is through using the asynchronous IPE time to meet with each other even if it is a little bit early. For the last problem mentioned, we decided to ask our friends from the other groups who have not had their team huddle yet to ask the facilitators about this concern. Thus, we were able to decide that geriatrics are our focused target population during the discussion.

 

1.     What was your role?

This activity was in one of our professional PT subjects (Cardiopulmorenal Rehabilitation) where we were asked to do a cardiovascular risk profile for the batch using the results of different surveys previously deployed. For our group, I am the Liaison Officer and I was assigned to discuss the systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure parts of the output.

2.     What actions did you make? 

The problem was that there was a difference in choice of type of graph to be used. One of my groupmates wanted to use pie charts while some (including myself) wanted to use clustered bar graphs. The first thing we did was reason out why we wanted to use these types of graphs. Of course, I as the LO made sure that both parties were given the chance to voice out their reasonings and explain why their choice is better. Later on, I decided to hold a voting so that we could go with what the majority of the group wants. 

3.     Is there any specific sub-competency applicable to the situation?

Embracing uniqueness is one sub-competency involved here. Although we may disagree with what other people’s opinions or what they want, it is still important to hear them out and find out why they came up with this version of how to go about with the task rather than disregarding them completely just because of the difference. Acting with honesty and integrity can also be shown here especially in the voting part of the process. It is important to vote based on what we really think is the better option rather than basing the choice on whether the option was what our friend presented or an option that we were coerced into choosing. Lastly, maintaining competence is another sub-competency observed here. The decision should be based on what is the best choice for the better outcome of our output. This reflects our competency as students to choose ad identify which is the better choice.

4.     What was the outcome?

Based on the voting, majority of the group (7/9) voted for us to use the clustered bar graph in our graphs. However, one unexpected outcome was the unprofessional way our groupmate who proposed the pie graphs acted out upon the voting results. The said groupmate became aloof throughout the rest of our meeting as if we did something very wrong to him. On the other hand, the output turned out neater with the graphs more easily understandable after the decision was made. 

Our group had some problems in setting a meeting due to differences in schedule. The group also needs to communicate in order to complete the PLA 3. 

In our group chat, there are some members that regularly remind us regarding the posted lessons and activities. In zoom meetings, each of us has a significant role in the group. Some members led the meeting, while the others contributed to the brainstorming. 

Our main goal for this situation is to finish accomplishing the PLA 3. Thus, we need to find ways to communicate and solve our scheduling problems. It is also important that we need to meet with each other at an early time in order to avoid more problems. 

We solved our problem in scheduling by comprising with each other. We also have taken into consideration the opinion of all members. We used a poll so that it will be a fair decision. There are some members that are not available during the zoom meeting but we solved this by assigning tasks for them. For the brainstorming of ideas, all members have contributed significantly and the flow of our conversation is somehow good despite our differences. 

It is hard to build a great team and it is also challenging to have good communication with people that you just met. A great team can be built through time and experience. So for our group, we are still far from this description because we just met each other last August and our meetings are only held online. It is more challenging compared with physical meetings because it is hard to maintain our focus and attention. Communication is not only done verbally. Communication is more effective if there are other non-verbal components. It may be the reason why we are still not fully comfortable with each other because we cannot fully gauge one another. For the completion of the PLA 3, I think that we did a great job overall. The tasks are assigned well and everyone contributed significantly. For us CRS students, I think that in general, we are not the experts in creating video presentations and creative outputs. Well, there are some talented individuals, but in general, most of us are having a hard time creating such requirements. The reason why I think that we did a great job in creating this output is that even with our limitations, we still managed to find solutions and we made a great plan for our goal. Communication is important in completing the PLA 3 because we need to designate tasks and we also need to agree upon the content and flow of our presentation. In addition, teamwork is also important because we need to share our ideas with each other and it is also important that all of us will have a responsibility. With that, goals are possible to achieve in a short amount of time. 

The team communicated most of the time through Facebook messenger. Everyone on the team is busy so we only had few zoom meetings. Our communication went well even though there are some consequences due to scheduling.

Key takeaways from these 2 scenarios you might want to include in your CLL

In the first video that I have watched, it seems like the team is a low-functioning type. Also, it is evident that the members are not prepared to discuss the case based on their expertise and perspective. Some of the members are not listening and it also seems like the others are distracted.  In addition, the meeting seems like it is mandatory because the members are not enthusiastic and just doing the bare minimum for compliance. Lastly, the patient is not seen and assessed by all members of the team. Thus, the members that did not see the patient may lack significant knowledge. With that, I got some takeaways from this scenario. The team should always aim to be a high-functioning team. They should also be competent enough and should always prioritize the betterment of the patients. It is also important that all of the members of the team will give their best effort. For the second video that I have watched, I have learned that the members of a team should have great communication skills. The team should also be good at collaborating and delegating tasks. Goals are hard to achieve if the team's communication is impaired. With that, it is important to assign roles and responsibilities to all members so they can contribute significantly. 

During this shifting period, we need to produce a written report for a laboratory subject weekly. We were given a case regarding a patient with a traumatic brain injury. This patient is also unconscious and bedridden. In our written report, there is a part where we need to think of the prioritization of the problem list and intervention scenario. We have been making written reports for a while now and these parts are the most important and it is always the topic for discussion. In this situation, we had a different top one in the problem list and I do not agree with it. 

I have a different role in this written report. I am assigned to the medical-surgical correlations part. However, all members in our group can voice out their thoughts regarding the other parts. With that, I voiced my opinion regarding the problem list. 

For heavy tasks such as this written report, our group makes an effort to meet online wherein we will discuss the different parts of our paper. In this meeting, I voiced my thoughts regarding the other parts of the paper. I also asked for their recommendations and reasons. These meetings are good because we learn a lot from each other and our output is significantly improved. Regarding the problem in our problem list, I said my reason and communicated respectfully with them. 

For this situation, the sub-competency that is applicable is “Work in cooperation with those who receive care, those who provide care, and others who contribute to or support the delivery of prevention and health services”. I chose this sub-competency because, in the future, we will be treating real patients and all of our decisions are vital for their recovery. In this situation, we also need to provide a treatment plan for a paper case. Thus, even in theory, we need to learn how to work well with each other already. Problem list prioritization is also important in our practice. There are some problems that need to be addressed immediately and there are some problems that will be solved after solving the root problem. Therefore, we need to analyze the condition of the patient carefully. If we will not solve the root cause of the problems, their recovery can be compromised. 

Our group discussions are always fruitful and I always gain some valuable information. After some discussion, we decided to change the initial problem list to a problem list that is more appropriate for the case. 

As a future physical therapist, and as a future team player in the healthcare field, reflection on practice would help us to gauge our capabilities and limitations. Reflection can help us in improving our skills as we can focus on maximizing our strengths and when we are aware of our weaknesses, we will be able to make improvements on them. If we are aware of our strengths, we are confident in our abilities and we can significantly contribute to achieving the team’s goals. Also, if we are aware of our weaknesses, we can make an effort to improve and we are aware of whether we need to ask for help in certain areas. Errors, mistakes, and conflicts are inevitable in our practice. That is why experience is considered a good educator because, through it, we have the opportunity to reflect on the things that we can do again and the things that we can still improve on. If we can successfully reflect on ourselves and the experiences that we have been through, we can become better professionals. We can be less prone to errors and our team can work more efficiently if there is little miscommunication. Thus, it would not only be beneficial for our sakes but it would be more significantly beneficial for the sake of our patients. Fewer errors on our part would lead to better care and services for them. 

The skills that we need for reflection are self-awareness, description, critical analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and action. First, we need to be aware of our own limitations and strengths so that we can reflect effectively. If I am not aware of my strengths and weaknesses, then the reflection is not possible. Think about the effect of the situation on myself and how did I negatively or positively affect the situation. Second, I need to recall accurately the description of the event and it should be chronological. Third, recall the exact reasons why the error occurred. Fourth, synthesize all the knowledge that the team has, their experience, their knowledge, and their opinion in order to know the cause. Fifth, evaluate all the factors that are needed for the action. Make a judgment based on criteria and source out the appropriate resources for the action. Make a thorough plan for a high success rate. Sixth and last, the team should the action. It involves the decision-making and the implementation of the plan. 

My favorite model of reflective practice is Borton’s Developmental Framework because it is very simple and after seeing it, I have realized that I have already been using this model my whole life. In the field of healthcare, we are pressured with numerous patients and we are always on the clock. Sometimes the pressure that we experience is good and it positively affects our performance. However, there are certain situations where the pressure that we experience negatively affects our performance and the treatment that we can give to our patients are also compromised. Time is important in our profession that is why the Borton’s Developmental Framework is the ideal model of reflection as it is straightforward and it is easy to remember. There are only three questions, the first is “What?”, the second is “So What?”, and the third is “Now what?”. The “What?” question can quickly identify the problem, the roles of the people involved, my contribution, and what specifically happened. After the identification of the problem, it will already move to the reflection part in the “So what?” question. In this part, we can identify our shortcomings and how I would evaluate the situation. I can also reflect on what I have learned about the situation and what more do I need to do about it. Lastly, we can consider alternative courses of action and decide on what we are going to do next in the “Now what?” question. 

The Borton’s Developmental Framework can be used in the field of Physical Therapy. For example, during a PT session, a patient suddenly stopped exercising due to shortness of breath. First, I can assess the situation and use the question “What?”. Assess what happened, what did I do, and what did others do. Next, use the “So What?” questions to analyze the situation, “so what more do I need to do about this?”. For this problem, the PT should immediately pause the session, check the consciousness of the patient and check the vital signs. If the patient is stable, the PT can proceed on the “Now what?” stage. Now, what could I do, and do I need to do? For this situation, the PT can teach the patient proper breathing techniques and dyspnea relieving positions. If the patient has a medication, the PT can also advise the patient to take it. After solving the problem, the PT can reflect on the situation and think of the specific factors that lead to it. For future exercises, the PT can further educate the patient and can also monitor the vital signs more frequently. 

Reflecting on our practice does not only benefit us as clinicians but our team and even patients as well. When we evaluate our performance and skills, it helps us gain a certain level of knowledge. As mentioned in the discussion, we learn not only through lessons taught in class but also through our own experiences. In order to effectively reflect on practice, we first need to be self-aware by identifying the good things we did and other aspects that need improvement. Being this critical of ourselves helps us determine what needs to be focused on to better fulfill our role as clinicians. We also need to have the willingness and dedication to actually improve. Having these would help us stay motivated in adjusting and modifying our skills to progress in our career.

2. What is your favorite model of reflective practice? How can you apply this model in your future practice?

The model that I connect to the most is Kolb’s Learning from Experience. The model is easy to understand but at the same time, it was able to incorporate all the stages that occur in the reality of clinical practice. It also explains what I expect our internship would be in a sense that no matter how much we study the different theories or concepts, there are more things that can only be learned through experience. To relate this to my future practice, concrete experience would be the stage where I had just started my practice as an SLP. There will certainly be a lot of new experiences that I will encounter from different patients. During reflective observation, my online processing should be activated and I should be able to adjust my activity to better cater to the needs of my patient. At the stage of abstract conceptualization, I would create inferences in my head on what could possibly be skills that caused certain behaviors to be exhibited by the patient. With this, I should be able to modify my management plan according to those considerations. Active experimentation then occurs as I apply the modified individualized therapy strategies and activities to my client and observe if it would be effective for their improvement.

The main problem we encountered was matching our schedules in order to set a meeting where everyone was available to complete our activity.

Our LO and some other members frequently remind us about the things needed to be accomplished, delegate tasks, as well as set the time for meetings. During meetings, each one of us contribute our own thoughts and knowledge in order to accomplish the activity.

This is all pertinent towards completing the task at hand, which is the PLA 3.

We solved the problems we had with our schedules but finding a time that was most convenient for everyone, and at a time where majority of the members could be present. During the meeting, we all took turns stating our opinions and what we thought about each question, and we all respected the opinions of one another. Through proper communication, we were able to incorporate the suggestions of each member and turn it into something cohesive and appropriate for what the question demanded.

In our course, we have numerous written reports that need to be submitted per week. There are different parts for each written report, and as the LO of the group, I usually assign these parts to each member by using a wheel that randomly selects from the names inputted. The way the work is assigned is usually not a problem, however, the contents of the paper are where we usually have varying opinions. The problem list usually takes up most of the time when we meet up to discuss the paper itself, as it is the basis of the treatment plan that we will create for our patient. My group mates and I usually have varying opinions on what problems should be prioritized first.

What was your role?

I assign the roles and set-up the initial paper, and then call for a meeting in order to discuss the pertinent parts before we can begin working on each of our assignments. As mentioned, I use a wheel to assign tasks for each report, so I usually have a different assignment for every paper that we do.

What actions did you make?

Calling for meetings in order to discuss, compare, and contrast our opinions about certain parts of the paper. In this way, we are able to exchange information and we use these in order to narrow down the options and ultimately come up with an answer that everyone is in agreement with.

Is there any specific sub-competency applicable to the situation?

I think the sub-competency that is appropriate to the situation is (1) work in cooperation with the team, (2) managing dilemmas as a group, and (3) developing trust with your team. By working together as a team, we will easily be able to manage the dilemmas and problems that arise. From personal experience, whenever I hit a bump when i'm working on my part of the paper, I always turn to my group mates for their opinions because I know I won't be able to move forward without their input, and also because I trust them. I think, it is very hard to work in cooperation with a team if there is no foundation of trust, because then there is a tendency to second-guess the opinions of your teammates or one will try to carry the burden alone because they do not trust that their other teammates will do well, or they won't do it the way it is intended to be. Hence, trust is a very important thing to develop within the team.

What was the outcome?

Our meetings end once we are all in agreement. And after exchanging our knowledge and opinions, we use that to find a common ground that is both backed-up by references and one that everyone is happy with.

As future health care providers, reflection on practice is something that we must do (constantly), because there is always going to be room for improvement. As HCPs, we want to provide only the best care for our patients, and we can only do so if we keep improving our knowledge and skills. It is through reflection that we are able to critically analyze our performance, in order to know which areas we are doing well in, and which areas we need to improve upon. In order to effectively do this, we need the skills of self-awareness, critical analysis (as previously mentioned), synthesis, evaluation, description, and action. Self-awareness comes out on top because if we are not aware that we did something wrong, or if we are not aware of our own limitations, then how are we to reflect upon them? By being aware of it, I can critically analyze the situation and now think of ways in which I can improve. What did I do wrong? What should I do the next time a situation like this comes? And then of course, you must implement these changes and inculcate them into your performance in order to ensure the mistake does not happen again.

I think my favourite model of reflective practice is Borton's Developmental Framework, because if you look at it, it is something we use in our everyday lives, even without us consciously knowing. When faced with a problem, we start off with "what". What's the problem? Then, after we have identified it, "so what?". What about it? What must be done in order to get across this hurdle? And then of course after evaluation of the situation, "now what?". And this now deals with how we intend to move forward after this hurdle. In the PT practice, problems are bound to come your way when handling patients, which is why we need to be quick on our feet. If something goes wrong during a session, we must quickly assess what it is; what's wrong with the patient? Are they not breathing properly? Do they feel dizzy? Once we have identified it, we must quickly choose a course of action. Pause the session, have the patient assume dyspnea relieving positions or have them lie down and elevate the lower extremities. We must be quick to act because lives and the well-being of our patients are at stake. Once the problem has been solved, where do we go from there? Do we resume the session? Or do we completely defer treatment for today?

Borton's Developmental Framework is a simple yet effective model.

The team communicated with by meeting twice. The first meeting was about agreeing on which parts are assigned to the members. The team highlighted on dividing the members into sub teams where members who has the skills to present whom had good communication skills are grouped; similarly, those who are confident with the editing skills, and the rest were assigned and paired up to create a script to answer all the questions needed. Continuing, each sub teams has their responsibility to communicate with each other. This was hard given the different schedules of each department. As I work on the script with my pair, we came into conclusion of answering it on our own time and joining our ideas together. Not much ideas were thrown to each other rather, it was more of answering it based on my pair’s answers and vice versa. It led us to continuously editing our part of the script rather than answering it once and for all. The second meeting focused more on what each members thought of our answers. This is where minor revisions were commented which I believe helps improve out teamwork. Before taking any major decisions during the editing and presentation it was also pitched in the group chat before actually doing it.

The communication and teamwork present in our group is important because despite the opposing schedules we were able to answer our PLA3 at the same time establish a good communication tactic that does not hinder our daily schedule. However, this set up can also be a challenge because some members felt like they are the minority that if they speak out what they thought it would just be put aside. I for one partially agree to my member’s thoughts wherein sometimes it felt like our thoughts were voiced out but did not matter. It felt like we had a good point but the group did not discuss on how to work on it, on how to integrate our opinions to the plan. Due to that, there were members who were discourage to further participate in giving their recommendations during the meeting. This is leads to the majority feeling like some of the members were not participating at all by choice.

I am aware that our plan was not perfect due. I am also aware that some of my group mates were not satisfied with the set up made by our group through personal messages. As a solution, I believe that talking it as a group is important especially since some of those who spoke up about their dissatisfaction were the minority. I believe some of the members are still awkward with working together and I wish we had a team building which creates a bigger opportunity for each member to open up and build rapport with one another. As a solution, during meetings I like to ask each person in every department on what they have to say may it be a compliment, agreeing to the answer, or their own opinions. I chose this as a solution because I am also aware that each department has their own group chat which those members share their own opinions. Due to the online class, building a close relationship with each member is hard, thus I believe that having a spokesperson by each department is better than not hearing from their concerns at all.

 

In our IPE group, what we usually do is assign roles or divide the tasks equally among the members first. We first set a meeting in order to lay out the plans for the activity. For PLA3, we have divided the roles into those who would make the script, those who would be the speakers, and those who would edit the video. After all parts have been assigned, everyone proceeded in doing the project asynchronously. I like how the group communicated with each other because during our meetings, everyone shares their insights instead of just one or two people discussing. Everyone is given the opportunity to relay their thoughts and appropriate feedback was also given by the members every time someone would do so. 

 

The only problem that I could see in our group is the difficulty in scheduling meetings. Considering that we all come from different departments with different schedules, setting up a certain date and time for meeting up poses as a challenge for all of us. There have been times wherein some of us were not able to attend the meeting or came late due to other prior commitments. Given the problem, what we did was getting everyone’s approval regarding the proposed schedule for the meeting. This was done through a poll in our group chat. Using this helped us know the availability of every member prior to setting up a meeting. If some members could not attend, a brief summary of what had been discussed in the meeting is provided to all members in the group chat. This is done so that everyone would not be left behind in the discussion and so that everyone would be reminded of the progress of the activities being accomplished by the group.

 

Last academic year, I was part of the executive board of our organization. As the executive associate to the president, I was assigned in supervising the recruitment process. The process went well at first, however; it was very burdensome on the side of our secretary since she singlehandedly managed the auditionees (e-mailing them individually and coordinating with them for their interview schedules). Hence, our secretary suggested a change in the recruitment system next time in order to reduce her workload. 

 

The suggestions were taken into account. The following semester, we had incorporated new changes in the recruitment system and distributed the roles more efficiently among the members of the team. The internal vice presidents managed the auditionees and it was more efficient because there were 5 of them as compared to the previous system wherein the workload is heavily focused on the secretary. 

 

Developing a trusting relationship with other team members is applicable to this situation. Open communication between team members is very important to address issues and barriers in the group’s functioning. It is essential to listen to each other’s thoughts and feedback in order to understand the situation at hand and come up with plans for improvement.

 

The recruitment process went smoother and better. No complaints regarding the system were received and everyone easily adapted to the new changes.

I for one is a person who goes with the flow. Occasionally, I would share my own thoughts and opinions on every project and if I don’t have any, I prefer to agree to the group’s decision. I like to stand on what I believe in and if it is wrong, I accept the comments given.

The most current group that I could think when asked of this question, is my IPE group. Wherein we consist of students from different departments. This is because I believe that proper communication between the group may not be strongly established as we would want wherein some would rather chat their opinions to their friends rather than to the group, while there are also some who thinks that their opinions are not valid because they are part of the minority. 

My role was a member just like everybody else. I believe that everybody is equal in my group, there are just those who are more vocal than others. Another role that I took upon myself is to give a constant reminder and to reach out to the group for any group work that needs to be done. Every now and then it is also my role to reach out to the LO to consult on what should be done.

Currently I do no have any further ideas on what actions that needs to be done except to participate in the group. Going with the flow answering what is needed seems to be a better idea. Rather than pitching a different idea to the group. It because there are times where it becomes discouraging when they turn it down because it’s too much work. However, I still continue to do my fair share of responsibilities and do my best to for the betterment of the group.

I believe that in this situation, we need to respect Roles/Responsibilities, and Expertise of other Health Professions because they know more about it than others. Also we should embrace and understand the different characters each individual have wherein some are not as outspoken as others. It is also important to work in cooperation wherein we should learn to openly accept opposing opinions may it be mine or others. Also, another sub-competency that is very important in a team is to develop a trusting relationship with fellow members of the team so that they can also trust that person’s opinions and at the same time to apply the cycle of trust.

The meetings became more smooth with occasional silence from the group. Although no deep discussions are being made during the meetings. I still believe that what we are passing have good quality outputs mainly because of the efforts we put in our modules. The occasional reminders also help in our work dynamics which achieves our internal deadlines on time.

Reflecting on practice is important because it helps us discover the reason why we had encountered our problems, where did we go wrong; and as we find those answers, the we can find a better solution to the problems we encounter as a practitioner. Also, as a therapist, this is important because we need to reflect in order to know if the client is already good enough for discharge or if the client can only reach this level of functioning no matter what interventions we make. Reflecting on practice helps us in improving our decision making skills which is vital to helping our clients.

In order to reflect, a person must first have self awareness. This includes being open minded on the comments of other people, having to question themselves on what did they do wrong. It is only when a person who is open in improving can a person reflect back. The person must also know their own limitations and strengths, how they con work around it with their current skills. Having self awareness also includes having a reflective observation, wherein the therapist must reflect on the inconsistencies between experience and understanding. Another important skill is being able to describe what actually happened. It would be hard to reflect when the person cannot remember what had happened during practice. Having an accurate and detailed description during the events help in the person reflect more on what problem arose and what to improve on. Furthermore the person must have a critical analysis wherein what caused the problem, was it the lack of communication or the lack of resources and such. Other skills such as synthesis, evaluation, and action/intervention are equally important as those previously stated. However this applies more on how to improve based on the person’s reflection. Such that it is important to integrate the knew knowledge gained from reflecting to the current knowledge the person has. Evaluating all factors that will be needed when implementing the solutions  that was thought of. Lastly, to have the ability to implement the solution that came up after reflecting.

I like Kolb: Learning from Experience model of reflective practice. This is because I like how I will be able to learn by experiencing it first hand. That experience is called concrete experience. This model can be applied wherein if I see and experience that no improvements were made during the therapy session then, I will reflect on my treatment plan. This is where the second stage or the reflective observation will happen. I am aware that I am still a student and that most of my plan are based on theories and through the experience that I had gone through, I will be able to reflect on what inconsistencies between my experience and understanding of those theories occurred. After reflecting, I will then try to solve those inconsistencies and look for new ideas or try modifying my old ideas to give a more effective plan for my client; this is the 3rd stage which is the abstract conceptualization. Arriving at the 4th stage, I will apply the new ideas that I had formulated by giving a different activity based on what I have conceptualized. This will give me a new experience that will teach me if my new plan was effective or not. Lastly, this cycle continues back to the 1st stage.

I prefer this model because it makes me experience my own plan and concepts made and see how it goes. It makes me continually learn more of what I can improve on and how far I had understand the theories that I have learned during school and what concepts I have created.

It is important for health professionals to reflect on practice since it enables us to learn from ourselves in order to continue daily learning and improve practice. Through reflective practice, we are able to recognize our strengths and weaknesses during practice. This enables us to enhance or develop the areas that need to be improved. Not only does reflective practice benefit us, it also benefits the client since we will be providing them a more refined and individualized therapeutic plan.

 

The skills needed to reflect practice are self-awareness, description, critical analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and intervention. The professional must know their strengths and weaknesses. They should also know how they influenced the situation and how it influenced them in return. From there, they provide an accurate account of what has happened during the sessions, and  thoroughly examine each component where they went wrong in order to synthesize a coherent idea on how to improve practice. After making an action plan, it should still be evaluated to ensure that all factors will work together. When everything is good to go, then we proceed with the intervention. 

 

 

My favorite model is Borton’s Developmental Framework. The reason why I like this is it looks really simple but it encompasses a lot. With 3 simple questions, What?, So What?, Now What?, you can already see how the skills needed for reflective practice can be applied. It already tells a story of what happened during practice and what the professional’s role in the situation. It then asks the question of so what, wherein we assess how this event implies to you and the people involved. It also tackles the action plan to fix the situation given what we have identified during the 2 previous questions. 

 

Once I start internship, it is inevitable for me to make mistakes. Using the Borton’s Developmental Framework, I can use this to correct my errors for the next time that I will be performing a session. I will first identify where I went wrong and how this has affected my client. This is very important because I need to know how my mistake left an impact on the client because this will be my baseline for improvement. I then need to assess where my mind was at that moment. What brought me to make that decision and how does my client feel about me after making this error. After identifying all these factors, I can now make an action plan to fix the situation.

For the past year, our batch had already experienced handling 3 patients in 3 different courses. Based from experience, it is still common for us to commit errors and faulty decision-making whenever we construct assessments and intervention plans. This will most likely be the case for us when we enter clinical practice. As a student, it is part of the learning experience. Through reflective practice, we are able to look back at the situations we have encountered and the decisions that we have made which led to a consequent result. From assessing the past, we are able to evaluate ourselves and work on the changes and improvements in our game plan. To reflect on our own practice, we need to have self-awareness, description, critical analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and action. Self-awareness pertains to us knowing our strengths and limitations and how we consider these strengths and limitations in reflecting upon the situation. Description refers to our knowledge of the situation through observation. Critical analysis allows us to examine the errors we have committed and determine where could have been the breakdown in the process done. After critical analysis, we then synthesize all information wherein we align old knowledge with newly acquired knowledge in order to formulate a meaningful idea. Evaluate includes the decision-making process which involves knowing the most appropriate approach or solution to the problem. The end point is action, wherein the plan is implemented or realized.

I prefer Gibb’s Reflective Cycle. This cycle has six phases, namely: description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusions, and action plan. This model focuses on learning through experiencing or encountering a problem. What I like about this is it includes ‘feelings’ as one of its phases. It is really important to consider both positive and negative feelings of our patient. In our future practice as clinicians, it is imperative to acknowledge what our patients would feel towards a given situation so that we could appropriately address the problem and provide them with the most efficient care. This is geared towards patient-centered care as we treat our patients as humans and not just clients which we work with. Another thing I liked about this model is how it considers both the positive and negative aspects of a certain phase. In my experience, there are times wherein I focused on the negative factors or implications of a certain situation without including the positive side that comes with it. Looking at all factors is ideal in our practice since we would want to weigh in on analysis and decision-making by critically analyzing both sides of the coin.