Check the Example of Work Placement Reflection Essay

For any student who wants to be successful in their future career, work placement can offer a foundation. Work placement is an important and necessary step in the development of any student because it gives the student the real feeling of the working world. Through work placement, a student can learn how to work with teams and beat deadlines. According to Lomax (2010), work placement helps students find more about a job they desire or the industry they want to work in the future. My work placement was at Priory Hospital Potters Bar as a mental health Nurse.

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To get the work placement, I had to apply for the position. I did not have a ready C.V with me, and, therefore, I was expected to create my C.V to let the hospital management know what I was doing at the moment and where I was studying. I did not have the experience of writing a C.V, but I went online and did a research on how to write a competitive and convincing C.V that would ensure I get the work placement. I was feeling confident when writing my C.V because I had all the qualification needed to get a work placement including my grades in the class.

After completing my C.V, I applied for the work placement online through the hospital website that gives student and graduates a chance to apply for work placement and jobs. I admit that the website made my job easier because I was able to apply for the work placement without actually visiting the hospital. The hospital website gave me a chance to see the resources, environment and some of the staff members. For the position of a nurse at the hospital the management was looking for compassion, communication, ethics, critical thinking, attention to details, confidence, and adaptability.

At the time, I was applying for the position my level of skill when it came to communication was top even though I was a little shy when it came to expressing myself in the new environment with new people. I have always been a compassionate person, and that is one reason I have had a passion for being a nurse. I always want to help people who are suffering and make them feel better. My level of critical thinking was low because I had not had a lot of experience when it came to patient treatment and anything to do with nursing. As far as confidence is concerned, I am a confident person because I believe and what I can do. I knew that I would only be more confident after completing my work placement that would be important in my future career.

Ethics is a subject that is covered in college, and I was aware of the ethical practices in nursing. Being attentive is a requirement for any nursing student. Attention to details can determine a patient recovery or worsening health. I admit that this is a skill I possessed and was confident about. I was considered for the position of a nurse in the hospital, and I was required to attend for an interview later. I was nervous at first even if it was not a job application because the work placement was important to me and my future career. I did not want to miss on this opportunity, and, therefore, I researched on the possible questions I would be asked at the interview.

At the interview, I was expected to give a presentation of a nurse-patient scenario that required me to demonstrate the processes that I would follow to handle a patient in case they attacked me. I learned that when going for an interview I need to be thoroughly prepared. When I was asked to present, I was nervous because I was not sure of the right response to the question. I was not well prepared because I did not expect such a question. At this point, I was supposed to use the skill of critical thinking to decide what I would do if a patient attacked me. I was also supposed to use the skill of compassion which would help me understand that the patient is a mental patient and. Therefore, it is not their intention to attack me, and it could just be the disease that triggered their actions. I believe that I had to develop the skill of critical thinking further to be more competitive and a better nurse in the future.

Throughout my work placement, I worked with experienced and mature nurses who were always willing to assist me whenever I needed support. My inquisitive nature helped gain more support. The doctors and nurses expected me to carry out different duties for them, and I did those diligently always asking questions where necessary. Through working with the experienced doctors and nurses, I was able to present myself as a committed person, and that made it easy for the nurses to accept and assist me.

I was expected to assess frequently and talk to patients about their progress and to find the next step in making them recover. At the time of my work placement, I was not confident enough that patients would cooperate especially if they knew I was only there for work placement. However, the doctors always wanted me to accompany them when they visited the patients and therefore gradually throughout my work placement I was able to gain more confidence when talking and assessing patients. To complete the task of assessing and talking to patients, my college studies can help me a great deal. I believe my college studies are significant because through my studies I will gain more knowledge. The more I know, the more confident I will be about what I know and what I can do as a nurse. I learn different things about nursing as a profession in college. A combination of my studies will widen my knowledge about nursing and the health industry. Through my education, I can be able to complete different tasks as a nurse in the future.

Reference

LOMAX, R. (2010). Surviving your social work placement. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, Palgrave Macmillan.