{"id":5247,"date":"2016-01-15T01:30:17","date_gmt":"2016-01-15T01:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stonebridge-blog.positive-dedicated.net\/?p=5247"},"modified":"2022-04-22T12:32:36","modified_gmt":"2022-04-22T11:32:36","slug":"reflective-practice-is-it-really-useful-in-adult-social-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stonebridge.uk.com\/blog\/health-and-social-care\/reflective-practice-is-it-really-useful-in-adult-social-care\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflective Practice – Is It Really Useful in Adult Social Care?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Reflective practice is one of those things that tends to be plugged a lot in\u202fsocial care type courses<\/strong><\/a>, but when you\u2019re out on the road every day tending to people\u2019s needs, or working really long shifts into the night in a care home, do you really have to do it? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it may seem like a trivial chore on your role\u2019s already extensive \u2018to-do-list\u2019, the benefits of reflective practice cement its place right at the top of the list.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re wondering \u2018What is reflective practice?\u2019, <\/strong>it\u2019s an activity that as a responsible member of an adult social care team, you are expected to participate in on a regular basis. It\u2019s all about going back over the events of the day and examining how you did. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A good way to remember it is to think of it as a cycle: What happened? What did I do? What could I have done better? What will I do next time? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not about putting yourself down and finding things wrong with the decisions that you made during your work. However, if you did go wrong at any stage in your social care duties<\/strong><\/a>, or if you could have done things better, it\u2019s designed to improve your work so that next time something similar happens, you\u2019ll be ready with a better response. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To help anyone in a social care role, or thinking of pursuing one, we have detailed some handy reflective practice examples you can use for inspiration for your own. Plus, some of the key reasons why reflective practice is so important. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Write It Down or Get Your Supervision In <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You can complete reflective practice by simply sitting and writing down your thoughts about the day, but you can also do it just by thinking if that\u2019s what you prefer. Though, it is best to take a few notes, as hard evidence is sometimes you will need later on, so maybe consider keeping a reflective practice journal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you struggle to fit reflective practice in during your social care shift<\/strong><\/a>, do it over your break time or straight after work. It doesn\u2019t have to be long; just useful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another great way to carry out reflective practice is through supervision sessions. However, for many companies, those tend to be a bit few and far between, despite the CQC\u2019s stipulation that they should be a minimum of every six weeks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Informal Supervisions <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One version of supervision, however, is just in the informal chats you may have with your supervisor. Senior carers usually have a wealth of experience that they can draw on to help you work through issues you may be experiencing and advise you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether or not this will be an effective reflective practice technique for you will depend on the relationship you have with your managers and seniors. For those who get along, they will perhaps already share the funny stories of the day at least once daily, which provides a perfect opportunity to work through the issues at the same time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you don\u2019t feel you can talk that way with your supervisor or manager, you could just chat to someone on the team who has been working in adult social care<\/strong><\/a> for longer. Reflective practice in social care work, and any other form of work for that matter, is all about communicating honestly, comparing practice, and working out what the best way is to do something the next time around. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Three Reasons Why Reflective Practice Is Really Important for Care Work <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re asking yourself \u2018Why is reflective practice important?\u2019, we\u2019ve compiled a quick list of the top three reasons why. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Learn Better and Faster <\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    We all process information differently. That\u2019s even without counting the fact that our jobs naturally put us under some form of pressure, that most of us typically have a long commute to work and our roles can present us with new challenges to overcome each day<\/strong><\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What that means in real terms is that when we make mistakes at work or learn something new, that every person retains the information differently, and some do not retain it too well at all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Reflective practice, however you do it, forces you to sit down and think consciously about what happened. That action of thinking consciously means that you begin to place the day or the incident in your long-term memory. As you go over the event and you look at the different actions that you\u202fcould\u202fhave taken, you further root it into your memory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When you\u2019ve decided whether or not you did the right thing, and what you might do differently next time, you\u2019ll find that, as if by magic, the next time something similar pops up, you\u2019ll remember the things you went through this time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This leads us perfectly to the next reason why reflective practice is so important. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Reflective Practice Improves Mindfulness and Good Practice <\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Reflection usually takes place\u202fon\u202f<\/em>action. That means that you reflect on the actions you took when you write in your daily reflective practice journal or discuss things with your manager. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      However, with practice, reflection can also take place\u202f<\/strong>in<\/em><\/strong>\u202faction<\/strong><\/a>. This is when you recognise a situation while you\u2019re in it and are able to reflect on what\u2019s happening while it\u2019s still going on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      This takes you down the road of mindfulness; the ability to step back objectively and look at the situation while you\u2019re involved in it. You don\u2019t have to say the first thing that pops into your head, nor do you have to panic and become nervous over what is happening. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Say for instance you once failed to prompt an adult in your care adequately to take their medication, because you didn\u2019t know the person well enough to know that they would forget as soon as you left. The next adult carer the following morning would no doubt make a complaint about your work, based on this issue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      In discussing the incident with your manager, you would establish that no fault was found, and no blame would be set, instead, you would just go over what happened and make a rule for you to follow in that particular house from then on. This way, there is very little chance, if any, that you would ever forget it again, for that person and most likely others.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      1. Improves Memory and Provides Evidence of Situations <\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        When looking after people in their own homes or in care homes, there can be all kinds of things that can happen. Sometimes they take place when you\u2019re there; often you\u2019ll walk in and find a situation unfolding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Remembering incidents clearly, and events that took place, including your own actions, can be a very important thing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        That\u2019s why Carers are often encouraged to keep daily journals so that the information is already written down before it\u2019s even needed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        The problem is, not everyone finds it easy to write<\/strong><\/a>, so if you\u2019re not so good at keeping a journal, you may prefer to go over things with your supervisor or manager. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Sharing the incident and the information and comparing notes with what you did and could have done, through reflective practice, helps to cement what happened in your own head. Keeping this form of evidence also means that if further questions come up about the incident, you have effectively another witness, who can report what you said happened. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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        Remember To Be Honest at All Times <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

        Honesty is incredibly important. First of all, dishonest reflective practice is useless, and secondly, if your managers know you are honest and trustworthy<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 even if this is to a fault \u2013 they will know whether or not to believe you and will be more prepared to fight for you when you make errors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Lying about mistakes is a very bad idea. First of all, people talk \u2013 individuals in your care will no doubt talk to other Carers, and information about your practice will trickle up to your managers, especially if you\u2019re not doing things the right way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Secondly, it\u2019s usually quite obvious to another Carer when something hasn\u2019t been done correctly or the way it is supposed to be done. You can kid yourself that no one will know you gave an out-of-date dinner to someone in your care, but in reality, you won\u2019t be the only Carer who noticed that fish pie was out of date. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Reflect, think carefully, remember clearly, and stay honest at all times. Reflective practice is there to help\u202fyou and taking advantage of it is a good idea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Study Towards a Social Care Career  <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        If you\u2019re reading this as research prior to a potential career in social care, why not take the next step towards it today? Stonebridge Associated Colleges<\/strong><\/a> is a leading UK distance learning provider, with an array of courses<\/strong><\/a> aimed at current and aspiring social care professionals.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Our online Access to Higher Education Diploma (Health and Social Care)<\/strong><\/a> can give you the Level 3, A Level study equivalent qualification you need to study a social care degree and get qualified. Then, our many social care short courses<\/strong><\/a> can keep you on top of best practice at all times.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        During your studies, you will have plenty of opportunities to gain a further understanding of just how valuable reflective practice is to your career. Find out about this and much more by discussing our online social care courses and the benefits they provide with our Course Advisors on\u202f0121 392 8288<\/strong><\/a>\u202f<\/strong>or\u202fcontact us online<\/strong><\/a>.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Alternatively, you can click to view our access to social care course in more detail below! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Reflective practice is one of those things that tends to be plugged a lot in\u202fsocial care type courses, but when you\u2019re out on the road every day tending to people\u2019s needs, or working really long shifts into the night in a care home, do you really have to do it?  While it may seem like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":6410,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[338],"tags":[450],"class_list":["post-5247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-and-social-care","tag-reflective-practice"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stonebridge.uk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stonebridge.uk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stonebridge.uk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stonebridge.uk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stonebridge.uk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5247"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.stonebridge.uk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5247\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29392,"href":"https:\/\/www.stonebridge.uk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5247\/revisions\/29392"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stonebridge.uk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stonebridge.uk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stonebridge.uk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stonebridge.uk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}