UNIT 2
1. There are always learning opportunities apparent, yet at times we often become overloaded
with our work and tasks that we lack the time to evaluate our own practices. This has an
impact on improving our knowledge and practice. We need to remember to always evaluate
what we do and how well we do it in order to grow and develop our service and service
provision and to continue our professional development. We need to constantly monitor
and evaluate our progress towards our agreed objectives and our Statement of Purpose and
to use reflective practices within our evaluations. Continually improving our knowledge and
practice means that our service delivery will improve and will impact on our service users to
achieve positive outcomes.
2. Potential barriers can impact your own personal development and also other team
members. There can be many barriers to personal development and I have certainly
experienced many myself. One of the potential barriers for me has been a feeling of not
being valued and recognised for my skills. This has had an impact when applying for
promotion. I remember my lack of confidence in interviews and although I have had the
knowledge and skills to be carried forward for promotion, I have many times lacked the
confidence. This has mainly been when the team dynamics has been ambiguous such as
having a team member who is a ‘power-tripper’, in the sense that they will not include other
members in certain tasks or aspects of the role, talking down to other staff members and
taking credit for other peoples’ work. This makes other team members feel inadequate and
un-involved as well as feeling not valued as a team member. When this happens, it does not
instil confidence and sometimes causes conflict, and has a huge impact on personal
development.
3. Different sources and systems of support for professional development are many. We have a
personal development plan which works alongside our training development plan which is
reviewed during supervision and appraisals. This helps to prioritise our goals and targets and
to work towards professional development. We always strive to promote a positive culture
in our work ethics and we are very quick to constantly evaluate our knowledge and
experiences and to reflect on our past experiences to promote best practices. Having a good
flow of communication is paramount in supporting professional development and in keeping
up with your staff members’ skills and abilities and promoting leadership values. Being
involved in discussions and sharing ideas is common in our practice and good ideas are
rewarded. This also helps to build confidence and allows members to feel valued and
respected which emphasises promotion of professional development.
4. When selecting opportunities and activities for keeping knowledge and practice up to date it
is important that we constantly monitor and evaluate our own knowledge and practice. We
must look at certain factors such as is it realistic, is it practical, what is the intended
outcome, do we have the necessary resources, is it person-centred and what impact will it
have on our service-users. At my practice, we occasionally visit other care homes, usually
within our group, as a courtesy visit to evaluate their own practices and to compare with
what works for them and what needs improving. This gives us a great opportunity to
evaluate our own knowledge and practices and to see where we can improve, either
through extra training or improving our knowledge base.
1. There are always learning opportunities apparent, yet at times we often become overloaded
with our work and tasks that we lack the time to evaluate our own practices. This has an
impact on improving our knowledge and practice. We need to remember to always evaluate
what we do and how well we do it in order to grow and develop our service and service
provision and to continue our professional development. We need to constantly monitor
and evaluate our progress towards our agreed objectives and our Statement of Purpose and
to use reflective practices within our evaluations. Continually improving our knowledge and
practice means that our service delivery will improve and will impact on our service users to
achieve positive outcomes.
2. Potential barriers can impact your own personal development and also other team
members. There can be many barriers to personal development and I have certainly
experienced many myself. One of the potential barriers for me has been a feeling of not
being valued and recognised for my skills. This has had an impact when applying for
promotion. I remember my lack of confidence in interviews and although I have had the
knowledge and skills to be carried forward for promotion, I have many times lacked the
confidence. This has mainly been when the team dynamics has been ambiguous such as
having a team member who is a ‘power-tripper’, in the sense that they will not include other
members in certain tasks or aspects of the role, talking down to other staff members and
taking credit for other peoples’ work. This makes other team members feel inadequate and
un-involved as well as feeling not valued as a team member. When this happens, it does not
instil confidence and sometimes causes conflict, and has a huge impact on personal
development.
3. Different sources and systems of support for professional development are many. We have a
personal development plan which works alongside our training development plan which is
reviewed during supervision and appraisals. This helps to prioritise our goals and targets and
to work towards professional development. We always strive to promote a positive culture
in our work ethics and we are very quick to constantly evaluate our knowledge and
experiences and to reflect on our past experiences to promote best practices. Having a good
flow of communication is paramount in supporting professional development and in keeping
up with your staff members’ skills and abilities and promoting leadership values. Being
involved in discussions and sharing ideas is common in our practice and good ideas are
rewarded. This also helps to build confidence and allows members to feel valued and
respected which emphasises promotion of professional development.
4. When selecting opportunities and activities for keeping knowledge and practice up to date it
is important that we constantly monitor and evaluate our own knowledge and practice. We
must look at certain factors such as is it realistic, is it practical, what is the intended
outcome, do we have the necessary resources, is it person-centred and what impact will it
have on our service-users. At my practice, we occasionally visit other care homes, usually
within our group, as a courtesy visit to evaluate their own practices and to compare with
what works for them and what needs improving. This gives us a great opportunity to
evaluate our own knowledge and practices and to see where we can improve, either
through extra training or improving our knowledge base.
