EXAMPLE OF A REFLECTIVE ACCOUNT FROM WHICH TO DEVELOP AN ACADEMIC POSTER

Introduction

Recently I have been studying on a Masters course and have been studying about leadership and
management in health. I have little practical experience of leadership and management of health
projects or services. It is important that I reflect on my learning as I hope to develop my skills and
experience of management and leadership once I leave the university.

Greenwood( 1993) suggests that reflection is about considering what one is doing whilst doing it and
is often the result of something that has surprised the practitioner. Fitzgerald (1994) believes that
the individual is retrospectively considering practice undertaken through recall, thereby uncovering
the knowledge used in that particular incident or situation.

There are various models that can be used to reflect on learning and practical experience. Gibbs
reflective cycle ( 1988) provides a useful framework to reflect on my learning about leadership and
management. For the purposed of this assessment I will use Gibbs cycle to help structure and guide
my analysis and reflection of my learning relating to leadership and management.

Gibbs model

Gibbs model is straightforward and covers 6 key areas.. The situation is described, feelings are
considered, the experience is evaluated, the situation analysed for clarity , conclusions are drawn
and an action plan is developed so that the individual can consider what they would do if the
situation arose again. At the conclusion stage it is also important to consider what else could have
been done to affect a different outcome. A model diagram can be seen below.

GIBBS REFLECTIVE CYCLE

Description

(What happened?)

Action Plan Feelings

(If it arose again what (What were you

would you do?) thinking & feeling?)

Conclusion Evaluation

(What was good & bad

about the experience?

Analysis (What sense can you make of the situation?)

In stage 1 Gibbs suggests that it is essential to describe the event that is being reflected upon
including the context, what part you play in the event and what part others play. I have been
studying on a Masters in Health course and have been attending module entitled Leadership and
management I public health. I have been a regular attendee. The topic is new to me and we have
covered a number of different theories and concepts that have been interesting. I am in large group
with lots of diverse students from both home and overseas with differing backgrounds and interests.
The module leader is excellent and I enjoy her lectures immensely!!

Stage 2- Feelings

This stage is about reflecting about the feelings about the event. At first I felt unsure about attending
the module and how my experience compared to others. I felt that the tutor helped me to feel at
ease in class but I did feel very anxious and concerned about my lack of management and leadership
experience . As the module progressed I still felt unsure but felt I did gain more knowledge and
understanding about the theory and issues that were relevant o me. Now that the module has
ended I feel I still have a number of skills to develop but that my future career can build on what I
have learnt.

Stage 3- Evaluation

At the evaluation phase it is important to make a judgement ( good and bad) about what happened.
I feel that there were both positives and negatives derived from this experience. I found it difficult to
understand many of the concepts and theories and to link these to practice. I felt that others in my
group were able to understand things better than me and that they had practical experience which
helped them and as I did not have this I felt disadvantaged. On a positive note I do feel I have learnt
a lot that I could use in a future public health role. I also feel that I have learnt a lot from my peers
and have made some good links and friendships. I also recognise that there are skills that I could
develop in terms of leadership and management in the future. I found I am particularly interested in
leadership issues and would like to explore these further.

Stage 4- Analysis

This breaks the event down into its component parts and discusses what worked well and what did
not work well, what did others do well etc. In this example I felt that I did attend classes and
participated less than I could have. I enjoyed and participated in group work but on occasions I did
not contribute as much as I could have. Some of the other students took over discussions in class
which I found interesting but I did not feel I had the opportunity to say anything. I enjoyed the
leadership theory sessions and can see how his is important to public health practice. This is
something I would like to learn more about.

Stage 5 -Conclusion

During this stage I need to ask myself what I could have done differently and to learn from that
experience. I think that I could have taken more time to read around the topics under discussion in
class. I could also have been more participatory I class and asked for clarification. I also should have
discussed the issues with my class mates more. I also could have contacted the tutor for advice. In
my assessment I could have tried to link the theory to more to an example and I could have made
sure I had a balance between leadership and management issues. I tended to focus on leadership
issues as these were what I enjoyed learning about.

Stage 6 Action plan

In the future I feel I would have done many of the same things but on reflection I would have spent
more time on my reading and on critically examining and discussing the theory and it application in
public health. I discovered that in such a diverse group of students there is a wealth of knowledge
and experience that in the future I could draw upon. I would plan and present my assessment
differently and spend more time preparing and planning this. I have discovered I am a good student
and keen to learn but that at times I do not fully engage and therefore do not learn as much as I
could. My action will be to try and apply my earning in my future practice ;to ensure that on other
modules I try to participate more and ask for clarification if needed ;to discuss with my peers issues
that are being taught to gain their perspective.