Engage in personal development in health, social care or children Essay

Outcome 1 Understand what is required for competence in own work role 1) Describe the duties and responsibilities of own work role To assist service users with everyday tasks such as washing, toileting, dressing, eating, drinking. To assist with mobility and disability. To help in the promotion of mental and physical activity through talking and reading with them, taking them out, hobbies and recreation. House cleaning and laundry. Read and write reports. Take part in training updates regularly. Follow policies and procedures at all times. Report any changes to service user’s health or circumstances. Encourage service users to be as independent as possible. Be mentor to new staff and complete their supervision plans. Carry out medication duties. Complete methodologies, action plans and evaluations for individual residents on a monthly basis. 2) Explain expectations about own work role as expressed in relevant standards There are two main standards that I am expected to be able to comply with – National Miniumum Standards The purpose of these Standards is to set out the National Minimum Training Standards for Healthcare Support Workers and Adult Social Care Workers in England. These standards define the minimum you should know, irrespective of your individual work role. Often you will gain this knowledge during a period of induction in the first weeks or months of your employment. While meeting these minimum standards is not the same as being competent in your role, they do provide the foundation for safe and effective practice. The  standards do not seek to set out competences for workers, but correspond to the underpinning knowledge within the Core Competences for Healthcare Support Workers and Adult Social Care Workers in England. The National Minimum Standards consist of 10 Standards – 1. The roles of the Healthcare Support Worker and Adult Social Care Worker 2. Your personal development 3. Effective communication 4. Equality, diversity and inclusion 5. Duty of care 6. Safeguarding 7. Person-centred care and support 8. Health and safety 9. Handling information 10. Infection prevention and control Each Standard has several units within. For example, the first Standard has 4 units – 1. Understanding your own role 2. Your relationship with others 3. Working in ways that have been agreed with your employer 4. Working in partnership with others Each unit then has it’s own elements. For example, the first unit has 3 elements – 1.1.1 Understand your main duties and responsibilities 1.1.2 Understand the standards and codes of conduct and practice that relate to your role 1.1.3 Be aware of how your previous experiences, attitudes and beliefs may affect the way you work National Occupational Standards National Occupational Standards have been developed in most industries. They – Describe best practice in particular areas of work Bring together the skills, knowledge and values necessary to do the work as statements of competence Provide managers with a tool for a wide variety of workforce management, quality control and specification tasks Are the basis of training and qualifications. Skills for Care and Development develops standards with the care sector that focus on all levels of work, with an expectation that the standards will be used at least as much in human resource and operational management, as they will be in the development of qualifications. Skills for Care and Development works with employers and others to contribute to and promote the developing uses of the standards. I am expected to be able to carry out my duties to the best of my ability, competently and to at least the minimum standards set out in both of the above Standards. Outcome 2 Be able to reflect on practice 3) Describe how own values, belief systems and experiences may affect working practice Everyone has different values, beliefs and experiences which are important to them and what we see as acceptable or desirable is an important part of who we are. For example, Someone’s religion, diet, class, sexuality and ability are individual to them. The way we respond to people is linked to our beliefs, what we class as important and what our interests are. We are more likely to respond positively to someone who shares our values, than to someone who has different values. It is natural to want to make friends and spend time with people who share our interests and values. In a work place, problems can arise when we start to assume what we know is ‘right’ or ‘normal’ for someone. Everyone sees things in different ways. For example, if i was to put ‘songs of praise’ on the tv, I am forcing everyone to watch a program following MY own religous beliefs. As a professional, it is my duty to provide the same quality of care and support for all, regardless of their values, beliefs and what they consider to be important. If I was to allow my own preferences to interfere with my work, I will be failing to perform to the standards of the Code of Practice for social care workers. All Care Workers are to respect and promote people’s individual views and wishes. Outcome 3 Be able to evaluate own performance 1) Evaluate own knowledge, performance and understanding against relevant standards To be able to evaluate my own knowledge, performance and understanding, I need to be able to reflect on what I do and the way I work. I also need to know my own weaknesses and strengths. Once I am able to do this, I can learn to think about the way I work, in a constructive way, and use this to identify areas for improvement. For example, during the day, I would make a cup of tea for all the residents. But, after reflecting on this, I can see that I should have given the residents a choice of drink and not assume that they all wanted tea. This would then be in accordance with Standard 3, of the National Minimum Standards. Outcome 5 Be able to use learning opportunities and reflective practice to contribute to personal development 1) Evaluate how learning activities have affected practice Although I had been a carer for a while, when I became a carer for residents with dementia , I was unsure of how to communicate with them. I shadowed the Senior Carer for a while and learnt quickly that although the residents have dementia, most can communicate verbally on a basic level . I learnt how to communicate through not only speech, but using hand signs as well. I learnt that some of the residents are quite hard of hearing, so I have to speak up. If I had not of shadowed the Senior Carer, It would of taken me longer to adjust to communicating with the residents in a way that they would understand me, and I would understand them.