principles of personal development in adult social care settings

PRINCIPLES OF PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT IN ADULT SOCIAL CARE SETTINGS

UNIT TWO PRINCIPLES OF PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT IN

ADULT SOCIAL CARE SETTINGS


Learning Outcome 1 – Understand what is required for good practice in adult social

care roles

1.1 Identify standards that influence the way adult social care job roles are carried

out.

1.2 Explain why reflecting on work activities is an important way to develop

own knowledge and skills.

1.3 Describe ways to ensure that personal attitudes or beliefs do not obstruct the

quality of work.

Learning Outcome 2 – Understand how learning activities can develop knowledge,

skills and understanding.

2.1 Describe how a learning activity has improved own knowledge, skills and

understanding.

2.2 Describe how reflecting on a situation has improved own

knowledge, skills and understanding.

2.3 Describe how feedback from others has developed own

knowledge, skills and understanding.

Learning Outcome 3 – Know how a personal development plan can contribute to

own learning and development.

3.1 Define the term ‘personal development plan’.

3.2 Identify who could be involved in the personal development plan process.

3.3 Identify sources of support for own learning and development.

3.4 List the benefits of using a personal development plan to identify ongoing

improvements in own knowledge and understanding.

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GOOD PRACTICE

What do we mean when we talk about ‘good practice?’ Good practice is about

knowing your job role well and performing your duties in line with your job role

consistently and professionally. You have a ‘duty of care’ which means that as a carer

you are responsible for the safeguarding of the individuals you are trusted to care for

and to support their needs at all times. In order to do this you need to be competent

and knowledgeable.

There are a number of ways you can gain knowledge and competence the most

obvious being through the attendance of training courses. In addition you may also:

• Observe colleagues in particular those with more experience than you. Enquire

about the possibility of ‘shadowing’ an experienced colleague in order to gain

essential skills and knowledge.

• Ensure that you are up to date on your setting’s Codes of Practice and any

compulsory guidelines and legislation which govern the way in which you work

– see Standards below.

• Be aware of your job description – ask for a copy if you are unsure what your

terms of employment are – and work within the described parameters of your

job role at all times.

• Take part in team meetings to discuss and share your thoughts

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STANDARDS INFLUENCING ADULT CARE JOB ROLES

There are certain standards that must be adhered to when working in adult social

care and it is important that you are aware of, and understand, these standards.

Codes of Practice – The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the regulatory body for

health and social care and they carry out inspections of the work place using set

standards to monitor and assess performance.

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National Minimum Standards – these standards relate to the health, safety and

welfare of individuals and all social care settings must clearly evidence the

minimum expected standards.

Essential Standards of Quality and Safety – there are 16 aspects of care that focus on

positive outcomes for individuals receiving care in settings.

National Occupational Standards – these are a set of standards known as

‘competencies’ which describe skills, knowledge and understanding. These standards

are used to inform qualifications in health and social care.

Common Induction Standards - you will not be allowed to work unsupervised until you

can prove that you understand and apply your knowledge of your job role and that you

can show competence in safety and communication. You will also need to show that

you can respond effectively to signs of abuse.

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REFLECTION ON WORK PRACTICE

It is important when working in the care sector that you take the time to self-assess

and to reflect on the work that you do. Looking carefully at the way you work and how

you relate to those around you will help you to see what you do well and work on the

areas which require improvement. By critically analysing your work practice you will

be able to reflect on the good areas of practice and change the areas which require

improvement.

The process of reflection should not just be something you do at work. It is the tool for

everyone as they go through life learning.

10


Decide what

went well and what

didn't

The process of reflection

The process of reflection should look something like the diagram above. You begin

with a starting point – something which has happened – this

might be something positive or it may begin with a problem. Once the starting point has

been identified it will be followed by something that you do. Your actions will depend on

your starting point. If for example you have a problem to deal with, your actions may

be to report the incident to your supervisor. Once you have dealt with the matter in

hand you need to consider the outcome and decide whether what you did was

beneficial and solved the problem or whether matters were made worse. Finally, once

you have reflected on the outcome you need to decide upon changes to be made, if

any changes, should be made to make the situation easier in future or, in the event of a

problem, to avoid it completely.

Self-reflection requires honest, unbiased self-criticism and can often be very difficult.

It can be easier to talk to a colleague when carrying out self-reflection and ask for

their honest opinion.

Reflect on outcome

Star-ng Point

Make any necessary changes

Ac-ons done by you

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AVOIDING BIAS

When carrying out assessment whether this is on ourselves or on our colleagues it is

important to avoid stereotyping and bias. We are all human and we all have our own

personal attitudes towards people and places. However, it is important that we do not

allow our personal beliefs and opinions to encroach on our work.

Being involved in the care sector will bring you in daily contact with lots of different

people all of whom will have their own personal opinions and experiences and it is

important that we do not allow our opinions and attitudes to taint the relationship we

have with those we are caring for.

Our own up-bringing, our family, our friends and our experiences will all shape what

we believe in and what we consider to be right as will the up-bringing, family, friends

and experiences of those people we work with and care for. It is important to be

professional and valued individuals in order to empower them through person centred

approaches.

If you are a rather opinionated person who believes strongly in certain things then you

may find it difficult to reflect on situations in an unbiased way however, by

acknowledging that our own views are strong but that the views of others are equally

important you can remain focused and professional.

Shadowing a more experienced work colleague, attending training courses and

discussing your role are all ways of helping you to reflect on your own work practice.

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By failing to reflect on your work practice and to think about what you do and how you

do it you are at risk of never moving forward or improving your skills.

Sometimes the cause for reflection will be impossible to ignore as it may come directly

from the individuals you are caring for in the form of praise or criticism. If you are being

praised, then you need to reflect on this in the same way as you would reflect on a

complaint. Whilst we all enjoy being praised it is important to understand what is being

appreciated and why, in order that we can continue to provide a good service.

Equally, if someone criticizes the care they have received it is vital that we find out why

the individual has cause to complain and what we can do to put things right and ensure

that they never happen again.

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PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS

Ideally every professional person should have a personal development plan as this

helps us to reflect on and develop skills for the future.

Personal development plans should be encouraged by your manager who will be able

to support and advise you. Often supervisions or appraisal meetings are the time for

discussing personal development plans as this is when any problems, areas of

improvement and gaps in training might be identified. It is important to remember that

honesty is the best policy when attending supervision and appraisal meetings as

without the ability to be honest nothing will be achieved. No-one likes to be told that

they are not performing as well as might be expected however it would be a poor

manager who did not bring any concerns to the attention of their employees as

improvements can only come about once issues have been identified, discussed and

addressed.

It is a good idea, prior to an appraisal or supervision meeting, to reflect on your

performance. Think about what you consider to be your best attributes and strongest

assets and then think about which areas you would like to improve – no-one knows

everything, and we can all improve in some areas.

You might like additional training on a certain area of your job for example the

administering of medication or personal care, and this should be noted so that it can

be discussed with your manager and added to your personal development plan.

Although the usual formal qualifications in health and social care are usually gained at

levels 2 and 3 there are a number of other options available to assist you in personal

development for example specific areas of training which can be done online.

In addition to your manager you can also get support from any tutors you are in contact

with whilst carrying out additional training. They will be able to advise you with regard

to your personal development plan and help guide you in your choice of study. Online

forums, assessors and work colleagues can all prove invaluable when it comes to

seeking support for your own learning and development.

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Developing a personal development plan which outlines your skills and competencies,

whilst highlighting any gaps in training, will increase your self-esteem and confidence.

A personal development plan will show how far you have come in terms of learning

and developing whilst offering a way of planning for future training in a manageable

way. The plan will help you to move forward in your training as you progress up the

career ladder.

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

DATE PLAN WAS LAST MODIFIED

DATE PLAN WILL BE REVIEWED

SHORT TERM GOALS

Areas I would like to develop

Why I consider it necessary to develop these areas

Actions Deadline

1.

2.

3.

LONG TERM GOALS

Areas I would like to develop

Why I consider it necessary to develop these areas

Actions Deadline

1.

2.

3.

Description of Current Position:

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When developing a professional development plan, it is vital that you are not over

ambitious as this can put a huge dent in your confidence when you review your plan

and find that you haven’t managed to achieve your targets. The key to a successful

development plan is to: -

• Identify the areas you need to develop

• Decide how you are going to go about achieving your goal for example

enrol on a training course, attend an open day etc.

• Set a target date to achieve your objective – this may be dependent on

the length and start date of a particular course

Always make sure that your plan is realistic – start with one or two important areasyou

need to develop and move on from there. If you begin with over enthusiasm and enrol

on a dozen courses all with an achievement date within six months you are going to

set yourself up to fail. Be realistic and set a well thought out time frame in which to

achieve your objectives. Three well thought out objectives with a realistic timescale for

achievement of say, 2 years is much better than attempting to change 6 areas of

development in 12 months and failing miserably – not only will your confidence take a

knock you will be absolutely exhausted and end up achieving nothing and enjoying

even less!

principles of personal development in adult social care settings

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