Personal Reflection In The Medicine Curriculum Personal Development Essay

Personal Reflection In The Medicine Curriculum Personal festering EssayThe basic sciences are a ubiquitous component of the health check course and comprehensive apprehension of all subjects is constitutional in developing a solid foundation on which to build an go throughing of the clinical sciences.Like many students, my biggest issue with the transition into the tertiary education governance was primarily the contrastive teaching approach, which accommodated predominately auditory learners. Having always been a highly visual and kinesthetic learner, I found subjects such as biochemis movement, physiology and microbiology very difficult to take care, non hardly in damage of the overwhelming vocabulary only the underlying concepts and commandments. Animations I found online and through textbook supplementary resources, uncovered a whole unused world of understanding for me, allowing me to physically visualise concepts which were once beyond my comprehension. preceding to each scenario I now search for online animations that quite a little illustrate to me the basic concepts which fork out me a visual framework from which I can continue my learning for that scenario.Feed substantiate from my first two identifications concerning this capability provided very little help, it was only once I received my first P- and corresponding constructive criticism that I was Overall overleaping necessary details that I strived to improve on this capability. The feedback reminded me to critically asses my resources and to be meticulous with the eccentric of information, improving my research technique and be more scrupulous with my information, my subsequent assignments improved in flavor. This was validated by the positive feedback I received of A very clear and accurate In all very well described and tacit.After numerous lighthearted attempts to cease turn out after 3 pack years, I found the subject matter of my HM A assignment, Varenicline, a new smo king cessation drug, very interesting. consciousness the neurobiological perspective of addiction and withdrawal through the action of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and understanding the clinical manifestation and pathology underlying serious wellness consequences of tobacco-related illnesses such as cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases persuaded me to give a serious effort to cease smoking, whereby I could now make the connections between the pathology with clinical indications I was experiencing first hand. I line up this could be very useful and important when communicating with future patients, being able to explain the checkup sciences underlying a condition or presenting symptom could help them understand more personally. I arouse noticed the latest health prevention methods on quitting smoking are following the same principle whereby they emphasise the association of a smokers cough and emphysema.Through Phase One I have been able to gain an appreciation of the contributions of each subject and welcome that no one subject is any more or less important than the next in the context of medical checkup knowledge. A solid understanding of anatomy and histology, provide the foundations for understanding the physiological processes of human life, which launch the tone for how these normal functions can go wrong through pathological disturbances which reveal themselves ultimately as clinical manifestations. I feel there is still a massive proportion of knowledge that I still have to retain, and hope through the progressive phases I gain as much basic science knowledge as I can. Social and Cultural Aspects of Health and DiseasePrior to entering the medicine course, I was oblivious to the mixer and ethnical aspects of health and disease. It did not take long for me to garner the importance of these influences on individual health attitudes, disease progression and health care access, soon becoming my one of favourite components of the medicine curriculum. My first individual assignment assessed the role of social and cultural factors in the aetiology of eating disorders, and depression in adolescents who experienced weight-teasing. Although I found each individual case unique in regards to aetiology and change factors, culture, ethnicity, acculturation and socio-economic status all played important roles in disease development. Furthermore my crowd project analysed Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual (GLB) Youth health and perceptions in the countrified community. The group project caught me off-guard, because I had realised I had completely forgotten closely the rural community and through the project I sight the vast relation between metropolitan health care and rural health. Living in metropolitan Sydney for twenty one years it is easy to barricade more or less the broader community, GLBY living in conservative rural t declares face problems of judgement and confidentiality issues, along with the absence or lack of access of support in rural communities which perpetuates the startling statistics of double the suicide rates and risky sexual behavior in GLBY in rural communities compared to metropolitan GLBY. Having few opportunities to experience the rural health care system, I am highly anticipating my rural placement in Phase 3. My assignment on the ethics of Brain Death and Withdrawing Life take over revealed to me the honest, legal, cultural and religious diversity in a pluralistic society where the differences between the patient and the medical team up are an underappreciated barrier to utile, cooperative handling and care especially when negotiating a sensitive and dignified process of dying. The differences in the process of ethical reasoning, cosmologies, and key moral concepts between religions must be dumb and respected as a medical professional. For example Catholicism considers the withdrawal of life support acceptable if the support is merely maintaining life and merely d elaying stopping point whereas Judaism has a rigorous commitment to the sacredness of life and Orthodox Jewish patients must accept all treatments that will preserve every possible moment of life. collar and appreciating these differences is mandatory living in our multicultural and pluralistic society.Although my Transplant Tourism assignment was not catergorised under this capability, I learnt a lot from it in terms of the disparity between health standards in a Newly Industrialised Economy and that of a Developed country. The donation of a kidney is oft not an building of individual autonomy and an altruistic gesture, but rather acts of desperation by impoverished individuals, exploited by a corrupt system which lacks the basic government activity power to intervene. Nephrectomy, having little long term consequences when sufficeed in a developed country, poorer living conditions, failing professional misconduct, lack of support and medications, and poor access to medical r esources and education result in a decline in health status for many donors in newly industrializing economies. As Australia grows as one of worlds largest multicultural communities, I believe this translates into our medical enforce as patients who not only have specific medical conditions related to their nationality, but specific medical experiences which can hinder effective patient management between patient and practitioner. For example my partners parents have very little faith in the health system, based on experiences they have had in their home country. Where there are few uncorrupt regulatory bodies to maintain high levels of care and professional conduct. So if a doctor acts with unsatisfactory professional misconduct, performs beyond their qualifications or engages in over servicing to increase profits, which occurs recurrently, there is little the patient can do. This perpetuates a distrust of doctors and the health system which they carry with them when they come to Australia. Culture specific management is imperative in the social context of Australia and I look forward to learning more closely the different cultures, societies and religions, particularly rural health implications in Australia.Patient Assessment and ManagementCompetent patient assessment and management is critical in providing quality health services to patients, and can determine or improve prognosis if done appropriately and effectively. The challenges of case studies inside the course are thoroughly gratifying and have allowed me to observe how the medical knowledge that we accumulate from varying aspects of medicine collaborate and integrate. This however took some time to understand, as the lack of knowledge of the clinical sciences, management methods and generally everything made amalgamating the information into a cohesive and comprehendible scenario very difficult. I feel the more knowledge I learn passim the course, the more confident I get as I am able to make con nections between previous scenarios and understand more comprehensively the patients situation.An happening involving my friend and a scooter whilst in Thailand was an experience that demonstrated to me the utmost importance of effective assessment and management. The ambulance which was called, had very minimal medical equipment, with the paramedic exploitation used gloves to assess his open wounds, the standards of care did not improve at the medical clinic so my friend thought it best if I take him back to the hotel and I look after him myself-importance-importance. Using basic knowledge from classes focusing on infection prevention and using skills from my senior first aid course, I did the best I could. The experience taught me the value of being fully competent and having a wide understanding of all facets of medicine from clinical sciences, patient assessment, and social and cultural contributions to disease.Furthermore, Understanding the principles behind basic procedural skills and being able to conduct and explain to the patient proper technique behind examinations such as a spirometry is of absolute importance as I was to find out when I went to my GP for a recreational scuba diver examination. My lung function tests returned with an FEV1/FEC% of 59%, indicating I had severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) The nurse corrected my technique and he had me repeat the test several times, still gentle the same result. It was not until my doctor watched me perform the test and noted the error in my technique, that I yielded a normal FEV1/FEC% of 98%. This experience made me realise the absolute importance of understanding the proper technique of assessment skills as it can make a dramatic difference in patient diagnosis and its implications and too patient confidence in both the practice and the practitioner.Effective CommunicationEffective communication is essential as it has positive effects on health outcomes, patient satisfaction, the rapy compliance and even symptom resolution. To my surprise I found effective communication to be my weakest capability. When I entered this course, I had little doubts about my communicative abilities, and was even somewhat arrogant towards being taught how to be an effective communicator. Rapport has always been easy for me to establish, allowing me to perform well in superficial adopt/greet, factual situations such as in clinical sessions at hospital and at work as a student liaison officer. I am also comfortable communicating to groups of people, often volunteering to undertake the project presentations in scenario group and having no issues talking to complete strangers. in time it was not until my communication assignment that my illusions were overturned and I was confronted with my poor communication skills when it comes to something much more meaningful and personal. I was very disappointed at my performance during the query, although I understand the methods and principl es of effective communication, demonstrated by my various Ps and P+s in written assignments, positive feedback in capabilities and my reference letter from my current employer, when I try put it into practice in an interview situation, my composure deteriorates. My nervousness and insecurities hinder me from expressing eloquently what it is I am trying to present, leading to poor inappropriate responses, and my lack of confidence and inability to juggle input and output information concurrently made my responses jumpy and ineffective. I hope with more experience in interview situations I can build my confidence and learn how to compose myself by following a suitable structure and concentrating on the patient and actively auditory modality rather than preoccupying myself with thoughts of what should I ask next? Am I doing this wrong?.The communications assignment revealed more to me than just my inability to surpass effectively but more so the fact that I struggle to connect with p eople beyond the superficial, it made me realise I had many friends, but none of which I had a substantial relationship with. I have taken on the plan to learn better communication skills which is a much more mentally demanding and complex process than simply conversing with an individual. Reaching this higher level of skill and fulfillment in living and working with differents will require effort, conscious attention, and practice with other people. I can become more skillful and less clumsy, more confident and less fearful, more understanding of others and less threatened by them. To communicate more cooperatively and more satisfyingly I must learn how to participate in my conversations and observe them at the same time. I understand changes as significant as these will take years rather than over night. I hope that when given the opportunity to undertake a turn communications assignment, I have developed my communication skills to a satisfactory level, where I can have a meanin gful conversation with another person, in a coherent, comprehensive manner.Team WorkI was highly apprehensive of my first group project as teamwork was a foreign concept to me. be a very independent and self reliant individual and having very few famous opportunities to develop my teamwork skills in the past I was unsure of the fundamental skills required to be a good team doer. Most notably was my understanding of my role within a team and trusting and relying on the other members of the group. My first group project proved to be a great success both in terms of grades and self development. I learnt I could perform competently in a team environment demonstrated by the positive feedback. I felt trusting in the competency of the other members of my team was easier than I initially expected as we had an initial discussion that developed a mutual understanding of the expectations of one another as a team. However regardless the good marks yielded from the assignment I felt I had ple nty to learn in regards to communication, compromising and developing a strong aesthesis of self within a team. I felt I was too passive within the group which in hindsight made a relatively naive task a lot more difficult, lacking the confidence to speak up when I felt uncomfortable undertaking certain tasks and failing to share concern when I needed help or was uncertain. I was not nave to believe that developing as a better team player would not be a challenge and it took me several projects to feel comfortable within a group, acting competently as both a subscriber and even leader when necessary. I have come to understand that the unequivocal multidisciplinary nature of medicine in todays unified society makes learning how to function and communicate effectively within a team of the up most importance. Communication, which may be across different disciplines and even languages, is the fundamental foundations necessary for well integrated successful teamwork.I felt my greate st contributions as a team member have been my enthusiasm and positive personality, encouraging other members of the team to participate and stay on track in a friendly environment. I was willing to help out with the odd jobs whenever necessary and engage with other members of the team to develop a cohesive team environment. This naturally led to me taking on a leadership role and I found that leading by example was the best method of ensuring the team stayed on track.My biggest fault as a team player initially was my inflexibility and lack of punctuality to group meetings, my inability to coordinate my time efficiently had ramifications upon the team and its progress. I have rectified the situation by making more time for my education and have realised mutual sacrifice and compromise is all part of being a good team player. ego-Directed Learning and Critical EvaluationSelf order learning is one of those concepts I was not introduced to until I entered the tertiary education system . Like many students the transition from spoon feeding to self function was an unexpected and confronting experience. However the development of self-directed and critical evaluation skills throughout the phase has been integral in my progress and growth as a medical student. Although highly proactive and enthusiastic, I have had a tendency to lack the motivation and perseverance to carry on with the structured learning system I devise at the beginning of each teaching block, often due to the overwhelming quantity of information and lack of strict learning objectives which lead me to often deviate from my focus. I have found it helpful to focus strictly on information provided in lectures and practicals, and only at the end of each scenario I refer to external resources for more information.Although satisfactory my negotiated assignment was not evidence of my best work, I definitely didnt put as much effort into it as with my previous assignments. I am disappointed I wasted my only opportunity to explore something that was of interest to me, and hope if given a second mishap in later phases, I will take upon a negotiated assignment with more enthusiasm and dedication. In my assignment Varenicline, a New Smoking finale Drug, I did an excellent job critically evaluating the ISMP report, unfortunately this was not the set criteria, thus I received a P. This made me aware of the importance of being meticulous, not only in my research, but also keeping focus on the criteria.I received my first F in my generic self directed capability for my group assignment Diagnostic Imaging in Hepatobiliary Disease. We often assume that everyone will submit material of the same academic quality and integrity, and this experience has reminded me to pay closer attention and ensure everyone in the group is at a consensus for the standard of work that is expected of each other.Responsibility, self directed learning and attention to detail are some of few things I have gained from learning to scuba dive. Your actions alone, from checking and maintaining your equipment, assessing water conditions and making sure you have learnt and understood the correct procedures can determine whether you have a successful, enjoyable dive or a miserable and possibly even fatal one.Ethics and juristic ResponsibilitiesLearning about the ethical and legal responsibilities of medical professionals is one of my most enjoyable aspects of the curriculum. It provides me with an escape from the density of the sciences and allows me opportunities for free thought, materialization and personal development. One notable instance was during one of my first ethics tutorials in BGD where the ethics and morals of abortion were put to debate. Although I didnt tell the class, having undergone an abortion at the age of fifteen, this content hit very close to home, and I remember getting quite worked up over some of the comments made throughout the debate. I remember quality frustrated and u pset that there were people out there that were so nave. In hindsight, I am ashamed I was so judgmental and harsh in my opinion of others based on their values, and have learnt to respect different perspectives beyond my own beliefs. The experience also made me realise the implications of ones own experiences, values, morals and beliefs on interactions with possible future patients and the necessity for sensitivity and respect of all perspectives in order to provide the highest level of care.These ideas of tolerance and respect for others was promote embedded through the completion of the ethics based assignments which I thoroughly enjoyed, Transplant tourism, which debated non-malfeasance and beneficience, and Ethics of Brain Death and withdrawing life support which discussed the legal and ethical issues associated with medically indicated withdrawal of life sustaining treatment from incompetent/brain dead patients. The concept of patient autonomy permeates throughout medical ethi cs, as I have come to see through both the assignments and various ethics tutorials. Patient autonomy is increasingly and rightly perceived as a manifestation of the individuals rights of self determination and privacy, universally regarded as a pillar of civil liberty. While there may be temptations on the part of medical professionals to intervene and to nourish individuals from their health care choices, the principle of respect for individual autonomy dictates that if these choices can be deemed autonomous, then they must be respected regardless of the possible perverse consequences of such action, to do otherwise would be unjustified paternalism. However, whatever the truth about the debate there is also strong argument that the issue changes dramatically when introducing a third party into the decision, be it a pregnant mothers rights versus the unborn foetus or a families religious groundings versus a doctors medical opinion. Although learning about different bioethical arg uments and perspectives has been enlightening and enjoyable, developing my own set of values and opinions has been more disconcerting. Ethical reasoning is flexible and volatile, instead of learning a strict set of values, I hope to understand a wide variety of perspectives and adapt this knowledge when it is appropriate.The legal obligations as a health care professional in Australia was highlighted to me when I took legal action against my dentist whose unsatisfactory professional misconduct, negligence and breach of duty of care left me with a servere malocclusion of my jaw leading to tempromandibular voice dysfunctions, requiring extensive treatment. The competency of the regulatory bodies within Australia ensure those who live in Australia receive appropriate and adequate quality medical care. This is a palpable comparison to many other countries around the world, where duty of care is a foreign concept, and regulatory bodies are few and far between.Reflective PractitionerTo m e, reflection does not mean to look back only on my errors and try to rectify them for the future, but to also analyse experiences and notable occasions and achievements in my life and understand how those experiences have shaped me as an individual on the path to becoming a fully competent, well rounded medical practitioner.Effective communication is by far the most important capability I have to conquer as it is the capability that I am least proficient in and also is the one that hinders my progress in other capabilities such as patient assessment and management and teamwork. I only wish I developed an sentience of the relevance of the graduate capabilities earlier on in my studies so that I could have taken full advantage of opportunities for developing them during the course.Undertaking this process of reflection whilst compiling my portfolio has allowed me to realise that by developing skills beyond my academic achievements I am building attributes required for the lifelong l earning that is necessary in the medical profession. I plan to try and a take a moment at the end of each day to reflect on the days achievements and activities. I hope this daily ritual of self awareness will allow me to improve each day. The portfolio has allowed me to become aware of my current level of achievement within each of the graduate capabilities and provided me with a structured manner as to develop specific attributes within the course and encouraged further development of these attributes throughout my degree.