Written Reflective Piece

Written Reflective Piece

Assignment details
It is a requirement for the Year 5 Elective Block that you submit a written reflective piece of 500 words in length (+/- 10% i.e. 450-550 words) along with your Elective Project Report.
It must be submitted in order to ensure your Class Certificate is not refused.

Aims
The aims of this component of the course are:
1. To provide you with an opportunity to reflect on your elective block.
2. To help you develop reflective writing skills.
Requirements
To prepare a written reflective piece on an aspect of the block which has made you stop and think, made you self-aware, recognise limitations and/or identify areas for improvement and or further learning. This may be an aspect of learning, the challenges of organising the block or a new situation or experience. Students should choose their own title.
The written reflective piece must be:
• 500 words in length (+/- 10% i.e. 450-550 words).
• Include your name (or matriculation number), date, title of the piece, references, and the word count at the end. These details are excluded from the word count.
• Word processed.
• Text Arial, font size 12, and 1.5 or double line spaced.
• Contain no figures, tables or footnotes.
• Submitted on or before 12.00 noon on the Wednesday following the end of your elective block.

Confidentiality
Your reflective piece will be read by one or more Elective Assessors and may also be read by the Elective Convenor. It will not be read by other parties except with your permission. However, you should think about the content of your written work. You must not include any patient identifiable details (name, address, date of birth, etc.), and likewise no other person should be identified.
Where reference is made to real patients, it should be made clear that appropriate measures have been taken to protect the anonymity of these patients.
Assessment Your reflective piece is a Class Certificate requirement for the Elective Block (ME5017). It aims to help you in continuing to develop your skills in reflection. By becoming skilled in revisiting and picking over an experience, we can take away meaning and learning from the experience.
For Tips for Effective Reflective Writing, refer to your Year 1-3 Reflective Practice and Year 3 Foundations of Primary Care Learning Guides.
Additional Guidance: Reflective Practice and Writing

The Professional and Personal Development (PPD) theme extends from the beginning of medical school to the Professional Practice Block at the end of final year and continues into professional life.
Reflection on your experiences and practice is critical to professional development. Doing this as a student will also prepare you for doing so as a doctor in training and when you are fully qualified. All doctors are expected to keep a learning log and/or portfolio, for training, appraisal and revalidation purposes, so the sooner you master the basic principles of reflective writing, the easier it will be.
Year 5 Elective Reflective Piece

Year 5 students are recommended to reference their reflective piece. This might be to policy documents such as those from the GMC or a Royal College, or it might be to academic papers. Not all your learning points will be referenced, which is fine. It is not always easy or appropriate to do so. Our advice is that you write your reflective piece as per Years 1and 3 general guidance. Once you have a draft, then look at the main points, and look for examples and references which would support this learning. These can then be interwoven into your piece.
You are also recommended to use a model or framework to structure your reflective written piece. This could be the models of Gibbs (1998), Kolb (1984) or Schon (1983). Our advice is to use the headings of the model you select when drafting your written piece, then remove these before submission.

Further reading
Monash University. Language and Learning online. Reflective Writing.
http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/writing/medicine/reflective/index.xml
Stephenson P, Brigden D. Reflective Medics. sBMJ 2008; 16: 156-157.
Cottrell S. Skills for Success: The Personal Development Planning Handbook. 2003. Palgrave MacMillan: Hampshire.
Martin Hampton. Reflective Writing: A Basic Introduction. University of Portsmouth.

References
Gibbs, G. (1988) Learning by doing: a guide to teaching and learning methods. [London]: FEU.
Kolb, D. A. (1984) Experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs; London: Prentice-Hall.
Moon, J. (2004) Reflection and Employability, LTSN
https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/id339_reflection_and_employability.pdf
Schön, D. A. (1983) The reflective practitioner: how professionals think in action. New York: Basic Books.