Activity 19.1: Reflective practice
Take a few moments to reflect on a recent care experience where you have been involved in caring for a person with a long term condition.
- How did you or could you have found out what was important to the person in working together?
- In what ways did you enable the person or could have enabled the person to take the lead in their own care?
- How did you or could you have found out about the person’s strengths and resources; and how did you or could you have included these in the care plan?
This is principally about patient-centred care. You may have included some of the following responses or you may have some other ideas;
1. Refrain from making assumptions about the person and what is best for them – focus on the person not the condition. Listen, respect and recognise their individuality.
- Understand that the person has a life, responsibilities, hopes, aspirations, goals, values and beliefs.
- Know that they have relationships, supports, knowledge, skills, strengths and assets that can help – find out about them.
- Ask the person – What is important to you? What do you enjoy doing? Who is important you? What, if anything would you like support with? What would you like to do/or continue to do in the future?
- Consider advocacy services to assist the person in finding their voice.
2. You have already made a good start by finding out what is important to the person – focus on those issues – ask where the person wants to start, involve families if wanted.
- Provide unbiased, understandable information needed to make choices and decisions about treatment, signpost.
- Allow time – time to make decisions, go at persons pace, remember not everything has to be done or decided at once.
- Consider other sources including peer support, other agencies/professionals.
- Support choices, discuss how this will be happen, roles and responsibilities, resources and funding.
- Enable the person to write and hold their own care plan.
3. Adopt a curious approach, find out what they are already doing to manage condition, meet their aspirations and work towards their goals – consider resilience, capacity to learn and adapt, motivation, personal values and beliefs – build on this within the care plan.
- Consider their current connections, include family and other supporters, hobbies, interests, activities in community – focus on maintaining and building on these.
- Ask the person to complete a strengths questionnaire, how do they use these strengths, how might it be helpful now? (http://www.actionforhappiness.org/take-action/find-your-strengths-and-fo...)
- Include in the care plan the persons role and responsibilities.