Reflective Self Evaluation Assignment

STUDENT: Leila Polzer______DATE: May 24, 2015

INTRODUCTION
PURPOSE
To provide an opportunity for students and the course instructor to reflect on student performance in relation to the stated learning outcomes of the course.
FNH 381 has high emphasis on self responsibility and self reflection.This assignment puts responsibility on each student to evaluate their own performance in the course and identify and make plans to address additional learning needs.
RELATIONSHIP TO INTERNSHIP MODULES AND FORMS
This document has been designed to parallel the forms used during internship, in order to expose students to internship performance evaluation criteria and procedures. / STUDENT INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Using the template on the following pages, prepare a concise point
    form report to reflect upon your performance in relation to
    the stated course learning outcomes.
  2. Assignment is due Sunday, May 24, 2015 at midnight. Produce a brief blog entry on your professional practice course blog and upload the document.
INSTRUCTOR RESPONSIBILITIES
  1. Review student self evaluation.
  2. Complete Instructor assessment column (student performance ratings, comments).
  3. Share final version of document with student.
  4. Follow up with student re any significant gaps in performance.

FNH 381 self reflection assignment 2015 March 24 15 Page 1 of 13

STUDENT PERFORMANCE CRITERIA AND ASSESSMENT GUIDE
NOTE: The information on thispage is adapted from the performance criteria and assessment guide used throughout the internship year.
Performance Criteria
These criteria, to be referred to when assessing student performance, are adapted from the ICDEP entry-to-practice proficiency definition.
Evaluation Parameter / Performance Criteria
Quality of work /
  • When presented with routine situations, performs relevant competencies in a manner consistent with generally accepted standards in the profession (for safe, effective, ethical practice)

Productivity /
  • Prioritizes professional activities and meets deadlines
  • Meets learning activity expectations

Insight /
  • Selects and performs competencies in an insightful manner
  • Anticipates what outcome to expect in a given situation, and responds appropriately
  • Recognizes unusual, difficult to resolve and complex situations that may be beyond his/her capacity, and takes appropriate steps to address them (e.g., consultation, supervision/mentorship, reviewing research literature, referral)

Independence /
  • In earlier stages of learning (or when in unfamiliar or complex practice environments), works in close consultation with advisors/instructors, taking on independent roles whenever appropriate
  • In later stages oflearning, works more independently, requiring general supervision only

Performance Criteria Assessment Guide
Note:
  • Ratings of 2 and 3 meet program requirements for successful completion
  • Given that you are still learning, minor performance gaps (related to quality of work, productivity, insight and/or independence) can be expected as you work towards performance improvement

1 / 2 / 3
DOES NOT MEET criteria,
MAJOR performance gaps / MEETS criteria,
MINOR performance gaps / MEETS criteria,
NO IDENTIFIED performance gaps

Page 1 of 13

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMESSELF EVALUATION
1.Demonstrate knowledge of:
a)principles of effective nutrition communication / b)dietitian roles in varied clinical and community work environments / c)skills and attributes needed for dietetic practice
Assessment of Student Performance (see Performance Criteria, p. 2)
STUDENT Self-Assessment
CLICK HERE to assess1 DOES NOT MEET criteria, MAJOR performance gaps2 MEETS criteria, MINOR performance gaps3 MEETS criteria, NO IDENTIFIED performance gaps
Reflections:
What?Describe what you learned and how.
I was able to apply various principles of effective nutrition communication through the development of our consumed focused article where we were speaking to a specific demographic of consumers. Our group presentations to our peers as well as to Grade 5 students was another exerices in tailoring nutrition communication to fit our audience, this was done by using specific learning outcomes for a grade 5 curriuculm and tailoring our lesson around those. Our group education session was completed by keeping in mind adult learning principles such as: what is the prior knowledge of our peers, focus on applicability, and also to guage the knowledge as the beginning of the session and also at the end.
Through this course I had the opportunity to shadow a dietitian at the Endocrinology unit at Women's and Childrens Hospital. I was able to observe the role of the dietitian in this kind of environment , which was fairly new to me. I sat in on a group education session with two families who were coming to terms with a fairly new Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis in the familly.
 I was also able to experience different roles that dietitians have with the various guest speakers that we had come to class, or via skype sessions. This was a great experience as it opened my eyes to the varied and exciting roles theretruly are.
I feel I was able to practice professionalism in all of the various activities I was presented with. I practiced effective communication and collaboration with my partners, client, the school teachers and also the dietitian we were working with for the consumer article.
So What?Interpret why this is significant.
The significance of practicing my nutrition communication in various roles is to be able to adapt to different stages of knowledge, to cater my tone and also the depth of my nutrition communication to the appropriate audience. This will become increasingly important as I get further along in my degree, when I will be writing more articles around nutrition as well as counselling different clients at various stages of nutrition education and knowledge.
It is also important to know how to adapt to various situations and to be able to effectively communicate your knowledge in an approachable manner.
The significnace of having knowledge of various roles a dietitian can have, is simply to recognize all of the various facets of the profession. The fact that there is such a broad array of roles has helped me to increase my knowledge of the profession
 It has given me insight and also the resources to be able to think critically about whether I would like certain areas and the potential pros and consequences of each area of practice.
The amount that I have grown in my abilities since septmeber until now has been quite a large jump. I am proud to say that I was able to practice my professionalism in front of a client, even though I was very nervous and unsure at various times in my counselling sessions. This has helped me identify many learning gaps, and also how I would like to interact with clients in the future.
I was happy to get the opportunity to work with various members of my peer group this time around, and this has exposed me to different styles of learning and also communication. This not only helped me practice my own communication skills but also opened the door for interesting and effective collaborations.
Now What? Discuss how will you will address knowledge gaps and continue to build your knowledge from here.
I would like to work on my counselling skills. I have started to practice utilizing skills, such as reflective listening at my work in the service industry, and will continue to do so. I am also going to be taking the CNPS 362 course this fall in order to gain more practice counselling and watching myself, as this has really helped me identify habits that I was not aware of.
I would also like to engage in more opportunitites at school that will allow me to practice some of these skills and refine how I deal with situations that are controversial or a bit more out of my comfort zone.
Another area that I have identified gaps in myself are in more formal nutrition education settings, such as when I am having to present to peers or other colleagues. Public speaking has always been a great hurdle to overcome. The thought of toastmasters seems very daunting, but I think, would be a great and very helpful opportunity to learn, grow and become more comfortable. /
INSTRUCTOR Assessment
CLICK HERE to assess1 DOES NOT MEET criteria, MAJOR performance gaps2 MEETS criteria, MINOR performance gaps3 MEETS criteria, NO IDENTIFIED performance gaps
Comments:

2.Apply nutrition counselling principles with a generally healthy volunteer, including:
a)concepts involved in the nutrition counselling process (including session planning, rapport building, assessment, summarizing and advising); and / b)techniques for effective counselling (including active listening, use of open ended questions, affirmation, empathy, rapport-building, negotiation, and rolling with resistance)
Assessment of Student Performance (see Performance Criteria, p. 2)
STUDENT Self-Assessment
CLICK HERE to assess1 DOES NOT MEET criteria, MAJOR performance gaps2 MEETS criteria, MINOR performance gaps3 MEETS criteria, NO IDENTIFIED performance gaps
Reflections:
What?Describe what you learned and how.
As I began my nutrition counselling process I was able to find out what strengths and weaknesses I posessed through debriefing with my partner, as well as through my own review of the recorded video sessions.
I was able to effectively build a comfortable and relaxed rapport with my client in the first session, which carried through to my second session.
I was able to practice the use of open ended questions with my client, this allowed for a better flow as well as the opportunity for my client to express her needs and thoughts effectively.
I learned there are areas in counselling that I am not as comfortable with yet, such as utilizing techniques like summarization and specific goal setting
I was also able to keep my sessions client centered, even my advice sessions. There were times when I thought I was overloading them with information, but I used my counselling skills and checked in with my client and proceeded only if she was on board. I was also happy to find out that I was able to give her practical and useful advice, as well as helpful resources.
So What?Interpret why this is significant.
The significane of identifying my own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to counselling is having a point of reference for myself, where I can improve on my weaknesses, as well as refine my strengths.
I think my biggest srength coming into the session, never having done one, was that I was able to effectively build rapport and make my client feel comfortable. Using the various techniques that we learned in class was important as I had a clear picture of what the sessions should look like and having a roadmap allowed me to effectively convey this to my client as well.
I was able to also answer all of the questions I had wanted to ask, due to the fact that I had very many open -ended questions. This gave the client more free reign and the ability to express in more words how she felt about her diet, her habits and the reasons behind these.
Through my sessions I learned that it should not be about the dietitian doing the session, but always about the client and their needs. The biggest piece of knowledge that I gained was that nutrition counselling is very complex, and remembering that dietitians who have practiced for many years are still learning and refining their nutrition counselling tool box.
Now What? Discuss how will you will address knowledge gaps and continue to build your knowledge from here.
I would like to work on utilzing other skills such as probing, summarization, affirmation and also greater reflective listening. I hope to gain more practice in the counselling class that I will be taking in the fall. I also plan on practicing these techniques in my daily life, and would like to read more on this subject of nutrition counselling.
I would also like to work on remaining neutral in my sessions, as this was a challenge for me. I had the tendency to shadow the emotions of the client.
I would like to work on remaining empathetic and friendly but not being too casual.
Enhancing my toolbox will be an ongoing journey, as I gain more confidence in myself and my own knowledge and also in my strengths as a nutrition communicator and educator. Taking more classes, reading and allowing myself to be in situations that may not be in my comfort zone will allow me to enhance my skills. /
INSTRUCTOR Assessment
CLICK HERE to assess1 DOES NOT MEET criteria, MAJOR performance gaps2 MEETS criteria, MINOR performance gaps3 MEETS criteria, NO IDENTIFIED performance gaps
Comments:

3.Prepare a consumer focused article using principles of effective writing including:
a)write clearly and concisely, in a manner responsive to the needs of readers;
b)write in an organized and logical fashion; / c)provide accurate and relevant information; and
d)edit for style, spelling and grammar.
Assessment of Student Performance (see Performance Criteria, p. 2)
STUDENT Self-Assessment
CLICK HERE to assess1 DOES NOT MEET criteria, MAJOR performance gaps2 MEETS criteria, MINOR performance gaps3 MEETS criteria, NO IDENTIFIED performance gaps
Reflections:
What?Describe what you learned and how.
I had the ooportunity to write a consumer focused article for Choices Markets, which is a higher end, organic grocery store chain here in vancouver. Our task was to create a quick article on winter squash - as the next big veggie. The article would be published on their website under the health articles. Needless to say, we learned how to gauge what type of consumer would be viewing our article and had to keep it at a level that was both light-hearted, with easy flow but also informative and packed with ideas on how to use squash in unique and savory ways.
We identified how the flow of our article should look like and we also had to accurately provide relevant information for the consumer and make it sound light and easy.
I learned how to write more concise, effective and in a clear manner
I also learned from collaborating with my peers after their review of our article. I also learned how to give effective and helpful feebdack to my peers on their article. The feedback session was a great opportunity to talk about issues and new ways of looking at our writing.
So What?Interpret why this is significant.
Being a dietitian involves nutrition communication in every medium, therefore, being able to write in a clear, concise and simple manner will be an invalubale skill to have when communicating with the general public. This also applies in roles of nutrition counselling.
I also practiced the very difficult skill of interpreting and synthesizing scientific information into more simpler and concise terms, this is not an easy feat and made me appreciate the necessity of this skill.
The fact that as a student I am used to writing in a very specific manner, especially in sciences, has made me forget how to write in a more friendly and "warm tone." It will be very important in my future career to hone this skill as I want to be seen as approachable and easy to understand.

Now What? Discuss how will you will address knowledge gaps and continue to build your knowledge from here.
I will continue to read various blogs from other health professionals to observe how they translate scientific knowledge into easy and digestible formats for the public.
I will continually be aware of my field and how I would deconstruct information to make it more easily understandable. I sometimes do this already for my family and will continue to do so. /
INSTRUCTOR Assessment
CLICK HERE to assess1 DOES NOT MEET criteria, MAJOR performance gaps2 MEETS criteria, MINOR performance gaps3 MEETS criteria, NO IDENTIFIED performance gaps
Comments:

3.Contribute to the learning of others:
a)Collaborate with partner(s) to plan, deliver, and evaluate education sessions for two target audiences (elementary students, fellow classmates). / b)Utilize key concepts in education session planning, including:
assess the prior knowledge and learning needs of others
select and implement appropriate educational strategies / select and/or develop learning resources
establish and assess learning outcomes
Assessment of Student Performance (see Performance Criteria, p. 2)
STUDENT Self-Assessment
CLICK HERE to assess1 DOES NOT MEET criteria, MAJOR performance gaps2 MEETS criteria, MINOR performance gaps3 MEETS criteria, NO IDENTIFIED performance gaps
Reflections:
What?Describe what you learned and how.
I was able to present a session on balanced eating and positive body image to two grade 5 classes in west vancouver. I also presented to my peers on having positive and effective conversations around weight, focusing specifically on us as future health care providers.
I learned that I was much more comfortable presenting in front of grade 5 students than I am in front of my own peers. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the classrom sessions in the schools, and I realized how knowledgeable students in this age group already are.
I utilized methods in planning education sessions for children as well as for my peers and to gauge learning during and after the sessions were done
I practiced my public speaking skills and also gained more insight into having meaningful conversations during a presentation
So What?Interpret why this is significant.
My career as a dietitian will require me to speak in public, whether it is for my colleagues, my staff, or in front of groups of people during education sessions. Having the skills to effectively lead, moderate and gauge learning of my participants will be very important to be an effective educator.
The experience of planning and implementing education sessions that were very different from one another in a short period of time, helped me to recognize different learning needs of my audience, and determine learning outcomes for each group.
Now What? Discuss how will you will address knowledge gaps and continue to build your knowledge from here.
I think that my biggest gap at this point is my comfort level when giving presentations. Smaller, more intimate interactions are my natural comfort zone, therefore I will need to work on this gap and hope that my 4th year will allow me to keep practicing these skills.
I would like to become more confident as a presenter and be able to moderate more effectively.
In order to address these gaps, I will need to practice my skills, take courses that require presentations, and hone my skills in various work and volunteer environments. /
INSTRUCTOR Assessment