Placement Log – Documents & Summary
Overall, I am happy with the progression of my placement, when starting I was not sure if it was something I was really interested in, however it has been very enjoyable (so far), and has educated me a lot. I worried because I already had training on safeguarding, DOL’s and confidentiality due to my previous job, it was interesting to see it from a different perspective as an advocate rather than a care assistant and how advocates use this training in their jobs. I think that creating a peer support group will benefit my career as a clinical psychologist because it gives me experience in facing new challenges everyday, meeting new clients (students), and helping them and guiding them in the right and positive direction to being independent and empowered. I look forward to challenging myself more and becoming involved in adding new members to the peer support group if participants are interested in joining, this will help gain my confidence when talking to new people. So far, this placement is definitely something I would be happy to put on my CV.
Here shows all of my documents, unfortunately I have not completed my placement, so not all documents are available to show. Most of the paperwork contains confidential pieces which I do not share to disclose, however, they will be uploaded, but there will be edits over signatures, email addresses etc. (I can’t get my blog private). Down below, also shows Louise’s input to my time on placement, it is really good to hear something positive, and it motivates me to carry on and do well with not only this module, but the others too ?
2&3/04/2019 – Placement Log
On the 2nd April, myself and others on placement created a questionnaire which was influenced by SeAp’s advocate application form, to get feedback on how our support system should work. As discussed previously in meetings, we wanted potential participants ideas whether the support should be all through the academic year, or just six weekly to begin with. If the participants would like one-to-one support or would rather support groups, and other questions regarding if they think they would benefit having a peer support.
We later on met Louise who had created a presentation for the year ones and twos about advocacy and peer support. This was presented to over 35 students, which was super scary but also brilliant that so many did turn up. The leaflets were given out for everyone to read, which explained what our aims are and once Louise had finished presenting, the questionnaires were sent around for students to fill in privately. Once the presentation was over, a couple of students did come over to talk to us about the project and seemed interested in joining. It felt like an accomplishment as this may mean that the project could be taken seriously and could be part of a student joining Marjon even when we leave after year 3.
on the 3rd April, we just had a catch up about how everything went after the presentation.
I have yet to complete the rest of my placement, I am now at 25 hours however there is still work which needs to be completed and we need to analyse the questionnaire and see what suits all of the potential participants.
I am feeling really positive about this placement, as when I started I was concerned it would not benefit my career choices as I was either turned down or not replied to by many different companies, however, I am glad that I have found a placement which is enjoyable but also hopefully helpful for others in the future.
27/03/2019 – Placement Log
Through-out my time on placement on the 27th March, another person came along to our meeting who was an graduate at Marjon who become an advocate at SeAp, they went into more detail about health complaints, and what their roles are with the NHS health complaints which we were originally beginning to participate in. We went into more detail about boundaries, and how they not only are important with health complaints, but how they are needed through peer support, by learning what we are able to do as peer supporters and what we cannot deal with. We also had more training on safeguarding adults and again, discussed how this has an influence on our project.
Input from the advocate regarding our project was really helpful, it was good for an outsider to recognise anything that we may not have considered and for her ideas to help us better the project. She seemed really positive about it, which was very reassuring as it feels like something we can be proud of and happy to present to others.
It was a pretty casual discussion and a relaxing training session. It was really nice that our placement worker is so enthusiastic about this project and is really keen for us to do well in it, its very motivating.
20/3/2019 – Placement Log
Through this session, we had a meeting with Hazel regarding our plans to create a peer support group. As previously mentioned, we discussed what role we would have in the position, how we would make it, how it would help students and be beneficial to them, and what needs to be put in place for it to go ahead and be safe, and accessible for students to use and be apart of whilst following SeAp’s advocacy principles. We asked Hazel if she was able to contact student support, and how to join any specific training needed.
This part of placement was very exciting, as it felt as if our work and ideas were starting to come to life, and would be great if this did become a permanent position through University, not just as a placement.
We then created a peer support group leaflet which promoted peer support, by explaining what it is and how it is beneficial. It then explains what our project aims are and how we plan to help others through peer support. The leaflet is aimed to be give out and promoted for all Psychology students to join if they are interested.
Down below is the leaflet which was created for potential participants to read and enquire about.
13/3/2019 – Placement Log
During placement this week, we went over the basic advocacy training handbook and mainly focused on what advocacy is, and the principles which it follows. The time spent we looked over how people can become an advocate and the differences between being an advocate, and a befriender, as I learnt are very different roles. It was interesting to how to empower patients and help them keep their independance as much as possible when making decisions or needing advice.
We then read and discussed SeAp’s advocacy principles, which included their independence, keeping everything disclosed and confidential at all times and empowering the individuals. We also looked into case studies and spoke about what the correct procedure would be as an advocate. Louise mentioned that she would find a date we could get adult safeguarding training in Plymouth which is yet to be confirmed.
We then began to plan how to create a peer support group, and what measures we need to go to set it up. We planned to look into contracting, and recognise the boundaries and realistic expectations of this project. We planned to set up a meeting with Hazel regarding the peer support group and to discuss if we would be allowed to join in on any meetings regarding mental health training and anything that student support has to offer.
6/3/2019 – Placement Log
The 6th March 2019 was the first day of my placement training. My placement was organised by somebody from SeAp Advocacy who was going to help us set up a NHS complaints service for students, regarding complaints about any bad experiences a student may of had in either the doctors, hospitals or dentists. At first I was not sure on how much this would work because being a student myself, if I felt I was mistreated in a care setting I would usually just let it go, however it was good to make awareness and let others know what they can do if they felt mistreated. The first meeting was mainly an introduction and discussion of what and who SeAp are and what they do.
I felt I learnt a lot that day, I learnt that they focus on vulnerable adults who need support and empowerment in making decisions. From working in a care home myself and understanding how important it is for each patient to have somebody there for them to support them, it was nice to know and learn that SeAp do help and support individuals who may not have any family members to support them. I was given a basic advocacy awareness training booklet, which we briefly looked over and discussed, talking about the DOL’s act, safeguarding, and vulnerable adults.
During the end of this session, when we were planning on where the NHS complaints services was going, Louise the placement organiser mentioned potentially setting up a peer support system, for students. This was something I felt I was more interested in creating and learning about, as at the start of year two, me and Flora discussed in a student/staff meeting about having a ‘support friend’ for any help and advice regarding university work and university life. I felt this was more helpful for my career goals and was something I wanted to help create.
Task 12 – A good read.
The book I have taken out which I think is a good read is by S.Cottrell. (2013). The Study Skills Handbook.’ 4th Ed. Palgrave MacMillan. Hampshire.
Within the book, it contains 15 different chapters which as it says in the title, is a handbook and guide on the best ways to study and work at university level. The contents page is laid out easily so that each different topic can be accessed, each category was labelled so that all topics are clearly found. For example, the different categories include managing yourself for study, academic skills, people skills, task management skills and drawing it together. The book is laid out so it is very clear to read and is eye-catching, it does not seem to be dull and it includes many examples.
It is clear that the authors purpose is to guide first time students in the right direction when either writing an essay to formulating a hypothesis, it gives an accurate representation of how to write, and the styles that it can be done in. The main ideas are to get students to gain confidence and become more aware of what to do with work. It seems that every topic has an example at the end, which is helpful if like myself, are not good with maths for example, the chapter regarding confidence with maths seem to give a variety of examples which take students step by step on what to do and how to gain more knowledge on maths.
I mainly focused on the last chapter, which is 15. This chapter focuses on planning your next step, I found this chapter really interesting as the aims are to offer opportunities such as study achievements and to identify the next set of targets for a career. It has pages which help keep motivation levels up such as action plan of personal develop goals, and how to go about achieving them.
I really recommend this book and I will certainly being using it in year two when writing an essay and collecting data. It is extremely helpful and the guidance is excellent. It is very appropriate if you’re writing and need a bit of reassurance if you are on the right track! It is also helpful that there are many of these books in the library, so they are easy to access. It was a very enjoyable read and even when I am ready to finish University I will be using this book to guide me and prepare me for my future career.
Task 15- Learning from others.
I have learnt a lot from others on the course, especially working together in groups through-out the majority of the year. It has taught me more about working as a team and how important working together is, as this will progress through my career. From working with different people in groups, I have learnt the more voices and opinions, the better. It gives the group a chance to develop more ideas and suggestions to make a bigger and better project. It helps create friendships especially in first year as none of us knew each other, having group work really helps because of the social side. Group hard can be sometimes hard when all members do not contribute, however it is something to learn from as group work is always going to be necessary with Psychology through-out university and in the work industry. Working with others has helped me gain confidence whilst talking to the class etc, as I have been able to get to know the group due to group work, I have became a bit more open when talking.
I think that any career which is psychology based, it is a good and an essential thing to be able to work well in a group. So many jobs require team work and any psychology career needs it, whether it is working in a hospital with different professionals, or working with students/children.
Task 13 – A critical thinking task.
The wesbite I have enjoyed reading and using for one of my essays (when finding a definition) is the British Psychological Society.
https://www.bps.org.uk/public
This website contains everything a psychologist or a person wanting a career in psychology has to offer. It has everything from explaining what psychology is, issues and topics which are covered in psychology today, how to advance a career in psychology and even do sample tests to practise for when job hunting. This website is aimed for students, academics and professional psychologists.
I have found this website helpful when focusing on the health and wellbeing side of psychology, it is able to show what the topic is and also the definition of it. For example, Parkinson’s disease is briefly explained the definition of the disease.
The website has an article page where psychologists have wrote theories and articles on important topics within psychology. Article topics range from researchers looking into how social media can lead to body dissatisfaction in women, to how colouring stops students going over the edge.
It is good to get a better understand of meanings of words, or illnesses, and even what types of psychology there are.
Task 14- Top Ten Topics
I am the worst person when it comes to exams, no matter how much I revise and try and relax, I always end up becoming a panicking mess and have 20 breakdowns, but here are some typical tips people tend to use to prep for an exam.
- Revise early; It is best to get revision in early so it sits in the brain for longer, avoid leaving it until last minute
- Re-read notes; Do not stop revising once notes have been taken, keep re-reading and making sure you know as much as possible.
- Take regular breaks; Regular breaks are necessary so the mind is clear, little breaks such as going on a walk, socialising with friends or family. Having regular and short breaks can help improve focus and can boost your productivity.
- Get plenty of sleep; Sleep is important before an exam, it gives the mind a chance to relax and you are able to make up with a positive mindset.
- Don’t leave it last minute; Try avoiding last minute work, this can cause a lot of unnecessary stress on top of the stress of exams. Leading you to maybe missing out on an important topic which could have a lot of marks.
- Balanced diet; Drinking plenty of water and eating healthy foods such as banana’s are good for concentration, water to stay hydrated and full before the exam. I was told by a teacher when I was doing my SATS to have a piece of dark chocolate before an exam to help with concentration.
- Study somewhere comfortable; Make sure you are studying somewhere you feel relaxed and are able to concentrate well. This could be in a bedroom somewhere quiet and out of the way, or even in the library with people around. Just be sure that there are no distractions near by!
- Flash cards; Write notes on cards and re-read them often, also put questions on the back of them and give them to friends and family members to ask you, so you have to remember the answers.
- Working in groups; Study groups are always a good thing (if you don’t get to distracted), it helps motivate each other and even think of new ideas that somebody else has not thought of.
- Try and keep a positive attitude; If you feel negative about the exam, then it is likely your attitude will be negative to and you may not feel motivated to try your hardest! Remember why you are doing this exam, what you want out of it and think of where you will be in three years time because of the positive attitude you had to help your future career! ?