Description The Academic and Professional Skills module aims to develop level seven skills in Veterinary Physiotherapy students, these skills include; communication, decision making, critical writing and computing skills. To become a successful practitioner and run a business it is crucial to have these particular skills; communication and professionalism are regarded by business executives as soft skills that are crucial for success (Robles, 2012).
This module provides information for students on legal, health and safety and welfare aspects of being a therapist whom is treating animals; example scenarios were created incorporating the legislation to demonstrate how veterinary physiotherapists would be affected in practice. The module provides an introduction to The National Association of Veterinary Physiotherapists (NAVP) and as required by NAVP we begin practical handling skills with animals.
Feelings I initially felt unsure as to how well I would cope with the module, my concerns ranged from; the legal, health and safety and business aspects that would be covered, the journal club presentation and the multiple assignment tasks that needed completing throughout the year.
The legal, health and safety and business aspects were covered soon into the course, the lecture was interesting with the information being related to example scenarios that as a veterinary physiotherapist you may experience. The importance of the topic was well demonstrated using the example scenarios we had in lecture, this exercise made the topic interesting and the information was easy to follow, therefore my anxiety surrounding this topic quickly reduced.
My next concern was regarding the journal club presentation, I am not a confident public speaker and addressing an audience of more than a couple of people causes anxiety, it is well known that anxiety impairs performance (Eysenck and Calvo, 1992). I am not alone feeling anxious when speaking in front of people, one in five people suffer public speaking anxiety (Bartholoway and Houliham, 2016), and this can be improved with habituation (Behne and Sawyer, 2004), so I feel given time and practise this is something I will overcome. My experience was helped by my fellow students in my group who were presenting alongside me and very supportive; building a rapport with other students on the course will help throughout the duration of the course as we can share ideas and experiences.
The journal club presentation was a beneficial exercise not only as an opportunity to improve my public speaking performance, but the task of reviewing journal articles highlighted the importance of critically reviewing the article and its findings before using it as a reference to support my own work.
Lastly, I felt concerned regarding the multiple assignments with various deadlines throughout the year; it was overwhelming at first, however as the assignments were delivered in a modular approach it was easier to keep on top of the work load. I found the multiple deadlines with smaller tasks less stressful and the approach aided my time management, time management is a significant mediator for success for part-time students (MacCann et al, 2012). I believe the effective time management of this module caused a reduction in stress, therefore increased the benefits and enjoyment I received from the module.
I particularly enjoyed the reflective writing assignments, which initially I felt sceptical about, having doubts regarding the benefits of the exercise. On completion of the reflective writing tasks my initial thoughts could not have been more wrong, my opinion of reflective writing now based upon my experience are similar to the findings of Wagner (2006), whom states that reflective practice leads to a specific, well-defined professional development plan, can improve a student’s achievement through identification of strengths and leads to innovative practice through the process of goal setting and attaining.
Evaluation Another aspect of the module I enjoyed was developing a website using Wix; this task was not only interesting, but also useful for future. The internet is now one of the most effective ways of advertising and has gained enormous importance as a medium of advertisement (Brettel and Spilker-Attig, 2010). Creating the website was beneficial for future reference as a method of advertisement as a therapist, on the website I have posted reflections and other material relating to my course, including a personal development plan.
Keeping all materials and resources together on the website I created has been practical, however I do find that I have not referred back to my personal development plan frequently; unfortunately without revisiting my plan I will not benefit from the positive effects it can have on performance and development (Beausaert et al, 2011).
Analysis This module has been far more gratifying than I initially expected, Biggs (1988) explains that there are three approaches students have to studying; the surface approach is viewing tasks as essential to complete to achieve the longer term goal, assignments are necessities within a course that you receive no enjoyment from and you approach these in a pragmatic way, hoping not to spend too much time on them. Secondly, the deep approach is quite the opposite, the student has an intrinsic interest in the subject and approaches tasks with an expectation of enjoyment. Lastly, the achieving approach in which a student relates their performance to other students and is motivated by obtaining a grade as high as possible. When starting this module I identified myself as a student with a surface approach, yet as I started reflective practice I found that I developed a deeper approach, the module has been both satisfying and constructive.
Conclusion On reflection of this module the lectures were interesting, the delivery of information was effective and the assignments felt beneficial. In hindsight it may have been useful to read other academic reflective pieces using the Gibbs’ (1988) reflective cycle, I initially found the reflections difficult as I had never written a reflection prior to starting this module. However, with the practice
I have now had and the use of Gibbs’ (1988) reflective cycle I feel I have been able to develop my ability to reflect and will continue to make use of this exercise, Wagner (2006) states practice is constantly re-vitalised through self-reflection and refinement.
References Bartholomay, E. Houliham, D. (2016). Public Speaking Anxiety Scale: Preliminary psychometric data and scale validation. Personality and Individual Differences. 94, 211-215.
Beausaert, S. Segers, M. Gijselaers, W. (2011). Using a Personal Development Plan for Different Purposes: Its Influence on Undertaking Learning Activities and Job Performance. Vocations and Learning. 4 (3), 231-252.
Behne, R. Sawyer, C.. (2004). Public speaking anxiety as a function of sensitization and habituation processes. Communication Education. 53 (2), 164-173.
Biggs, J. (1988). Approaches to learning and to essay writing. In: Schmeck, R. Learning Strategies and Learning Styles. New York: Springer Science and Business Media. 185-186.
Brettel, M. Spilker-Attig, A. (2010). Online advertising effectiveness: a cross‐cultural comparison. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing. 4 (3), 176-196.
Eysenck, M. Calvo, M. (1992). Anxiety and Performance: The Processing Efficiency Theory. Cognition and Emotion. 6 (6), 409-434.
MacCann, C. Fogarty, G. Roberts, R. (2012). Strategies for success in education: Time management is more important for part-time than full-time community college students. Learning and Individual Differences. 22 (5), 618-623.
Robles, M. (2012). Executive Perceptions of the Top 10 Soft Skills Needed in Today’s Workplace. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly. 75 (4), 453-465.
Wagner, K. (2006). Benefits of Reflective Practice. Institute of Education Sciences. 36 (2), 30-32.
