Reflection
See attached document which is an example of how to write Reflection A. Please be advised that this has been put through turn it in, so no part can be used or copied into your own Reflection, as this would put you at risk of Academic Misconduct (Plagiairism).
Example- Reflection A
Reflection Part A – Start by identifying an aspect/issue in the unit that that has challenged/impacted your thinking. For example, something that you heard in a lecture, read in the Module, Student Workbooks or discussed during class activities.
The example that I am going to give you is my personal reflection, yours is personal to you. You may find using the Gibbs cycle headings helpful when structuring your writing, this is fine. You need to submit your critical reflection as a piece of writing using paragraphs, not dot points or table format.
Description:
Issue: In Module 1 an issue raised by Professor Lisa Pulver Jackson in her lecture caught my attention - Aboriginal life expectancy and the 10 -12-year gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. The data suggests that a non-Aboriginal person born in Australia, will live 10-12 years longer than an Aboriginal person (reference)
Feelings:
Feelings before being exposed to the issue Before really listening to what Lisa had to say, my impression had been that Aboriginal people are typically don’t look after themselves and that there are problems with alcohol. I believed that everyone makes choices and if you make poor choices your health and life expectancy will be affected. I had decided that Aboriginal people’s poor life choices made them vulnerable to disease and an early death. I had never given much thought to why this might happen.
How did you feel now after being further informed about the issue? During the lecture Professor Jackson Pulver talked about history, policy and statistics relating to unemployment, poverty, disadvantage and racism connecting structural issues to life expectancy. I have heard about these social determinants of health but hadn’t really understood how important they are. The desire to live a long and healthy life is common to us all regardless of cultural background. I have been fortunate in life in that I have not had to face issues such as poverty and racism and I began to think about how things may look from an Aboriginal perspective.
Critical Evaluation:
Was it good or bad? Why do you think this way? The realisation that there are a multitude of factors outside the control of the individual that impact life expectancy made me reconsider the emphasis that I had placed solely on Aboriginal peoples’ choices. I had not really considered that these social factors play a significant role in the development and maintenance of the gap in life expectancy. I have taken this on board and am becoming more mindful of the opinions I have formed without really understanding the beliefs I hold about Aboriginal people and my tendency not only to ‘victim blame’ but to negatively characterise Aboriginal people.
How do you think you knew what you knew? I think there are racist undertones towards Aboriginal people in society and these have become imprinted in my thoughts. It’s easy to justify stereotypical attitudes if lots of people have them. It also takes courage to speak up against them.
Was your response to the issue or topic due to an experience and/or limited consideration or understanding of the issue? I do still think that there is a personal responsibility for health but having read the latest Close the Gap Report (reference). I realise that the life expectancy gap is not solely related to health behaviours but is also to do with factors identified in the Closing the Gap targets – they seem to operate in a complex unfair way to negatively influence Aboriginal people’s health and life expectancy.
Analysis
Have any historical, political, cultural and environmental factors that you have learnt about influenced your attitudes and beliefs about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples? If so how? (evidence to support). My opinions have been based on my own perceptions of health and the need for personal responsibility. I have learnt that the gap in Aboriginal life expectancy is not just related to individual choices and that historical/ political and cultural issues play a role but as yet I am unsure how these interact to create negative health outcomes and a gap in life expectancy (reference).
Conclusion
What conclusions have you reached? Strong stereotypes about Aboriginal people are present all around us in society and maybe these have influenced how I think. I think I’m becoming more critically self-reflexive but its early days; it’s difficult to reformulate your beliefs and attitudes and break old habits.
What do you know now that you did not know before? I think I have some biases and I need to be aware of how these might affect my behaviour as this can have consequences for me and the Aboriginal people in my care in terms of working in a culturally safe way as a nurse/midwife. I think I have quite a long way to go with regards to what I think about Aboriginal people and why I think it. I’m not sure if I have always responded with a stereotypical view about Aboriginal people. I don’t think I’ve really thought about it before.
I have stereotype thinking of Aboriginal people that they don’t practice their culture and don’t have knowledge of what is culture and tradition. I used to believe that all Aboriginal people are alcoholic because of their culture. After watching the video in class I feel sad because being an Aboriginal they have to go through lots of pain mental trauma and loss of culture, identity. Aboriginal people themselves are not the reason for their poor health choice in the past negative stereotype towards Aboriginal people, loss of culture and racism is the reason for the poor psychological and physical health(Fredericks,2013). I feel fortunate that I do not have to go through this trauma, loss, and stereotype. I am worried how it might be seen through the Aboriginal perspective.
After the history of colonization Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, people are facing inequalities in health facilities. Aboriginal people are facing culture-based trauma(Ashworth,2018). In addition, cultural and language difference in many Aboriginal people contribute to seeking care from a local practitioner(Ashworth,2018). Health care professional plays an important role in delivering care and shaping the attitude towards providing care. Cultural safety is an important component of a health facility for Aboriginal people but it is largely ignored. Aboriginal people can face emotional and physical discomfort when cultural safety is not an integral part of care( C0ffin, 2007). I believed that the trauma and physical condition of Aboriginal people is not only poor practice but also the land they have been far from land for education, political racism, culture and no rights to speak language loss of identity and negative stereotype towards Aboriginal people have a huge impact on their health(Wolny,2018). I think I have to change negative stereotype towards Aboriginal people because it may affect my attitude of care provided to them in term of cultural safety as a nurse and midwives.
I never thought how it looks like from the Aboriginal perspective before knowing the history. I think being a nurse we can make a difference by encouraging their culture and listening to their problem. Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia [NMBA],2016 states that Nurse should respect all the cultural and ethical group of people, which also involves responding role of the family and community that underpin the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other culture people. I will implement other health guidelines while providing care to the people which includes respect towards their culture, free of bias, no racism and holistic care to the Aboriginal people(NMBA, 2018). I also learned that nurse should be mindful and use open dialogue and need to deliver the care according to the patient cultural background to promote their ethical behavior. Overall, I will reflect all my critical reflective skill more in future for better understanding of the issuhttps://theinterviewguys.com/nursing-interview-questions/
Action plan:
What have you learnt about yourself, Aboriginal people and Australian society? Can you make a positive change? What else do you think you need to learn? I have gained new knowledge and am very interested in developing my critical reflective skills as this will lead to the re- examination of my beliefs and attitudes towards Aboriginal people that have to this point have been reliant on stereotypes. I notice that in Module 4 we are studying the social determinants of health, I look forward to further developing an understanding of the issues.