Practicum Reflective Journal

PRACTICUM
REFLECTIVE JOURNAL

Kathleen Widmer
January 2019-June 2019

Now that the semester is coming to the end, I am able to look back at
the new knowledge and skills I have gained during my practicum at Doctors
Hospital. The learning experience with my preceptor was enriching in so many
ways.

Overall, this experience has been a positive one. I have evolved as an
educator throughout these few months with the support and guidance from my
preceptor.

The experiences that I feel benefited me the most were the classes where
I assisted with teaching. I have seen many different teaching styles throughout my
education and only through practice have I began to develop one that is unique
to myself.

I value the experience I had when I ran a debriefing after a mock code
scenario. I learned a lot about debriefing in the OCIE. Debriefing is something
that I have participated in at clinical but have never been on the other side of.
During the debrief I really allowed the students to reflect on how they thought the
scenario went while offering constructive feedback.

This was rewarding to me, as an instructor, hearing the students break
apart the scenario they just did and realize their own strengths and weakness. It
became clear to me that the way an instructor conducts a debriefing is really
important and will directly affect how the students perform in future scenarios.

Some of the classes we taught that I did not feel like added to my
learning experience were BLS, ACLS, or PALS. These classes have predeveloped
PowerPoints from the American Heart Association and scripts detailing what the
educators should say. There is no flexibility in what the instructor can teach.

I wish that, as educators, we could teach the class in an order that
makes the most sense and teach the material in an accurate and easy to
remember way. I assisted my instructor in teaching this class multiple times and I
would have liked it to be more interactive to help the students retain the
information.

Overall, this practicum was an eye-opening experience that will be the
guide for the rest of my educational career. I feel I have progressed as both an
educator and a person. Thank you.