E Portfolio Tips for Learning Log

Entries

Key Messages • Learning points documented

(evidence of learning) • Possibilities for future learning • Relevant to General Practice • Show evidence of reflection (honesty

insight and self awareness) • Appropriate linking to curriculum

Tip 1 What to Record? • Clinical Conundrums and complex

scenarios • Difficult patient encounters • Problems with members of staff • Significant events • Things that went well •  “Pearls of wisdom”

Tip 2 How to Record ? • Think about the general and specific • Consider depth as well as breadth • The needs of the ARCP and the GPR

are different • Consider the key messages or

learning points

Would you prefer this ?.. What Was The Subject? Tutorial on Headaches What Did You Learn? Covered important history and examination

bits, red flag symptoms, migraine management, abdominal migraine in children

What Will You Do Differently In the Future? Follow the guidelines

…or this? What Was The Subject? Tutorial on Headaches What Did You Learn? Covered important history and examination bits, red flag

symptoms, migraine management, abdominal migraine in children

What Will You Do Differently In the Future • Must always screen for red flags (and must not forget

these). These are: early am headache, worse with bending, occipital, N/V, visual changes

• Also learned that for abdominal migraine in children, low dose pizotifen is useful (worth remembering for the future)

ARCP expectations •  Is this a safe doctor? •  Are they competent? •  Are they good at dealing with people? •  Is (s)he open and honest? •  Does (s)he continuously reflect and learn? •  And is (s)he a doctor I’d be comfortable

seeing?

Tip 3 Record Feelings • Attitudes are as important as

knowledge and skills • Anxiety, frustration, anger need to

be explored as well as positive feelings

• Reflection is key to self development and is an important part of the learning process

• Honesty, insight, self awareness

Tip 4 How much? how often?

• Quality and quantity • 2-3 entries per week • 1 page per month • 1-2 PDP areas per month • Areas for future learning ? How and

when? • Review curriculum coverage and

competences (gaps)

Reflection

Definition •  Kemmis (1985) the process of reflection is more

than a process that focuses 'on the head'. It is a positive active process that reviews, analyses and evaluates experiences, draws on theoretical concepts or previous learning and so provides an action plan for future experiences.

•  Johns (1995) adds that reflection is a personal process enables the practitioner to assess understand and learn through their experiences. This results in some change for the individual in their perspective of a situation or creates new learning for the individual.

Types of Reflection • Reflection in Action (thinking on your

feet)

• Reflection on Action (retrospective)

• Encourage GPR s to do both

Qualities Needed • Open mindedness • Commitment to self enquiry • Motivation • Readiness to change practice

Reflection in Learning Log Entries (ISCE)

•  Information – describing what happened or what was observed in enough detail.

•  Self Awareness - being open and honest about performance but also writing about own feelings and/or that of others

•  Critical Thinking – analysing the bigger and smaller pictures, problem solving, describing own thought processes

•  Evaluation – pooling the above three things together (synthesis) and describing what needs to be learned, why and how.

Changing Behaviour (Kolb s experiential learning

cycle)

Changing Behaviour (2) • CONCRETE EXPERIENCE is about

something that has happened to you or that you have done.

• REFLECTION is concerned with reviewing the event or experience and exploring what you did and how you and others felt about it.

Changing Behaviour (3) • ABSTRACT CONCEPTUALISATION is

all about developing an understanding of what happened by seeking more information or bringing in theoretical concepts or previous learning to form new ideas about ways of doing things in the future.

• ACTIVE EXPERIMENTATION is about trying these newly formed ideas.

Changing Behaviour (4) • Requires practice and coaching • Needs time • Written reflection slows the process

down and promotes a more comprehensive evaluation and more lasting learning

Key Messages • Learning points documented

(evidence of learning) • Possibilities for future learning • Relevant to General Practice • Show evidence of reflection (honesty

insight and self awareness) • Appropriate linking to curriculum

Theory into Practice • With grateful acknowledgement to Dr

Ramesh Mehay Bradford VTS • bradfordvts.co.uk