Reflection on Internal Placement Day

Reflecting on the internal placement day.

Placements are valuable in skill development needed throughout education and subsequent career (Crebert et al, 2007). During one of my first weekends at Writtle I attended an Internal Placement Day, whereby veterinary physiotherapists demonstrated assessment and treatment of an equine and canine client. Taking the subjective history, static and dynamic visual assessment, palpation and treatment modalities were covered.

The weekend made me realise my visual assessment skills were very poor, especially compared with my peers- a lot of whom already work in the equine industry and their insight into gait analysis was evident. Initially I felt overwhelmed with the sheer amount I needed to learn with regards to anatomy, assessment and treatment. In hindsight, I wish I had spent the last few months learning anatomy so I would have had better understanding in the lectures and felt less daunted.

On returning home I reflected on the experience and recognised I should not compare myself to others, only compare my past and present abilities. I came to the realisation that I have done this before with humans, and remembered how I had felt the same after my first observational placement – and how it had been achievable with enough commitment to study and placement time. I have started planning my study time, and remember although I need to be competent, there is room for error along the way as it is a part of learning and has been shown to improve performance (Lorenzet et al, 2005). I realise learning is lifelong, and the way I think, act and reflect will shape my work and skill development (Billett, 2010).

The experience was valuable in identifying my weaknesses so I am able to focus my study and improve my skills. I will now spend time observing as many horses and dogs move as possible, and sit beside the warm-up ring at competitions to begin identifying the norm in gait and detecting abnormalities. I have ordered equine and canine anatomy books to begin thoroughly learning neuromusculoskeletal composition – an essential component of veterinary physiotherapy. Despite an initial dip in confidence, the placement day has increased my motivation and made me even more determined to become a veterinary physiotherapist.

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References

Billett S (2010). Learning throughout working life: interdependencies at work. Studies in Continuing Education. 1, pp. 19-35.

Crebert G, Bates M, Bell B, Patrick CJ and Cragnolini V (2007). Developing generic skills at university, during work placement and in employment: graduates’ perceptions. Higher Education Research and Development. 23(2), pp. 147-165.

Lorenzet SJ, Salas E and Tannenbaum SI (2005). Benefiting from mistakes: the impact of guided errors on learning, performance and self-efficacy. Human Resource Development Quarterly. 16(3), pp. 301-322.