CLARA Survey: Mindful Agency

Personal Reflection

After a thorough reflection, I established that I have a strong Mindful Agency. I was so delighted because the strength of my Mindful Agency proved to me that I am a responsible student who is serious with whatever activity I perform. Being strong has enabled me to be a critical thinker who can use his mind to make rational and conscious decisions regarding my life. This has given me an opportunity to discharge my duties much responsibly. Therefore, to get the best out of my school-time, I have to capitalize on my strengths by properly planning and managing my time because it is a very important resource I have at this time. As a student, I know that I should dedicate my time for academics. This is why I believe that the results of my survey show that I have been doing so well (Gale & Schröder 2014). So, the best thing to do is to take advantage of my strengths and ensure that they benefit me in the best way

As a student, I know for certain that I have a long way to go. Therefore, having carried out an objective self-assessment on my strengths and weaknesses, I have come into a conclusion that I should make important choices regarding my career development. For this reason, I have settled on two viable strategies: searching for clinical opportunities to take responsibility as well as engaging in volunteer work. I am convinced that these are important strategies that if properly exploited, can help to prepare me to be a well-rounded professional who is knowledgeable and can serve the society by delivering my best for the best interest of the community (Davis, Thwaites, Freeston & Bennett?Levy 2015). They have a potential of empowering me to maximize my potential and eventually succeed in my studies. Success in my career is a long process that requires adequate preparations right from this time until I complete my studies. Hence, any strategy that can propel me towards success should be welcome and given the necessary support it deserves.

Having weighed all the available options, I have decides to settle on the two strategies because in my opinion, they are the most viable. If properly utilized, they can enable me to advance my career to the next level. Seeking for clinical opportunities will enable me to acquire practical skills and experiences that will make me to fit into the job market. Here, I will get to learn much about patient care, patient relationships, team work and time management. On the other hand, volunteering will give me a fulfilling chance to give back to the society, build my reputation, get exposure, and learn important skills such intercultural communication. In the long run, I will end up becoming a flexible and dynamic professional who can serve in whatever kind of diverse community (Chaddock, Thwaites, Bennett-Levy & Freeston 2014). Therefore, I strongly believe that these are the only strategies that are appropriate for me as an upcoming professional. Sparing some time to acquire practical skills is commendable because it serves to benefit me a great deal.

One thing I cannot deny is that I have carefully chosen strategies that will make me to be an exceptional professional upon the completion of my studies. From the evidence gathered during the reflection, I found out that my strategies have been of great help to me. By choosing to be a critical thinker, I have managed to use my creativity to make reasonable decisions that can make me to be an exceptional student. This is why most of the times; I have been making accurate judgments as I ought to. At the same time, I have been spending a large portion of my time on my book work (Katsikitis, McAllister, Sharman, Raith, Faithfull-Byrne & Priaulx 2013). Meaning, I have adopted brilliant time management strategies to enable me to properly use the available time without any wastage. It is for this reason that I qualify my Mindful Agency as a superior quality that I deserve to possess as a focused student. Sparing some time and engaging in voluntary and clinical work can be a rewarding thing to do.

Indeed, my strategies gave me substantial power over my approaches to learning. The conviction of dedicating my time to service of the community is a clear proof that I am deeply concerned about my career development. Through my strategies, I have made a choice to be a responsible student who takes his time to perform all the duties given to me. Thus, I have managed to develop and nurture the skills of time management, team work and accountability. In my opinion, I regard these as the most significant skills that should guide me in whatever activity I engage in (Cleary, Horsfall, Muthulakshmi, Happell & Hunt 2013). For example; being accountable has made me to be a transparent student who can take a full responsibility for all my actions whenever necessary. I do this because, to me, it prepares me to be straightforward professional who can be entrusted with heavy duties and responsibilities in whichever setting I operate.

The choice of my strategies has impacted on me in many ways. Most importantly, it has prepared me to emerge as an ideal student. The fact that I can use my creativity to make rational decisions implies that I can be a good time manager who dedicates his energy to carry out beneficial activities. This has not only benefited me, but benefited other people as well. The acquired skills have enabled me to effectively communicate with other people, listen to them and establish a good and healthy interpersonal relationship with them (Boud, Keogh & Walker 2013). At the same time, my strategies have made me to be a selfless professional who is concerned about the welfare of other people in the society. This is why I have made the decision to engage in volunteer work since it will present me with an ample platform to give back to the society as I build my nursing career.

If given an opportunity to use the strategy one more time, I would not hesitate to do so. From the reflection carried out so far, I came to establish that my strategies are quite appropriate for me as a focused student. What I know is that I am in a challenging situation that requires proper decision making. To do so, I need to apply the most suitable strategy that can enable me to use my skills and experience to come up with well-thought and rational decisions. Therefore, given the positive impacts of the strategy, I would have no choice rather than reusing it again and again. Nevertheless, I would need to have enough time to refine my communication and collaborative skills (Bennett-Levy & Lee 2014). This will empower me to be a committed and outgoing personality who can survive in any of environment however challenging it might be. This, in my opinion, is what I need to succeed in my studies and adequately prepare myself for my career.

References

Bennett-Levy, J. & Lee, N.K., 2014. Self-Practice and Self-Reflection in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Training: What Factors Influence Trainees’ Engagement and Experience of Benefit?. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 42(01), pp.48-64.

Boud, D., Keogh, R. & Walker, D., 2013. Promoting reflection in learning A modeli. Boundaries of adult learning, 1, pp.32-57.

Chaddock, A., Thwaites, R., Bennett-Levy, J. & Freeston, M.H., 2014. Understanding individual differences in response to Self-Practice and Self-Reflection (SP/SR) during CBT training. The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, 7, p.e14.

Cleary, M., Horsfall, J., Muthulakshmi, P., Happell, B. & Hunt, G.E., 2013. Career development: graduate nurse views. Journal of clinical nursing, 22(17-18), pp.2605-2613.

Davis, M.L., Thwaites, R., Freeston, M.H. & Bennett?Levy, J., 2015. A measurable impact of a self?practice/self?reflection programme on the therapeutic skills of experienced cognitive?behavioural therapists. Clinical psychology & psychotherapy, 22(2), pp.176-184.

Gale, C. & Schröder, T., 2014. Experiences of self?practice/self?reflection in cognitive behavioural therapy: A meta?synthesis of qualitative studies. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 87(4), pp.373-392.

Katsikitis, M., McAllister, M., Sharman, R., Raith, L., Faithfull-Byrne, A. & Priaulx, R., 2013. Continuing professional development in nursing in Australia: Current awareness, practice and future directions. Contemporary nurse, 45(1), pp.33-45.