Student name Click or tap here to enter text.
Student ID Click or tap here to enter text.
Submission date Click or tap to enter a date.
Qualification title OTHM Level 3 Foundation Diploma in Health & Social Care
Qualification code 603/6776/3
Unit title Personal and Professional Development in Health and
Social Care
Unit code T/618/5287
I declare that the attached work is entirely my own and that all sources have been acknowledged ☒
Introduction
Reliable quality of health and social care service requires personal and professional
development of health and social care workers (Alsahli et al., 2024). The purpose of this
report is to look at my duties and responsibilities, the role of the standards that contribute to
the promotion of better practices, the impact of my personal values and belief systems within
my professional practice and looked at how continuous growth and reflective practice is
important.
Duties and Responsibilities of Own Work Role
I work as a community health worker (CHW) who has several duties in support of healthy
individuals and communities. Under CHW best practices, I am responsible for direct care as
well as work in broader public health functions.
1. Providing Direct Care and Support
It also has a key responsibility of delivering essential healthcare services like handling and
treatment of common illnesses such as pneumonia, diarrhea and malnutrition (Gill et., 2013).
I also support maternal and child health by advocating family planning, antenatal care, as
well as safe child birth.
2. Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
I also work actively to teach people and communities about certain health practices.
Promotion of proper nutrition, hygiene, immunisation and also disease prevention strategies
such as distribution of insecticide treated bed nets for the prevention of malaria and treatment
for maternal health with iron and folate supplementation, is one way that this is done.
3. Record-Keeping and Surveillance
One of the other fundamental duties is, of course, accurate health records keeping, routine
household visits and collection of epidemiological data. These activities are used for
monitoring health trends, recording vital events, and timely interventions during infectious
disease outbreak (polio, tuberculosis and COVID 19) (Akpan et al., 2022).
4. Community Mobilization and Social Support
I am involved in mobilizing the community towards health initiatives (e.g. health campaigns)
and sanitation improvement projects. Besides, the primary role I play is to build trust with
community members, offer emotional and social support to vulnerable people, which
includes the elderly and stigmatized, and monitor their behavior.
5. Adherence to Policies and Ethical Standards
I make sure the workplace policies and health regulations are being followed such as
infection prevention, patient confidentiality and the ethical guidelines. I contribute to the
safety and professional care environment (Savage, 2008) by following these standards.
How Relevant Standards Promote Best Practice
There are a range of national standards and guidelines that the health and social care sector
works to in order to comply with very high quality of care. Essential regulations were set by
Care Quality Commission (CQC) to make healthcare services be safe, effective and person
centered (Baguma and Uchejeso, 2020). These standards, when followed increase service
deliverables and build trust between service user and care provider.
Professional codes of conduct and standards of proficiency that prescribe ethical practice and
competency in the professional life of practitioners are ascribed by Health and Care
Professions Council (HCPC) and Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (Khalil and Liu,
2019). The guidelines give these professionals a reason to keeping their skills, integrity, and
put patients first (Hemberg and Hemberg, 2020).
The National Occupational Standards (NOS) also serve as a framework for monitoring and
developing competencies within roles in the health and social care environment (Lee and
Jacobs, 2021). It aids in providing skills for professional growth and at the same time keeps
delivering service in the same manner.
Also, The Equality Act (2010) has to be adhered to for care services to be inclusive, non-
discriminatory and respect diversity as highlighted by Nachmias, Ridgway and Caven (2019).
Following these legal and professional standards health and social care workers can improve
effectiveness and improve outcome for service users.
How Own Values, Belief Systems, and Experiences Affect Working Practice
The role of personal values and belief systems in professional practice is significant within
the scope of being a health and social care worker. Core values like compassion, respect,
integrity influence decision making and ethical considerations and interactions with service
users (Connolly and Ward, 2008).
Of course, people are delivered care according to cultural beliefs and their personal
experiences. Such is the case for a caregiver’s upbringing and cultural background, which
may shape a caregiver’s view on health, illness, and acceptable treatment options (Ravindran
and Myers, 2012). For example, in some cultures family involvement in healthcare decisions
is highly important and then practitioners need to show cultural competence and creativeness
in their ways of performing (Truong, Paradies, and Priest, 2014)
At the same time, past personal and professional background affect how one responds to the
challenges of the workplace. Those who work in the healthcare field might have had
experience supporting dementia patients and are therefore more willing to be patient,
empathetic, and possess additional experience when taking care of senior people suffering
from cognitive impairment (Brown, Agronin, and Stein, 2020). Although with continuous
reflection and self awareness, the care delivery won't be biased by personal biases (Kondrat,
1999).
Professional behavior is a product of reflective practice and a useful tool for one to learn how
personal values and experiences impact the behavior in the professional realm. Models such
as Kolb’s (1984) experiential learning cycle involve self assessment, feedback and revision
and give health and social care workers opportunity to enhance their skills and reduce
unconscious bias (Taylor, 2004).
References
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Chikwanda, C., Poy, A., Mboussou, F. and Ogundiran, O. (2022) Leveraging polio
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