Health and Social Care NVQ Made Simple | NVQ Assessors Resources.

Often learners have asked me “how do I write a reflective account?” and my answer is you need to know what a reflective account is before you can write good one. Many learners have submitted an account to their NVQ assessor and have been disappointed when told they need to write it again. Let me tell you what might have happened – You probably wrote your account without a guide and therefore as lengthy as your account might have been you were told you haven’t met many performance criteria which are what your assessor is looking for. So let me tell you what a reflective account is.

A reflective account is usually a write up of how you have carried out part of your job in the past. It could be yesterday or a week, month or years ago as long as you use past tense. It maybe how you dealt with a health emergency, an abusive situation or how you have used a particular piece of equipment in the past.

Your account will be a record of events that actually happened. It must be reflected in your style of writing as what you did not someone else. 

For example – I did this and then I did that

It is NOT acceptable to write I would do this as this does not demonstrate that you have done it or have been doing it.

If possible write about why you took the actions stated.

For example –When I arrived at Mrs A’s home I put on my gloves and apron to ensure I protect t he service user and myself from infection…..

Throughout your account you must maintain confidentiality by using Mrs A, R or any other alphabet rather than using their actual names or addresses.

Think about a typical day at work or over a period of days and write a story on how you carried out those activities using the performance criteria of the units within your NVQ as a guide. This might include:

·         Assisting clients with toileting requirements. (HSC 218a)

·         Assisting clients with their personal hygiene. (HSC 218bc)

·         Preparing food and drink for clients. (HSC 213abc)

·         Assisting clients to eat and drink. (HSC 214abc)

·         Undertaking clinical activities. ( HSC 230ab)

·         Supporting others to undertake clinical activities. (HSC 361ab)

·         Supporting clients with cleaning or other domestic needs. (HSC 29abc)

·         Supporting clients to be comfortable (HSC 216ab)

·         Providing pressure area care. (HSC 217ab)

·         Supporting clients to move from one position to another (HSC 223ab, HSC 360ab)

·         Supporting service users to access and use services and facilities (HSC 330abc)

·         How you contribute to care planning and review (HSC 328abc)

·         Supporting individuals with specific communication needs (HSC 369abc)

·         How you administer medication to individuals (HSC 375ab)

This list is in exhaustive it applies to any unit title you have chosen within your NVQ.

There are many other activities that you might have been involved in which you should include in your account.

The way in which you carried out the activities is very important; here you will find yourself covering a good part for your mandatory units. This might include:

·         How you communicated with clients and others such as colleagues, relatives and other professionals.

·         How you treated people as individuals and showed them respect and dignity.

·         How you maintained a professional relationship with the different individuals. Did you have to deal with any conflicts, distress or challenging behaviour?

·         How you worked as a team.

·         How you monitored and maintained health and safety during the different work activities.

·         What information you passed on, how it was passed on and what records you completed.

Note: Your reflective account is expected to meet the standards of the NVQ usually the performance criteria and sometimes it will cover some knowledge specification.

 I believe if you make use of all the points I have mentioned, you will be able to construct a good reflective account at NVQ Level 2, NVQ Level 3 or NVQ Level 4 on your own.

In all our packages – NVQ 2 & NVQ 3 Mandatory and Optional units, we have fully referenced examples of reflective accounts and a guide to how to write your reflective account. You also have FREE access to our online support centre once you purchase any of the packages, if you need more help on writing reflective account or any other aspect of your NVQ I will advise you to purchase any of our packages relevant to your needs.

If this post has helped you in anyway please leave a comment, this will encourage me to do more and others to read too. I also welcome other NVQ Assessors/trainers to contribute in order to enhance good practice in our profession, thank you.