reflection

Desired Clinical Skills for Students to Achieve

Confident (Can complete independently)

Mostly confident (Can complete with supervision)

Beginning (Have performed with supervision or need supervision to feel confident)

New (Have never performed or does not apply)

Comprehensive psychiatric evaluation skills in: 

Y

Recognizing clinical signs and symptoms of psychiatric illness 

Y

Differentiating between pathophysiological and psychopathological conditions 

Y

Performing and interpreting a comprehensive and/or interval history and physical examination (including laboratory and diagnostic studies) 

Y

Performing and interpreting a mental status examination 

Y

Performing and interpreting a psychosocial assessment and family psychiatric history 

Y

Performing and interpreting a functional assessment (activities of daily living, occupational, social, leisure, educational).

Y

Diagnostic reasoning skill in:

Demonstrate knowledge of psychopathology of mental illnesses through discussion for different age groups and mental illnesses

Y

Developing and prioritizing a differential diagnoses list

Y

Formulating diagnoses according to DSM 5-TR based on assessment data 

y

Differentiating between normal/abnormal age-related physiological and psychological symptoms/changes

Y

Psychotherapeutic Treatment Planning:

Provide psychoeducation to individuals and/or any caregivers

Y

Promote health and disease prevention techniques

Y

Self Assessment skill:

Develop SMART goals for practicum experiences 

Y

Evaluating outcomes of practicum goals and modify plan as necessary 

Y

Documenting and reflecting on learning experiences

Y

Professional skills:

Maintains professional boundaries and therapeutic relationship with clients and staff

Y

Collaborate with multi-disciplinary teams to improve clinical practice in mental health settings 

Y

Identifies ethical and legal dilemmas with possible resolutions

Y

Demonstrates non-judgmental practice approach and empathy

Y

Practices within scope of practice

Y

Selecting and implementing appropriate screening instrument(s) and interpreting results:

Y

Demonstrates selecting the correct screening instrument appropriate for the clinical situation 

Y

Implements the screening instrument efficiently and effectively with the clients

Y

Interprets results for screening instruments accurately

Y

Identifies the need to refer to another specialty provider when applicable

Y

Accurately documents recommendations for psychiatric consultations when applicable

Y

Working in the psychiatric unit for two years has significantly enhanced my clinical knowledge and confidence. I uphold professional boundaries with both patients and colleagues while nurturing therapeutic relationships. I am adept at identifying ethical and regulatory issues and proposing suitable solutions. Moreover, I exhibit compassion and sustain a nonjudgmental stance in my practice. I am proficient in practices that fall within the professional scope and have teamwork abilities that enable me to enhance clinical outcomes in mental health environments through cooperation with varied teams.

The Clinical Skills Self-Assessment Form highlights numerous opportunities for growth, emphasizing the importance of clinical practicum experiences in my professional development. I must capitalize on the program's educational offerings to hone my diagnostic reasoning abilities, which are crucial for differential diagnosis and comprehending the psychopathology of mental disorders. Furthermore, I plan to improve my skills in conducting thorough psychiatric evaluations, which include recognizing signs and symptoms of psychiatric conditions and devising psychotherapeutic plans, encompassing psychoeducation, health promotion, and disease prevention strategies. The clinical practicum also affords an opportunity to polish my proficiency in selecting, administering, and interpreting screening tools. Therefore, it is imperative that I set specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound (SMART) objectives to maximize these educational experiences during the clinical practicum.

1. Goal: Enhance my skills in performing physical examinations on elderly patients and independently interpreting the results by the conclusion of the clinical practicum .

a. Objective: I will be observing and learning the procedures involved in conducting physical examinations of elderly patients at the clinical site.

b. Objective: I will conduct a research and read the designated text book for this course to gain and expand my knowledge more on physical examination of elderly before the end of the course.

c. Objective I will conducting thorough physical examinations on assigned elderly patients under my preceptor's supervision and will submit weekly reports interpreting the findings to my preceptor at the clinical site .

2. Goal: To enhance my capability to independently develop and prioritize differential diagnosis lists for all the mental disorder by the end of the practicum course.

a. Objective: I plan to dedicate two hours daily to studying the DSM-V diagnostic criteria for each mental disorder.

b. Objective: I will finish quizzes on diagnostic lists for each mental disorder at the conclusion of the daily session.

c. Objective: I will develop a flash card daily with at least 10 diagnosis I got from DSM-V for easy understanding and future reference.

3. Goal: Develop the skills necessary to choose and apply screening tools for ten mental disorders and independently interpret the outcomes by the conclusion of the clinical practice experience

a. Objective: Under the supervision of my preceptor I will select, administer, and interpret at least one to two screening instruments for five assigned patients every week.

b. Objective I plan to conduct online research and study the assigned textbook on the screening and diagnosis of mental disorders for two hours daily.

c. Objective: I will utilize the preceptor's feedback to enhance my screening and interpretation abilities in future patient intake sessions.