Over the years of clinical practice, I have completely reconsidered the definition of a qualified and professional medical worker. Medical workers are so frequently overwhelmed with the responsibility of proper medical intervention that they fail to recognize every patient as a unique human being with values and psychological needs. Hence, the first clinical strength I have obtained over this past year is the ability to provide emotional support to the patient as an integral part of any treatment process. The power of empathy allowed me to become more considerate about the ways of patient education, addressing the educational and intervention techniques suitable for a particular patient. On the other hand, however, I have discovered that, sometimes, such emotional involvement made it harder for me to critically evaluate the case as a medical professional. Thus, the excessive emotive involvement in the relationship with the patient is a weakness that sometimes tempers my decision-making skills.
As far as the clinical aspect of practice is concerned, I would outline the ability to understand the etiology of different diagnoses as a strength. If previously I knew different clinical manifestations on the levels of predisposition, potential risks, and intervention methods, I currently realize how every diagnosis works in the interaction with the human body and its physiological peculiarities. This knowledge also helped me gain insights into the prescription of different medications, as I learned from the experience how different active substances interact with one’s condition and other medications. However, the more I learned about the specifics of treatment, the more time I lost on additional research and ensuring the validity of the intervention. Although evaluation of the treatment method is mostly beneficial, my major weakness, in this case, is my lack of reaction and immediate responsiveness to the situation. Hence, I feel that it would be critical for me to develop my decision-making skills to become more efficient in the working environment.
I would put a rating of 3 on my clinical practice so far. The rating is good because of the amount of practical knowledge I gained over the past year and the overall performance improvement. Undeniably, my practice cannot be excellent because it is hard to find a medical professional who would not see their areas for improvement or existing flaws. However, as far as the dedication to work and the rapidity of progress are concerned, my clinical experience is fairly good.