Assignment details
There are three assessable components for this topic.
Assignment 1—Self-reflective paper
Length: 1500 words
You are required to write a self-reflective paper critically analysing and evaluating your
personal communication style and skills related to your role as a clinician or other health
professional. The analysis/evaluation needs to engage with advanced literature on
communication.
A marking guide will be provided to students to guide the completion of this assessment.
For Assignment 1 we are asking you to begin with self-awareness and understanding as a
starting point for advanced communication. You will need to initially engage in literature
research on Communication Styles and the healthcare environment, and to decide where
you consider that you ‘sit’ in terms of your preferred communication style (e.g. patientcentred
versus practitioner-centred, Direct, Influencing, Stabilising, Conscientious,
Aggressive, Passive, Assertive etc.).
Once you have decided where you predominantly sit, the focus of your self-reflective
paper is to critically analyse your preferred communication style, and to evaluate how
this might impact on your skills and/or competency related to your role as a
clinician/health professional, especially within your particular arena of practice.
In your self-reflective paper you could address some of the following questions, and you
will need to refer to literature that supports your critical analysis and evaluation:
• What insights have you gained from the experience of exploring and identifying your
preferred communication style?
• How well do some of the theories expressed in the literature help to explain your
preferred communication style?
• How have you verified that your perceived communication style fits with your actual
communication style? Provide examples. What did you learn from this?
• What does the literature suggest about the influence of gender, culture, status/power
etc. on communication style? How does this apply to your particular arena of
practice?
• What do you consider has had an influence on your preferred communication style?
• How might your preferred communication style impact positively/negatively on
professional practice and collaborative care? Provide examples—either experienced or
imagined. You will need to refer to literature that discusses this, and nursing
competencies/codes that apply.
• What situations might cause you to adjust your communication style, or to use a
combination of styles?
• In terms of your communication style, what professional development needs have you
Identified?