HSS Competencies Artefacts

For my Honours degree, I wanted to develop my Responsible Leadership skills. Responsible leadership is rooted in stakeholder engagement, as well as ensuring that the decisions made by leaders are beneficial to both the organisation and the community in which it functions. I believe that this is very important for navigating the health sector. Hospitals, clinics and community centres need to ensure they integrate stakeholders perspectives and expertise and consider how their decisions might affect the operations of these organisations and in-turn the patients they serve. Without this foresight, leaders may make decisions that completely undermine the objectives of healthcare workers, healthcare organisations and the health system at large.

What is Leadership?

This video describes leadership as a shift from dictating and providing orders to the idea of intent. David Marquet uses the example of a crew on a submarine.

Focusing on intent, allows for all your team members to 'think" and understand why they perform the tasks they do. Team members begin to think like their leaders and as a result make similar decisions.

Another interesting point David highlights is the idea of "shifting authority to where the information is available", my understanding was that the leader does not have all the answers but should create an environment in which those who do, can utilise their expertise to make more informed decisions. Allowing team members to have think and have control, improves industry productivity and ultimately creates more leaders.

This video expertly demonstrates how to be a good leader, and I aim to adapt this approach and the relevant skills in order to create an environment in which all HSS team members feel valued.

Leadership skills: Correlation to Minute and Notes Taking

For these images I decided to erase the names to ensure anonymity regarding who contributed what to the tasks.

For some of my groups I took on the role of the 'informal' note taker. I would summarise what was discussed in the meeting as well as confirm meeting dates and internal deadlines for the group assignments.

Meeting minutes are important for group tasks. They provide clear communication to group members, it promotes accountability, serves as a record of what was decided on, all which ensure success and productivity in groups (Taylor, 2023).

Leadership skills formulate the competencies demonstrated by managers to guide and motivate their team towards an objective (Coursera Staff, 2024). Some of these skills include communication, dependability, effective listening, delegation and discipline (Indeed Editorial Team, 2023; Yan, 2023).

Communication and active listening are two critical skills needed for a leader, these skills help leaders understand team feedback, expertise and concerns (Yan, 2023). These skills can be develop during note taking as it was important for me to listen carefully during meetings as to not miss any important information,

Leaders need to be dependable, trustworthy and disciplined (Indeed Editorial Team, 2023; Yan, 2023). Teams need to be able to trust their leaders input and feedback (Indeed Editorial Team, 2023). Note taking is a task that all group members rely on, as the note taker it was critical for me to write down accurate information and relay it to the group in a timely manner. Additionally, I had the responsibility of clarifying any notes as well as updating the notes when decisions had been revised.

Leaders also need to have the capacity to delegate (Yan, 2023). During team meetings if tasks were not completely agreed upon, I would take the initiative to delegate tasks according to everyone's strengths and comfortability as well as assigning internal due dates. This forms an integral part of leadership, delegation allows other team members to develop their strengths accordingly (Yan, 2023).

Being a note taker has been beneficial in developing skills to become a competent leader. However, these skills are not the exhaustive list and there are a variety of things I still need to learn to ensure that I am one of the best leaders in my career field.

References:

Coursera Staff, 2024. What Are Leadership Skills, and Why Are They Important? [WWW Document]. Coursera. URL https://www.coursera.org/articles/leadership-skills

Indeed Editorial Team, 2023. Leadership in the Workplace: 10 Skills to develop (with FAQ) [WWW Document]. indeed. URL https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-letters/leadership-skills

Taylor, E., 2023. What is the importance of minute taking for meetings? [WWW Document]. The knowledge academy. URL https://www.theknowledgeacademy.com/blog/importance-of-minute-taking/#:~:text=Minute%20Taking%20is%20vital%20and,progress%2C%20and%20make%20informed%20decisions.

Yan, A., 2023. How to Improve Your Leadership Skills [WWW Document]. Investopedia. URL https://www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/12/leadership-skils.asp

What type of leader am I?

Skills or Characteristics needed for a Democratic Leader:

Democratic leaders (Indeed Editorial Team, 2023):

Team-focused
Flexible and adaptable
Active listeners
Communicative

Reference:

Indeed Editorial Team (2023). Democratic Leadership: Definition, Pros and Cons and Examples. [online] Indeed Career Guide. Available at: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/democratic-leadership.

I watched the above-mentioned YouTube video to help outline simple goals to further improve my leadership. These included:

Continuous learning and improvement is paramount to becoming a better leader.
It is important to identify what qualities you are missing in order to personally improve and acquire these skills.
Understand what your overall goals are and focus on opportunities that are presented to you.

I conducted a 'What type of leader, Am I?" quiz at the beginning of the year to fully- understand the leader I am and set out the goals I want to achieve. Upon completing the quiz, I was happy to find out I am a democratic leader and as I result, I hoped to maintain this leadership style as I progress through the year.

I set out a personal goal to assess my leadership skills. Although the leadership quiz revealed that I am a democratic leader, I felt that it was important for me to assess this from my peers perspectives. This will ultimately guide areas for improvement.

HSS Competency Evaluation Block 1 (Responses)

Feedback responses from peers (As of March 2024)

Overall, my peers have highlighted to me that I should take on leadership roles more as they feel I have good leadership skills. My peers have stated that I communicate confidently and effectively create safe environments for team collaboration. Lastly, I am resourceful and always treat with others with respect.

Overall, I aim to take more leadership roles in block 2 and be more confident in myself regarding my communication skills and personal ideas. As well as be more confident when it comes to speaking up for team members needs.

Feedback responses from peers (As of November 2024)

My peers from block 4 have outlined that I create safe spaces from them to work, I consider everyone during decision-making processes, I am resourceful, respectful and approachable. One of my peers outlined that I am leading well, and that they enjoyed working with me. However, there was one outlier which identified that I need to be more respectful to peers, they also suggested that I need to improve on my delegation skills.

I also used this survey to assess my communication skills. All my peers outlined that I am responsive to email and WhatsApp communications. There was consensus among the group regarding my ability to convey ideas verbally and nonverbally,actively listen, adapt, establish professional relationships, encourage others, actively participate and ask questions, in addition to my confidence. For these questions many of my peers rated me between 3 and 5, with 5 highlighting my effectivity.

In relation to my March reflection, my aim was to take on more leadership roles. I achieved this goal, so much so that one of my peers suggested that I needed to rotate my roles in between projects. Nevertheless, I believe that this experience outlined my strengths and pitfalls, it also provided me with an opportunity to self-reflect and honestly engage with feedback.

Comparing my leadership quiz and these results, have revealed that I am in fact a democratic leader, who is collaborative, communicative, actively listens and encourages shared decision-making.

Responsible Health

This course has significantly improved my understanding and approach to leadership. It has allowed me to evaluate myself, identify my strengths and weaknesses and areas for improvement. It has also exposed me to an array of different leadership styles such as servant, transformational, transactional and responsible leadership - styles that I believe go beyond the traditional democratic, autocratic, laissez-faire and coaching approaches

Skills of an Effective Responsible Leader

Communication and Stakeholder engagement

My professor emphasised the important of S.O.F.T.E.N skills, that help leaders improve their communication skills and interactions with stakeholders. S.O.F.T.E.N is a framework that stands for Smile, Open Posture, Forward Lean, Tone, Eye Contact and Nod (LinkedIn Community, n.d.). These are important elements that guide nonverbal communication- making you appear more confident, engaging and approachable, and can help improve presentation skills (LinkedIn Community, n.d.).

Empathy

I believe leaders can be empathetic to their teams and those who they indirectly serve. In the context of health systems this would mean healthcare leaders and managers show empathy towards their departments and patients. Empathetic approaches allow for leaders to understand the perspectives of others within the health system, not only does this help with decision-making but improves stakeholder interactions.
This empathy however does not exist in isolation. My professor highlighted the importance of an empathy response couplet in which empathy is demonstrated but an appropriate response is also given by leaders. For example,

Conflict resolution

Leaders need to be able to manage conflict and support their teams through disputes effectively. One important component highlighted by my professor, is the importance of a third party. This does not only refer to a mediator, but can refer to a Standard operating procedure or a set of guidelines that can help teams navigate disputes. Our team engaged in an activity of creating a team manual. Our manual effectively outlines our third party or conflict resolution strategy, that we used to help navigate challenges during our group assignments.

Adaptability and Flexibility

These are relevant in relation to context-specific leadership skills, necessary for navigating the unpredictability and complexity of health system challenges or wicked problems.
Leaders need to be able to assess situations appropriately, adapt their leadership style or behaviours accordingly and apply alternatives or influence the situation to yield the desirable outcome.
I have applied contextualisation skills in various modules including contemporary health, health analysis and quality improvement and during my research project. This practical application has provided me with valuable insights into how I can incorporate it in leadership positions.

Moral Imagination and Creativity

This is a creative way to approach problems without clear solutions. It is particularly important during ethical decision-making.
Leaders need to be able to envision varying perspectives or possibilities for a particular context. This alludes to a systems thinking approach, in which we are one component of a system of stakeholders in a particular situation. We need to understand the thinking of these stakeholders within the situation. I also believe this involves a level of empathy- in which we need to place ourselves in their shoes to understand their perspectives.

Systems Thinking

This is a significant skill needed for leadership positions. I have learnt the importance of such an approach particularly in the context of complex health problems, that often do not have a clear root cause. Alternatively, these problems integrate various components, and as a leader it is important to consider how decisions to combat challenges or implement interventions can impact all the relevant departments and stakeholders.

Leading by example

After conducting research on responsible leadership, there are several areas in which setting an example and emulating the behaviours you expect are important.

People Management

Leaders are also responsible for the recruitment, retention and development of employees. Research suggests that one's leadership style can influence this dimension. For example, my democratic leadership style encourages participation, open communication and feedback, empowerment and accountability. Such a leadership style could have 2 effects on people management.
- Candidates are attracted to the organisation because of the collaborative and empowering culture created by leaders, increasing the number of applicants.
- Once employed, this culture of empowerment, purpose and development improves personal development and overall retention.
This example reiterates how important it is for me to select a leadership style that benefits all departments of the organisation, reflecting systems thinking, adaptability and ethical decision-making.

Learning Culture and Psychological Safety

These are 2 significant areas needed for my future leadership positions, and both relate to one another.
- Learning culture refers to relationships that promote motivation and growth amongst employees. Psychological safety involves comfortable environments that allow employees to express their ideas and perceptions, receive feedback and improve.
- Therefore, psychologically safe environments can promote learning cultures. It is the leaders responsibility to create safe organisational cultures that allow for employees to comfortably express their ideas and grow personally and professionally.
- Democratic leaders are seen to be collaborative, empowering, rooted in cooperation and consensus and accountable. Ultimately, maintaining my democratic leadership can be an appropriate way to develop such an atmosphere.

Reference:

LinkedIn Community, 2023. How can you use SOFTEN to improve nonverbal communication? [WWW Document]. URL https://www.linkedin.com/advice/3/how-can-you-use-soften-improve-your-nonverbal#:~:text=SOFTEN%20stands%20for%20Smile%2C%20Open,and%20interested%20in%20your%20audience.

Introverted Leaders

I have always believed that leaders need to be extroverted, however Susan Cain shares a contrasting argument. Her TED talk and book, Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverts , expertly highlight that introverts can be great leaders.

She points to research by Adam Grant, that says introverted leaders tend to produce better outcomes in comparison to extroverts. They tend to manage employees proactively and let employees explore their ideas. They are good listeners, inclusive, collaborative and are open to feedback. She does not disregard the importance of social skills, but rather cautions overlooking the unique strengths and abilities of introverts. Additionally, she emphasises the importance of balancing the two.

These are some of the quotes from her book that I felt effectively reiterated that introverts can be good leaders:

“Introverts tend to assume leadership positions within groups when they really have something to contribute….they listen carefully to the ideas of the people they lead. All of this gives them a big advantage over leaders who rise to the top simply because they're comfortable talking a lot or being in control.”

“Most great ideas spring from solitude.”

“Although we often hang back in group situations, evidence proves that introverts make strong leaders - often delivering better outcomes than extroverted leaders do. Yes, you read that right - not just decent outcomes, but better ones.”

Goodreads, n.d. Quiet Power Quotes [WWW Document]. URL https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/43110488-quiet-power#:~:text=Introverts%20tend%20to%20assume%20leadership,lot%20or%20being%20in%20control.

Differentiating between Leadership and Management

This video by Dr John Kotter briefly outlines the difference between leadership and management.

He outlines leadership as external, which individuals emphasising the vision and direction of the organisation or team. Whereas management is more internal, engaging and assists in practically implementing leadership principles.

The main distinction is that leadership is focused on the future, while management is focused on the present. Understanding these differences has helped me identify when I need to be a leader and when I need to be a manager, both during the reminder of my academic course and future profession.

Components to Guide Leadership and Management Interactions and Decisions

During one of my lecturers, my professor discussed some critical components that can be used to guide leadership and management in teams and organisations.

Some of these included:

Sensitivity: It is important for leaders to remain cognisant of who they are interacting with, particularly in hierarchical environments. No staff member should feel overlooked or undervalued.
When approaching conflict or problems, leaders should not focus on the problem itself. Rather discuss it from a positive perspective. I believe this can have implications on behavioural changes, productivity and overall morale.
Entrustability is a concept used in the medical profession , that refers to the ability to assign someone responsibility for actions or care towards someone or for something (Ten Cate, 2020). According to Simon Sinek, leadership is about being responsible for those in your charge. Leaders are often 'assigned the responsibility of others or for actions', aligning with the concept of entrustability. Leaders and managers need to be entrustable and in turn have entrustable teams and employees. Managers need to be able to trust their employees to confidently and reliably execute tasks.
- Therefore, leaders need to use open-ended questions to outline 'what we are doing well', 'where we can improve' and 'where to go from here'. This also relates to the ability to provide positive, constructive feedback.
- This approach allows for top-down communication and collaboration, it ensures junior staff are acknowledged and their opinions are heard.
- A rich entrustable decision consists of Agency, reliability, integrity (teamwork, engagement, ethics, morals), capabilities, humility: understanding one's own limits (Ten Cate and Chen, 2020). This forms a framework (see image) for leaders and managers to use, to identify whether they can entrust their team to complete the job.

References:

Ten Cate, O., Chen, H.C., 2020. The ingredients of a rich entrustment decision. Medical Teacher 42, 1413–1420. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2020.1817348

Ten Cate, O., 2020. When I say … entrustability. Med Educ 54, 103–104. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.14005

Transformational Leadership

Another one of our lectures emphasised the importance of transformational leadership emphasises an inspirational and motivational approach to leadership and team dynamics (Michigan State University, 2022). This was a critical learning moment for me, this from of leadership requires a specific organisational culture in order for transformation to occur.

Additionally, there are 4 pillars of transformational leadership, that leaders or organisations should consider (Michigan State University, 2022):

Individual considerations - Need to accommodate individual strengths and/or weaknesses in order to achieve your vision.
Inspirational motivation - Refers to the leaders articulating the vision from the team's perspective. Leaders need to outline the expectations and standards for all team members and trust them to meet these expectations.
Idealised influence- Relates to role modelling. These leaders are often charismatic and engage in ethical practices.
Intellectual stimulation - Emphasises innovation and ideation. Team members think outside the box, and are comfortable with being themselves.

I had previously identified that the main area I struggle with in terms of leadership is motivation and encouragement. After learning more about transformational leadership, I can confidently say that this has highlighted a weakness in my leadership abilities and a potential area for growth.

Reference:

Michigan State University, 2022. The 4 “I’s” of Transformational Leadership [WWW Document]. URL https://www.michiganstateuniversityonline.com/resources/leadership/4-is-of-transformational-leadership/

Trust vs Performance

In this video Simon Sinek uses an anecdote to discuss the characteristics of some of the best leaders.

This anecdote is situated in the context of performance versus trust. He outlines that Navy seals see leaders that are high-performing but low trust- as toxic. They prefer leaders who are medium to low performing, with high trust.

Simon outlines that businesses do not take such an perspectives into account. Businesses tend to hire individuals who are high performing, largely because there are several metrics in place that allow businesses to assess the performance of candidates. However, there are few metrics to assess the trustworthiness of candidates, making it difficult to hire people who teams can trust.

But what is the impact of an untrustworthy leader?

Trust impacts processes such as communication, coordination and the sharing of information, which in turn affects productivity (Savolainen and Häkkinen, 2011). Trust or interpersonal trust is rooted in expectation that the other party is reliable in the face of risk or uncertainty (Hurley, 2012 ; Savolainen and Häkkinen, 2011). Trust can appear at many levels (Savolainen and Häkkinen, 2011). Leaders can established through interpersonal relationships with team members, while employees can establish trust through their workplace actions and behaviours (Savolainen and Häkkinen, 2011).

Savolainen and Häkkinen (2011) outline that workplace culture can affect trust, particularly in the event of conflicts. Additionally, trust is also impacted when one's positive expectations were not upheld (Savolainen and Häkkinen, 2011). For example, leaders who overlook their employees expertise, often create environments with poor productivity and performance (Savolainen and Häkkinen, 2011). Research further reiterates this argument, outlining a negative relationship between productivity and trust.

The authors highlight 2 components necessary for building trust; the development of trustworthy leaders, who embed this into their organisation. Behaviours, leadership styles and skills are critical (Savolainen and Häkkinen, 2011). For example, a leaders daily habits permeate within the organisation, socialising employees (Savolainen and Häkkinen, 2011). As a result, leaders need to set the example to influence organisational culture.

Figure 2 depicts the Decision to Trust Model, that outlines the various factors people consider when trusting or distrusting an individual. These factors include (Hurley, 2012) :

Similarities: People tend to trust those they are similar to.
Interests: People tend to trust those with similar interests.
Benevolent Concern: People tend to trust those who care about the well-being and security of others.
Capability: People tend to trust those who can deliver and uphold their promises.
Predictability: To be trusted one must demonstrate consistency and integrity.
Communication and approachability are important in promoting discussions, active listening and supportive interactions- essential for building trust.

These are important factors for me to consider when entering leadership roles, Table 1 highlights different approaches I can incorporate into my democratic and responsible leadership style to improve on my trustworthiness (Hurley, 2012).

Ultimately, these resources have emphasised the importance of a trustworthy leader. I am committed to creating trustworthy environments and reflecting the behaviors I expect of others and this will make me an effective leader for future projects.

References:

Hurley, R., 2012. The trustworthy leader: The first step toward creating high‐trust organizations. Leader to Leader, 2012(66), pp.33-39.

Savolainen, T. and Häkkinen, S., 2011. Trusted to lead: Trustworthiness and its impact on leadership. Technology Innovation Management Review, 3(2), pp.52-56.

Simon SInek also uses the anecdote of Noah at the 4 Seasons versus Noah at Caesar's Palace. In this story Noah is happier at the 4 seasons than at Caesar's palace, and that is largely about how differently the leaders and managers go about identifying problems and correcting them. Leaders tend to criticise their teams, however if a supportive environment is created then employees are more likely to change, improve and be more productive. He outlines that when something goes wrong within the organisation, performance appraisals should not solely assess the employees, but should also extend to managers and leaders.

Our instinct should not be to ridicule the employee, but rather find out how we can help them. This points back to his point of leadership being about, taking care of those in your charge. As a leader I am responsible for my team and their performance, and it is important for me to make the necessary decisions to guarantee their best performance.

How can you use Journey Mapping or other ways to understand your employees experience and how this can help you to shape a more supportive environment?

Journey mapping is a tool used to visually depict the steps an employee moves through from recruitment to training to career progression (Cote, 2022; Luc, 2024). Once their experience or perspective is outlined leaders can then understand challenges experienced by these employees and improve job descriptions (Cote, 2022; Luc, 2024).

Understanding challenges from their perspectives can help in creating interventions tailored to their needs (Cote, 2022). These can include professional development opportunities, policy or procedure changes or improved communication channels. It is also important to regularly gather feedback from employees regarding current processes or emerging processes. This can ensure their participation in planning and decision-making, and provide continuous improvement metrics or data for future (Cote, 2022).

This activity is another example in which I incorporated my Health Analysis and Quality Improvement knowledge and integrated into leadership theories, integration of knowledge is a competency I have developed (Baartman and De Bruijn, 2011).

References:

Cote, C., 2022. A Guide to Employee Journey Mapping [WWW Document]. Harvard Business School Online. URL https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/employee-journey-mapping

Baartman, L.K.J., De Bruijn, E., 2011. Integrating knowledge, skills and attitudes: Conceptualising learning processes towards vocational competence. Educational Research Review 6, 125–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2011.03.001

Luc, K., Forneret, A., 2024. A guide for mapping your employee experience [WWW Document]. URL https://www.cultureamp.com/blog/employee-experience-journey-map

In relation to the 'What is Management Activity?" There are 3 types of skills that were identified that make individuals good leaders and managers. As I reflect over my entire academic year, I can confidently say that all my 10 modules have equipped me with the necessary skills to be navigate leadership and management roles. Some of these skills include:

Technical Skills

"..analytical ability to navigate and solve problems and perform tasks adequately."

- Financial Analysis
- Microsoft Office
- Research Software
- Data Entry and Management
- Health Education and Promotion
- Quality Improvement Techniques
- Electronic Communication

Human Skills

"...skills necessary for working with others particularly during collaboration and conflict resolution."

Respect
Accountability
Time management
Initiate
Delegation
Empathy
Verbal and Non-verbal communication
Active Listening
Written communication
Decision-making

Conceptual Skills

"...referred to the ability to understand the organisation as well as its components."

Creative thinking and Innovation,
Systems thinking
Change management
Team building
Storytelling
Process redesign,
entrepreneurial thinking,
Conflict resolution
Design thinking

Collaboration

Platforms that Facilitate my Collaboration

Throughout this course I have utilised each of these online platforms to collaborate with my colleagues in a variety of ways. Microsoft Teams forms the basis of communication, this platform has allowed me to communicate with my class mates and my learning in the workplace supervisors virtually and through the chat function. Communication is an important skill necessary for collaboration and teamwork, and Microsoft Teams has helped me improve my written and oral communication in both formal and informal circumstances. Furthermore, this skill is critical in professional environments.

Microsoft Word and PowerPoint are crucial to my class assignments. These platforms allow me to share documents and collaborate simultaneously with my group members. Both allow for feedback to be shared and discussed in a professional manner. These have assisted in seamless communication and editing of assignments. These platforms have taught me that feedback is an essential part of collaboration, this ensures the group is working towards a common goal and that the work presented is of the same quality. Both of which form an integral part of collaborative projects particularly for formal presentations.

Canvas has played a part in my class participation. Particularly when reading and commenting on my peers Sparks. Collaboration can also involve knowledge sharing, these Sparks allow me to get an insight into how others think and feel regarding the course content. This can lead to a critical change in my own perspective. As a health systems specialist it is important to keep an open-mind, consider different stakeholders and their diverse contexts, this can allow me to address health systems problems in an appropriate manner.

Excel has been useful for the workplace. Firstly, this is where I keep track of my tasks and their hours. Furthermore, majority of my tasks have consisted of me collaborating with my supervisor on a spreadsheet. This spreadsheet comprises of tasks that are both completed and yet to be completed, organised in a checklist format. This is one of the explicit ways in which communication occurs. This is similar to the form of collaboration that occurs in Word, however this effectively describes to my supervisor where I have contributed on the shared tasks without meeting frequently and discussing my contributions.

ChawasemaSN_FAMH4002A_ConductinganInterview.pdf

Conducting an interview: Correlation to Collaboration

The Indeed Editorial Team (2023), defines collaboration as when two or more people work together to achieve a common objective. The authors emphasise that collaboration occurs when team members apply their knowledge to solve problems and promote shared learning.

Different skills are needed for collaboration. For instance, active listening, emotional intelligence interpersonal skills, professionalism and critical thinking (Indeed Editorial Team, 2023). I had to prepare interview questions, schedule an interview, perform the interview, and then assess the answers to meet the assignment's goals. This task obviously demanded a diverse skill set.

In order to prepare for the interview, I had to conduct research regarding the radiography department, plan and schedule the interview as well emotionally prepare for the presentation. As per the Indeed Editorial Team (2023), critical thinking, self-motivation, professionalism, and time management are essential abilities for collaboration. Additionally, it was important for me to convey my expectations to the respondent before the interview, just as it is crucial to communicate individual aims before group work (Indeed Editorial Team, 2023).

During the interview I had to actively and intently listen in addition to communicating clearly and professionally. For this assignment, communication in both written and spoken forms was essential. During the Q&A session, minute taking, and the final report, I made use of both of these abilities. While the Indeed Editorial Team (2023) identifies these as teamwork abilities, the Coursera Staff (20230 underlines these as essential interview skills.

Lastly, I needed to consider the responses and comprehensively answer the specific question regarding solution and strategy development for improved quality care in that department. Though reflecting is a skill I am continuously developing, in this context it is a useful tool for identifying what was successful and what was not during the process. In conclusion, this assignment helped me develop and further refine my collaboration skills for upcoming interviews and teamwork efforts.

References:

Indeed Editorial Team, 2023. Collaboration Skills: Examples and Ways to Improve them [WWW Document]. URL https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/collaboration-skills

Coursera Staff, 2023. 11 Interviewing skills to benefit your career [WWW Document]. Coursera. URL https://www.coursera.org/articles/interviewing-skills

Escape to the Championship ESCAPE TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP

Escape the General Store

Escape Room on Another Planet!colorbomb.itch.io/trace

Learning in the Workplace: Learning and Teaching Focus Day Escape Rooms

The CHSE hosted a teaching and learning Focus Day event. For this event, we as in turns we tasked with evaluating and testing the suitability of the different escape rooms to be showcased during the event. These escape rooms were challenging but enlightening. This collaborative assignment exposed me to various strengths and weaknesses of my team. Patience was critical during these tasks, to ensure everyone had a chance to attempt their approaches. Brainstorming and creative thinking were essential, as a group we needed to allow each other to share ideas. Conflict and criticism were also experienced as some disagreements occurred due to differing ideas.

This task helped improve my patience, conflict management and responses to criticism and feedback. In addition, I exercised my creative thinking and problem-solving skills. But ultimately, these escape rooms helped me navigate collaboration and conflict a in professional setting.

HSS Competency Evaluation Block 1 (Responses)

Feedback responses from peers (As of March 2024)

My peers have highlighted that I am dependable and contribute meaningfully to group discussions and tasks. They have highlighted that I value inclusion and always aim to treat everyone with respect. Two issues noted were that I to some I am not the most approachable and I need to speak more in order to improve my collaborative skills.

Collaboration is an immense part of this course and subsequent working opportunities and being approachable has always been a personal goal of mine. Improving that is always going to be a challenge, as sometimes it is just my personality and not everyone may understand that. But, simple things such as eye contact, using names and attentiveness are the best ways to approach this for future.

Another aspect highlighted was speaking up more, the main fears attached to that is, not effectively articulating what I am thinking and being perceived as chatty. Overcoming these fears will ultimately require some introspection and comfortability within my interactions with my peers.

HSS Competency Evaluation Block 1 (Responses)

Feedback responses from peers (As of November 2024)

My peers have highlighted that I am dependable and contribute meaningfully to group discussions and tasks. This is consistent with the feedback from March. They have highlighted that I am approachable, I value inclusivity and always aim to treat everyone with respect. Similar to the feedback given in March. One of my peers suggested that I should rotate leadership roles. This aligns with collaboration, this response highlights that I may not have given opportunities for other team members to show their leadership capabilities.

I acknowledge that it is important to collaborate and create supportive environments that allow for everyone to take part in different roles.

Systems Thinking

According to this video, systems thinking is the ability to understand the interconnectedness of systems and their varying dynamics. It is a non-linear process and often cause-and-effect relationships are not easily identifiable. Cascading effects: lots of effects on other systems or parts. Often it is observed that the interconnectedness of systems can lead to cascading effects, in which multiple effects can occur in various parts of a system.

Systems are complex and difficult to comprehend and analyse. As systems thinkers it is important to understand that reacting to one problem in a system may have unintended consequences in another part of the system. This completely disregards the main aim of systems thinking, which is to reduce overall negative outcomes.

This video expertly describes systems thinking and its potential boundaries, both practical and abstract. Understanding the boundaries of various systems allows system thinkers to appropriately address what the expectations are within a systems and what goals can be achieved. It is not feasible to target an issue that exists outside the system in which you are operating.

There are a variety of situations in which systems thinking can be used. Often these situations are non-traditional and require holistic methods to accommodate the diverse issues and stakeholders involved. Examples of situations outlined in the video include, environmental situations, social and economic issues, public policy challenges and organisational issues. Many of these issues fall into the boundaries of health systems and could potentially be investigated in my HS academic course.

This video also describes a variety of ways in which to execute systems thinking. This would be an interesting point to reflect back on, to identify if I utilised these tools to gradually develop my systems thinking competencies.

These tools include causal loop diagrams, Viable systems models, system dynamics modelling, soft systems methodology, design thinking, action research, critical systems heuristics and strategic options development and analysis.

Reflection: How is my research a form of systems thinking?

Research and research methodology forms an integral part of my HSS academic course work. I am not only tasked with developing my research competencies but also have been given the opportunity to conduct research at an honours level. According to the abovementioned video, The basics of systems thinking 2023 , systems thinking is needed within a variety of situations. All these situations directly link to health systems, for instance environmental issues such as climate change can impact a parsons health. Social and economic issues such as poverty can prevent individuals from seeking healthcare, and organisational issues such as poor health workforce morale impacting staff retention can reduce the quality and availability of healthcare services. This relates to the Social determinants of Health and Mental Health.

For example, poverty can exacerbate mental health, your economic status can limit access to mental and geographical location can limit timely accessibility to services. Furthermore, those who may be experiencing poverty may in turn express these emotions in the workplace leading to organisational problems such as conflict and decreased productivity, which in turn impacts your economic status. There is a slight cyclical implication to social issues and they can bleed into your well-being and health. The health system is complex and intertwined and requires a unique way of thinking when solving these issues. In order to address these social causal pathways, one has to use systems thinking to effectively assess the root causes of poor mental health. This can also help accurately tailor health system interventions to suit the majority of circumstances and contexts.

How my research promoted systems thinking:

Systems thinking is needed to address challenges and develop interventions.

The importance of Patient-centredness

Group 2_FAMH4018A_Systems Health White Paper (1).pdf

White paper of Finance and Leadership

This activity highlighted the interconnectedness between leadership and governance and the health financing building block. Leaders often drive decision-making and therefore have the power to drive health financing policies and procedures. Systems thinking ensures stakeholders understand this relationship and understand how changes in one component can affect the other. By doing so, health systems can ensure that their health financing policies reflect the countries capabilities and the needs of the community.

References: Samantha Chawasema, John Musalu, Bulelwa Fihla, Zanele Khumalo

Mapping Out finance Positions

I was tasked with identifying 3 different financial positions. Each of the positions operate within 2 separate industries, the hospital sector and non-governmental organisation (NGO) sector. Despite this, I believe health financing extends beyond just the health financing building block of the health system and incorporating this concept in professional settings could be important . If we consider each organisation as a "health system" then employees interact with various "building blocks" of organisation.

For example, in the hospital, these employees need to communicate with various departments, as a result interactions with the health workforce is inevitable. In the NGO, the employee needs to keep pace with supplier upkeep. Here, the service delivery building block is encountered. Lastly, an employee may be required to write and deliver reports to the board of the NGO, here we see interactions between leadership structures.

Despite these employees working within the financial department of the organisation, their role requires systems thinking. These individuals interact with various constituents (ie. building blocks) of the organisation, each with distinct functions. Therefore, knowledge and understanding of the interrelatedness between these constituents will improve overall decision-making, productivity and performance in professional settings.

Faculty of Health Sciences: Teaching and Learning Focus Day

The CHSE's event was focused on learning and teaching technologies. This event comprised of many stakeholders all with one objective in common, advancing and enhancing health science education. Rather than focusing on a health system, the health workforce constituted a system, with several important parts. These included, students, professors, doctors and educators all from varying health sciences departments and teaching methodologies and technologies.

I believe opening the event to a diverse array of stakeholders was beneficial. Because all these stakeholders (parts of the health workforce system) need to understand one another's perspectives to affectively enhance health sciences education. In addition to this, the event allowed stakeholders to outline their roles, and expectations from other stakeholders. This will aid all constituents of the "health workforce system" to hold one another accountable for the training provided to students, who will ultimately provide care to patients. Here, we see a ripple effect and potential hierarchal structure, if relations and responsibilities are not adequately addressed by stakeholders, the patient could be affected.

This event taught me that systems thinking could be applied to multiple contexts. In order for their shared goal to be achieved, all these stakeholders needed to understand the problem from varying perspectives, understand the dynamics of the system and the apparent hierarchies that exist within education, understand how these hierarchies could cause conflict and brainstorm together to form solutions.

Systems Maps

Systems Maps were prevalent in my HSS course. Miro was a digital tool that facilitated my illustration and visualisation of systems and helped solidify the need for systems thinking. This platform helped me expertly draw the connections between various parts. Evidently, systems thinking and mapping was used in various modules. This illustrates its importance and universality.

Contemporary Health: My relationship to the Healthcare System

SDG Systems Map

Policy and Leadership: Figure 2

Systems Health: Link between Leadership competencies and Health system functioning

Health Analysis and Quality Improvement: Patient flow map and Complex Adaptive Systems

I briefly engaged with the book Thinking in Systems: A Primer by Donella H. Meadows. Early in the book, a Slinky is used to outline systems theory. Donella outlines that the behaviours of this object are in response to an inherent manipulation of the strucutre of the Slinky. In the same way that a systems behaviour lies in how we address it and manipulate it. The only way we can find answers, is by taking the time to understand the components of the system and how they interact with one another to produce an intended response.

These are some quotes that I identified, that helped solidify my understanding:

“There are no separate systems. The world is a continuum. Where to draw a boundary around a system depends on the purpose of the discussion.”

“So, what is a system? A system is a set of things—people, cells, molecules, or whatever—interconnected in such a way that they produce their own pattern of behavior over time.”

This quote highlights how a system is defined by its purpose. It additionally, outlines that systems are unpredictable, and react in different ways. Therefore, change is inevitable within the system and being able to anticipate or understand this change is critical.

“A system is an interconnected set of elements that is coherently organized in a way that achieves something.”

This quote further outlines the interconnected nature of systems, again making reference to a certain purpose.

“You can’t navigate well in an interconnected, feedback-dominated world unless you take your eyes off short-term events and look for long term behavior and structure; unless you are aware of false boundaries and bounded rationality; unless you take into account limiting factors, nonlinearities and delays.”

This quote outlines the importance of long-term change. It is important to understand all the various factors that affect the system and the context in which it functions. Additionally, in order to navigate a system one needs to make decisions with the best future outcomes in mind, rather than making a decision in response to the current situation.

“The systems-thinking lens allows us to reclaim our intuition about whole systems and hone our abilities to understand parts, see interconnections, ask “what-if ” questions about possible future behaviors, and be creative and courageous about system redesign.”

This quote emphasises different competencies that can help navigate systems. In order to be an effective systems thinker, we need to think outside of the box, identify relationships, be inquisitive, creative and innovative when approaching system challenges.

Advocacy

What is advocacy?

Arguing in favour of a cause, supporting a cause or petitioning and representing the interests of others.

How can you advocate?

1. Improving power and authority of communities.
2. Educating a variety of individuals (e. communities and policymakers) of the problems and needs of communities and legislative processes.
3. Conducting research and providing accurate results to combat misinformation within communities, organisations and institutions.
4. Collaboration with other organisations to mobilise available resources and create understanding of the issues at hand.

Reference:

Alliance for Justice (2016). What is Advocacy? Definitions and Examples. [online] Missouri Foundation for Health. Available at: https://mffh.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/AFJ_what-is-advocacy.pdf [Accessed 6 May 2024].

UNICEF Advocacy Toolkit.pdf

" The UNICEF advocacy toolkit defines advocacy and highlights a variety of ways in which advocacy can be conducted. However, UNICEF centres its work around children and youth, despite this I have decided that this tool will form the basis of how I can map out this HSS competency. I aim to reference this document when discussing the various artefacts and skills I have learnt during my HSS journey. "

Reference:

UNICEF, 2010. Advocacy Toolkit: A guide to influencing decisions that improve children’s lives.

ChawasemaSN_ResearchProtocol PDF eP.pdf

The image below, sourced from the UNICEF advocacy toolkit highlights that advocacy can involve research, a core component of my HSS academic journey.

Research

According to the Alliance for Justice (2016), the Missouri Foundation of Health describes research as one of the many ways of promoting change, raising awareness, dispelling myths and advocating for communities.

According to this video, advocacy can have a variety of goals; educational goal, financial goal, political goal and activity goal. This video inspired some thinking around the final dissemination process of my research.

Research will ultimately have an educational goal, as it contributes to knowledge surrounding a particular issue. However, this video allowed me to realise that I can use the newfound knowledge and aim to achieve several other goals.

The financial goal is to raise money for a cause.
The activity goal is to encourage others to carry out activities for a cause.
The political goal is to create new legislation for a cause.

The goals that can be achieved will largely depend on the results gained from the data collection process. For instance, it may be identified that the University of the Witwatersrand does effectively incorporate content in the MBBCH medical curriculum regarding race, its origins, social determinants of health and how they can influence a communities health outcomes as well as influence the perceptions of healthcare professionals. I can use these results to highlight the importance of this content in producing competent graduates.

This can lead to the activity goal- not only may this lead to more research in this field but other universities can see how Witwatersrand incorporates this content and understand the benefits from a students perspective. In order for more research to be conducted, finances are necessary- students, researchers, healthcare professionals and educators can aim to raise money to further drive these research ventures. This may lead to a political goal, in which South Africa's medical institutions make it mandatory to incorporate such content in varying types of health and medical curricula and training.

Alignment of my Research with Innovation and Advocacy

My initial research proposal explored the idea of promoting racial awareness and reducing implicit biases in the medical curriculum. Apart from wanting to understand and advocate student's perspectives, I personally wanted to further research or identify ways in which medical education could be diversified.

The first idea that caught my eye, was the incorporation of diverse medical images in textbooks. One particular example is associated with dermatology and skin conditions, incorporating these images could enhance diagnoses and improve the health outcomes of these populations. It therefore becomes extremely important for teaching resources to be representative of differing populations within the health system, to aid in ensuring equitable, quality care.

Alignment with Research: Part 2

My initial research proposal was declined, and required a revision. I thus went with the topic of Social Determinants of Mental Health. Not only am I exploring mental health and its different 'contributing factors' but also investigating the needs of these individuals and marginalised communities. This outlines the dual role of my research, an educational role and activity role.

Research on social determinants of mental health outlines the underlying factors that impact mental well-being. These determinants include socioeconomic status, employment, education, environment and access to healthcare. By studying these factors researchers can identify 'hidden' relationships and connections. For example, research has identified that mental health is poorer among individuals of a lower socioeconomic status (Alegria et al. 2018).

I also learnt that understanding these connections requires systems thinking skills. Systems thinking is a holistic approach to challenges. Similarly, researching social determinants can advocate for novel ways of addressing mental health and well-being. Rather than focusing on the biomedical or symptomatic approach, this research can provide data that explores the social factors affecting mental health. This can help guide researchers in developing interventions and improving policies aimed at addressing the root causes of poor mental well-being, ultimately leading to mental healthcare systems being more inclusive.

Additionally, this research plays a crucial role in raising awareness and encouraging public discussion. Publishing such research is thus beneficial as there are many misconceptions or myths surrounding mental health. Research can be a useful way of encouraging educational discussions, factually informing about mental health in its social context (Alliance for Justice, 2016). This dissemination of knowledge becomes a form of advocacy,as it improves knowledge and compassion amongst communities. Conducting research on the social determinants of mental health inherently involves advocating for marginalised communities. This research brings awareness to the barriers these communities face such as poverty, inaccessibility and discrimination, and how these barriers exacerbate mental health outcomes. In addition to amplifying the voices of the marginalised. As a result, interventions can become more tailored to the needs and experiences of these communities.

My research appropriately illustrates how research can be a useful advocacy tool or skill (Alliance for Justice, 2016). It improves understanding and encourages more knowledge, highlights the needs of others and encourages a holistic approach to mental health. Advocacy is traditionally seen as petitions, marches and social media campaigns, but as a Health Systems Scientist I can advocate for these same communities through my research.

References:

Alegría, M., NeMoyer, A., Falgàs Bagué, I., Wang, Y. and Alvarez, K., 2018. Social determinants of mental health: where we are and where we need to go. Current psychiatry reports, 20, pp.1-13.

Health Entrepreneurship

Final Business Proposal Amended.pdf

Our Business proposal was centred around improving accessibility of healthcare. We aimed to improve convenience and patient safety in response to community concerns and experiences. In this way developing this business is an effective way to advocate for the needs of the community.

References: Samantha Chawasema, Nashik Mohanlal, Bulelwa Fihla , Reabetswe Lichaba , John Musalu

Mental Health Advocacy

Mental health is a state of mental-well being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realise their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community. - World Health Organization

ChawasemaS_2024_FAMH4000A_Situational Analysis.docx

Contemporary Health Situational Analysis: Exploring Mental Health in South Africa

Before an individual or organisation embarks on an advocacy campaign, they need to identify the objectives (UNICEF, 2010). The author emphasises that in order to define these objectives, you need to holistically understand the problem.

In contemporary health I was tasked to complete a situational analysis for a specific contemporary health issue using the PESTLE format. According to the UNICEF Advocacy toolkit (2010), conducting a situational analysis is the best way to identify where action needs to be taken regarding the development of an advocacy plan.

The author highlights the importance of considering equity, to ensure that solutions generated address those in need. Additionally, causality is important. These analyses should explicitly discuss these relationships in order to appropriately develop interventions regarding the specific issue at hand.

In my analysis I decided to combine the political and historical factors as well as the social and cultural factors, with the intention of highlighting the overlapping themes and relationships between the various factors. Evidently, South Africa's history has shaped our political landscape which in turn has shaped our socio-cultural and socio-economic experiences which both impact health seeking behaviours and overall health outcomes.

This assignment has given me the opportunity to advance the first set of skills needed to develop an advocacy plan. As a health systems specialist it is important to fully understand the problem from a variety of perspectives and the causal relationships in order to combat the issue effectively.

Reference:

UNICEF, 2010. Advocacy Toolkit: A guide to influencing decisions that improve children’s lives.

Innovative Health Activity 2.3.3

Technological advancements that can be incorporated into Mental Healthcare

Solution to a contemporary health challenge activity required extensive research regarding how to incorporates technological innovation for the improvement or advancement of mental healthcare. Each of the attached videos discuss how mental healthcare can be achieved in a variety of non-traditional ways. This technological approach can be used in a variety of contexts as well.

Advocacy for those living with disabilities

Disruptive innovation in health: 3D Printing and Healthcare

Activity 3.1.1 Innovative Health-Disruptive Innovation.pdf

3D Printing

According to The Medical Futurist, 3D printing has a variety of medical uses which can ultimately reduce healthcare costs for developing countries. The video describes the production of finger splints, personalised casts for broken bones, prosthetics, surgical preparation for students, pharmaceuticals and biomaterials for tissue engineering.

Bioprinting

Bioprinting is a new innovation being researched in medical science that aims to reduce the issue of rejection.

This mechanism can 3D print living tissues, from the patient through a tissue biopsy. As a result the new organ can completely "match" the cells of the patient.

However it is important to note that there are a variety of implications regarding this technology. Developers need to considered the ethics and legal issues surrounding distribution and most importantly the need for blood cells, which ensure the tissue remains alive for transplantation.

Evidently, there are a variety of biomedical uses for 3D printing. Such innovations could largely benefit developing countries, war torn countries and public healthcare sectors but oftentimes the infrastructure and financial capacity of certain countries may hinder the incorporation of these advancements in health systems. Another challenge that is important to note is the ethics regarding 3D printing.

According to Kirillova et al. (2020), issues arise regarding the source of the cells, the exploitation or misplacement of patient genomic data, society and religious beliefs and "digitisation" of the patient, this describes how a natural object (ie. organ) has been digitally created.

This highlighted to me the additional responsibility regarding advocacy, the inclusion of bioethical principles. Bioethicists are responsible for collaborating with policy makers, healthcare professionals, communities and scientists to identify appropriate and moral ways to incorporate technology in healthcare (Scully, 2019).

As a health advocate it is therefore beneficial to revise and comprehend these principles and scientific research when seeking justice and health equity within health systems.

References:

Kirillova, A., Bushev, S., Abubakirov, A. and Sukikh, G., 2020. Bioethical and legal issues in 3D bioprinting. International Journal of Bioprinting, 6(3).

Scully, J.L., 2019. The responsibilities of the engaged bioethicist: Scholar, advocate, activist. Bioethics, 33(8), pp.872-880.

Types of Resource Allocation

I was tasked with exploring different ways in which the health system could allocate resources. This task highlighted that the scarcity of resources can encourage the advocacy or priority of certain groups over the other. For example, the Disability-adjusted life years is a metric that is used to identify how a disease may affect the length and quality of life of a population.

This approach thus assists policymakers in making accurate decisions regarding communicable disease, mental health and maternal health. Ensuring these populations receive the necessary resources.

Group 2_FAMH4018A_Systems Health White Paper (1).pdf

A white paper of Finance and Leadership

This was a collaborative assignment, in which we had to investigate the importance of leadership in guiding financing in South Africa's health system.

This assignment highlighted the responsibility of leaders and governments in using accurate data to make decisions regarding policies. Therefore leaders can advocate for their communities by providing them with opportunities and infrastructure that supports the ability to collect context-specific data. In addition to this, accountability is a major factor. Giving communities access to budget documents can ensure that budgets are distributed according to the needs of the community.

References: Samantha Chawasema, John Musalu, Bulelwa Fihla, Zanele Khumalo

ChawasemaS_FAMH4018A_IndividualEssay.docx

Individual Essay

This task required critical thinking. I needed to critique South Africa's existing payment models and provide solutions for the implementation into the National Health Insurance (NHI).

Incentivisation was an important factor to consider throughout this entire task. It was important for the proposed payment model to have more positive incentives in comparison to negative incentives. Appropriate incentivisation can lead to the advocacy of quality healthcare and service delivery from healthcare professionals. Individuals from different socioeconomic backgrounds can thus access care that is affordable.

However, one question that this activity posed was how do these payment models advocate for the "fair remuneration" of healthcare professionals? Considering that they may be a shift in salaries and remuneration as NHI is implemented.

21st Century Skills

"These skills refer to any knowledge, life and career skills that are essential for a student's success in today's world. These are most important for me particularly as I move into the workforce."

Buckle, J. (2020). A Comprehensive Guide to 21st Century Skills. [online] www.panoramaed.com. Available at: https://www.panoramaed.com/blog/comprehensive-guide-21st-century-skills.

Information and Digital (i.e. Technology) Literacy

The ability to access, manage, understand and use information safely and appropriately via digital technologies or different types of media.

Reference: Team, L. (2023). 30 Examples of Digital Literacy in 2023 | Learning.com. [online] Learning. Available at: https://www.learning.com/blog/30-examples-of-digital-literacy-in-2023/.

REDCap

I was exposed to this digital data management tool as a Research Assistant. This tool was used to manage online surveys. The information collected from the survey could be sorted into various categories such as age or gender. This tool also highlighted whether the entire survey was completed dand the date it was submitted.

I felt that I saved a lot of time because these analytics were provided. I could easily group various participants and also void responses that were incomplete. I used the given video to hone in on my skills and to fully understand how to use this tool. Ultimately, REDCap will be extremely useful for when I conduct primary research and assist in streamlining data management and capture.

MaxQDA Analytics Pro

MaxQDA was a digital platform I was introduced to as a Research Assistant. For this platform I had to import an Excel Microsoft data sheet. Following, that I had to organise the data and code it for analysis. Coding allowed me to edit the participant's data and code it according to a common theme observed.

This tool has been helpful for accessing information from primary research projects and thematically analysing them. Primary research is an important way of understanding the perspectives of various health system stakeholders and patients, therefore these skills will be important for future research ventures, particularly focus groups, surveys and interviews.

Bloomberg's Digital Tool

I had the opportunity to use Bloomberg's application to identify financial ratios of various medical companies for my Systems Health financial ratio assignment. This activity helped develop my digital literacy skills, as I needed to be able to navigate the application , read and understand digital graphs and terms, and interpret this information in my assignment.

us10e988.pdf

Literature

For my systems health financial statement assignment, I needed to define fundamental financial principles. Because this was my first point of exposure to this content, I used media and information literacy skills to solve this problem.

I decided to refer to a book of mine, “Manage your Money like a Grownup by Sam Beckbessinger”. This book outlined terms in a simple manner. I searched, evaluated and used the information in conjunction with external research. In addition to this, I utilised a different form of media.

Graphic Designs

During this course I have created several infographics, images and flow diagrams. I have improved my ability to communicate information and ideas through visual aids. The tools I consistently used were Canva and Miro. My lecturers and peers would have the opportunity to provide feedback on how engaging the content was. Through this feedback, I have learnt that it is important to understand the use of colour, fonts, layout and the user experiences'. Another important thing that I noted when using Canva, was to ensure that when I used a template I needed to remain creative, to prevent the likelihood of a template being repeated amongst my peers.

The following links illustrate my graphic designs in my different course modules:

Innovative Health

Responsible Health Podcast Cover

Learning in the Workplace: Diagram 1 and Diagram 2

Examples ofMiro Flow Diagrams I have completed

WHO Building blocks.pdf

Illustration of my understanding of the WHO building blocks, and how challenges in these building blocks can be addressed.

Incident report map.pdf

This incident report map was used in my Quality Evaluation Plan- outlining the steps to follow when medical errors occur.

Process Analysis.pdf

The Process Maps used in my gorups Process Analysis Assignment.

RESPHEALTH ScR Prisma.pdf

The PRISMA Diagram sued in my groups Scoping Review for Responsible Health.

Sam-LIW Storyline.pdf

My Storyline diagram outlining my interpretation of the Curriculum Changes and Approval Process.

Untitled (1).pdf

Hierarchical Structure of the Stakeholders in the CHSE.

Digital Presentations

PowerPoint and Google Slides were 2 common digital platforms I used for presentations. Creating these presentations has improved my ability to summarise key information and present in a visually, engaging manner. This is a form of media literacy, as I utilised different digital platforms that allow me to incorporate images and animations, to convey information in an impactful manner. In addition to improving my collaboration skills.

The following links illustrate my digital presentations in my different course modules:

Health Entrepreneurship

Responsible Health

Learning in the Workplace

Podcast Project

By working on my podcast project for Responsible Health, I have developed skills in audio production, storytelling and creative thinking and content creation. The tools I used included Voice recording and Descript. I learnt to script research content, record, edit audio and include creative sound bits. Storytelling was particularly important for my podcast, I needed to ensure my narration was engaging and informative. Podcasts are a great way of distributing, communicating and presenting research in a novel way. Digital communication is important in our technological world. Podcasting is definitely something I will consider in the future for communicating research and spreading awareness. Additionally, it has highlighted a new form of advocacy, I can use this form of dissemination to raise awareness and educate people on healthcare challenges.

Responsible Health Podcast Episode and Report

Web Development Project

For Learning in the Workplace, we are conducting a quality improvement project in which we have decided to try and implement a website. During this process I have learnt the importance of user-friendly designs, functionality and performance on the browser. Web development was relatively new for me and through this process I am developing new skills. Website development is an important part of digital literacy, as it involves the creation of a digital platform that improves users online interactions and experiences.

Learning in the Workplace

Electronic Communication

The use of various communication tools and collaboration platforms to improve and streamline communication.

Problem-solving and Creative Thinking

Data Visualisations

As a Health Systems Scientist it is important to be able to communicate data in a comprehensive manner. I improved my ability to illustrate data creatively, show common themes and patterns and draw valuable conclusions that can assist with health system challenges.

Quality Evaluation Plan: Gantt Chart

Financial Statement Analysis and Reporting: Comparison Tables

Problem-Solving Challenges

Having the opportunity to partake in online escape rooms has improved my ability to actively engage in problem-solving and creative thinking skills. In addition to teamwork and collaboration skills, in a high pressure scenario.

Quality Improvement Projects and Process Redesign

For Health Analyses and Quality Improvement (HAQI) we conducted a process analysis. For this assignment we used process mapping skills and a root-cause analysis to identify the bottlenecks and issues. This allowed us to identify areas of improvement and creatively suggest interventions and strategies to improve this process. During this assignment, I developed mapping skills which effectively helped me outline the problem areas and guided my creative-thinking approach.

The following links illustrate the use of my problem-solving and creative thinking skills during HAQI:

Process Analysis

Quality Improvement Strategy

Unique Education Materials

Working at the CHSE has exposed me to various ways of presenting educational content. This demonstrates the need for creativity when approaching continuous learning, along with problem-solving skills to identify where the engagement is lacking and how to meet the needs of educators or students.

Artificial Intelligence

Gamified Learning

Block Reflections

HSS Competencies Reflection 1

Block 1

HSS Competencies Reflection 2

Block 2

HSS Competencies Reflection 3

Block 3

HSS Competencies Reflection 4

Block 4

CONTACT

samchawas02@gmail.com

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