2 Critical thinking and reflection (Part 2)
The work that you will be asked to do at postgraduate level will develop and test your skills in this area. You can get a feel for this in the following activity (adapted from K827 Leading Healthcare Improvements, the first course in the OU Master’s Advancing Healthcare Practice).
Activity 2 Critical thinking and reflection (Part 2)
Read the editorial piece entitled ‘The primacy of politics: the rise and fall of evidence-based public health policy? [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] ’ written by Clare Bambra from Durham University for the Journal of Public Health in 2013 [doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdt113], then consider the following questions:
- What does the article say about what drives public policy in healthcare?
- What implications does this have for your own work in improving healthcare?
Discussion
The article provides a stimulus for thinking about the extent to which activities are driven by policy and politics rather than evidence. We might assume that healthcare improvements come about as a result of evidence emerging from activities such as research. However, the situation is more complex, with a range of factors acting as drivers to change. For example, political considerations, such as a forthcoming election, might prompt a change in healthcare policy.
Activity 2 illustrates the critical approach you will be expected to develop at postgraduate level. In this case, simplistic ideas about policy being based on evidence are challenged. The following extract is an example of an actual assessment task (taken from Open University course K827) that would require you to think critically about policy and its application, as well as reflect on your own practice:
‘Analyse the key issues presented by a policy that is being implemented in, or has an impact on, a healthcare setting with which you are familiar.’
You can now return to Session 7.