Reflection: Anatomy Knowledge

The thought of learning the, what seemed like an endless, list of muscles, tendons, ligaments and bony landmarks of (Budras 2011; Budras 2007) both horses and dogs was and still is a daunting task. However, since the course started the task now seems achievable. At the beginning of the year, we were given a long list of words, half of which I had never heard of or couldn’t even pronounce. This had me wondering whether becoming a physiotherapist was something I could do. Although, once I had begun the process of putting my notes together and learning them one by one I began to believe that I could do it and the task seemed to get easier. Margolis and McCabe (2006) found that low self-belief interferes with academic achievement and that to build self-belief you should set tasks that are reasonable to your ability at that time (Margolis & Mccabe 2006). This is what I did and have set out to learn in small amounts so that I do not overload myself with too much information at once. Schick et al. (1990) found that individuals can only process a certain amount of information within a set time period, the amount of time and information can vary between individuals, but if the load of information exceeds the time period it is taken in then the information is not learnt (Schick et al. 1990).

Over the last 5 months the dissection practical’s and various anatomy based lectures alongside my revision and assignments have all really help to improve my knowledge and confidence. I have learnt that if I set my mind to it I am able to achieve a lot and that the doubt in myself was an unnecessary evil. Next time I am in a situation where I am unsure of my ability or a task I will have confidence that I can achieve it and not doubt myself before I even start.

References

Budras, K.-D., 2007. Anatomy of the dog., Schlütersche.

Budras, K.-D., 2011. Anatomy of the horse, Schlütersche.

Margolis, H. & Mccabe, P.P., 2006. Improving Self-Efficacy and Motivation. Intervention in School and Clinic, 41(4), pp.218–227. Available at: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10534512060410040401 [Accessed January 30, 2018].

Schick, A.G., Gordon, L.A. & Haka, S., 1990. Information overload: A temporal approach. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 15(3), pp.199–220. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/036136829090005F [Accessed January 30, 2018].