Weeknote 3

This week I had a very encouraging experience which made me feel very positively about my leadership abilities.

At the start of the week, our university class was allowed to sign up for our practical DOPS exams. The exam in question was the clinical exam of cattle.

My friend had signed up for the exam, with the assumption that she would be allowed to practice on the teaching animals at the vet school however, due to the current COVID19 restrictions, she was no allowed to do so.

After one of our practical classes, I noticed that she seemed rather stressed and decided to ask her if everything was alright.

She told me that she was extremely nervous as she had signed up for the exam but had nowhere to practice and no one to “assess” her performing the exam and tell her if she was missing anything. Instantly, I was able to relate to her because I was also very stressed before my exam however, I was able to practice for mine. Therefore, I could only imagine how extra-stressed she must be.

I offered her my notes I wrote for the exam preparation (I had passed last semester) which had all the key points nicely highlighted however, she said she had her own ones and thanked me for the offer. I quickly had a think in my head about what the “right thing to do” would be and realised that I assumed my way of learning would be the same as hers. So I decided to change my question and ask her what way I can help her prepare for the exam. By using an open question, I allowed her to express her thoughts and feelings without imposing mine on her. I knew I had to be a supportive leader.

She told me that she would really like me to just watch her pretend to do the exam on a stuffed toy animal and listen to her talk her way through it. This would allow her to feel as though she practiced in front on someone and she would be able to time herself under pressure.

I set time aside from my classes whilst at the vet school and we had a socially-distanced “exam” preparation.

I was able to advise her on anything she had missed from the checklist which she said helped her immensely as it was easy to forget things when stressed.

After the “exam preparation” I asked her if there was anything else I could do to help and she said that she the only things she would really like is to practice on an actual animal.

I thought through my options and called my local farm vet and explained the situation. He informed me that if she was willing to come out with him that same night then she is welcome to join him on some farm visits to practice her skills. I told my friend and she was delighted and thanked me for my help and thought which I put into helping her get the most practice before her exam.

She passed the exam with flying colours the next day.

This experience made me very proud of my leadership skills. Not only had I re-evaluated my style of asking questions (closed-questions “would you like my preparation notes” and open-questions “what way can I help you prepare for the exam”) but, I also used critical thinking to assess what my options were in this situation (how can I realistically and effectively help my friend prepare for the exam?).

This event has taught me that there are always solutions to almost every situation and that open questions often work better than closed questions when asking someone how we can help them. This experience has made me realise that not everyone learns in the same way and that, we can support others by doing simple things (like listening to them and hearing out their thoughts and feelings). I believe that helping my friend in this way has benefited me because if any situations arise in the future when a colleague or patient requires help or care, I will be able to implement my leadership skills gained from this experience to help others overcome challenges.