REFLECTIVE ESSAY ON THE PRESENTATION ON
CARBAPENEM-RESISTANT ENTEROBACTERIACEAE (CRE)
To complete our Overseas Nursing Programme, we had to make a presentation at the
last day of our study day. As one may see this as just another requirement to finish
the course, I viewed it as a learning experience that will benefit me more than anyone
else. I value learning, especially at this stage of my career when I am starting my
practice in another country. Uncovering knowledge about my topic motivated me to
accomplish my presentation. As Keep (2013) put it:
‘If you're doing something that is not actually within your value set, for example an
activity or task, you'll find that it is much harder to motivate yourself to actually do it. It
may end up being one of those never-ending tasks on your to-do list or action plan
that never gets done.’
We were given the decision to choose our own topics for our presentation. I found it
hard at first because there was really a myriad of choices. Of course, I opted to limit
my options to those I can apply to my area of exposure—the liver and HPB theatres. I
wanted a topic that was new to me so that in the process of doing my presentation, I
will become more knowledgeable about that particular area. I think this freedom to
choose what we wanted to discuss empowered us deeply. In her work, McCombs
(2014) stated that:
‘Research has shown that motivation is related to whether or not students have
opportunities to be autonomous and to make important academic choices. Having
choices allows children to feel that they have control or ownership over their own
learning.’
1/5
The area I opted to know more about and discuss in class was CRE or CarbapenemResistant Enterobacteriaceae. This was fairly new to me, as we have never had this
kind of infection reported in the Philippines. Apparently, in the Liver theatres, this was
rather common. There was this instance when my senior colleague told me that we
had a CRE-positive patient for Hickmann-line insertion and that we had to prepare the
theatre. As much as I wanted to help her, I, together with my other Filipino colleague
who was as new as me had basically no idea how to prepare the theatre. This
experience prompted me to research about what CRE is and I wanted to impart this
knowledge to our group who I assumed barely knew about CRE as well.
I went to the library and searched online about my topic. I made sure that I was
knowledgeable and confident about what I needed to cover so that I can present it
satisfactorily to my colleagues. This, I did as I always believed ‘You can't teach what
you don't know, and you can't lead where you won't go. (Brooks, 2008)
At first, I planned to use Windows Movie Maker as a medium for my presentation.
Windows Movie Maker is a video editing software by Microsoft which offers the ability
to create and edit videos. (Wikepedia, 2014). The verbal and visual components of a
video potentially provide a best fit to the characteristics of this Net Generation of
students and a valid approach to tap their multiple intelligences and learning styles.
(Berk, 2009) I viewed videos as a means of presenting my topic as both educational
and entertaining. In their work, Baek et al (2011) said that:
‘Entertainment-based learning environments can make learning contents more
attractive, and thus can lead to learners' active participation and facilitate learning.’
2/5
However, while I was doing my video project through Movie Maker, I thought it would
be very difficult to just have a video presentation all throughout the 15 minutes allowed
to us. I might have several points that I needed to focus on and questions among the
audience may arise in the middle of the presentation and pausing and playing the
video again may be a bit bothersome. So I just opted to use PowerPoint instead and
incorporate video clips on it. Moreover, Sweet et al (2014) found that students had a
preference for video and would like it integrated in the lecture rather than act as a
substitute for the lecture.
As I finished my PowerPoint presentation, I felt fulfilled and happy to finally have
managed to put in all the necessary details I wanted to impart to my colleagues within
just 15 minutes. I chose to make a 50-second introduction involving newspaper
clippings about the serious threat of CRE to the healthcare setting. As Cottrell and
Jeary (2008) said, ‘Begin with a bang. Create a memorable hook for your audience to
grab.’ I also made sure that my slides were as simple and as clutter-free as possible.
Since people cannot read and listen well at the same time, displays filled with lots of
text must be avoided. (Reynolds, 2011)
During the presentation, I was a bit anxious as we moved to a different room as was
originally agreed upon. I needed speakers as I incorporated videos on my
presentation. However, there was none available in the room we occupied that day. I
made do with my laptop instead; although, my laptop speakers could not do the job of
having everyone in the room hear the audio.
3/5
I received feedback from our facilitator and overall, I had outstanding marks. I had
excellent PowerPoint and video presentation according to Roger, though I needed to
have more interaction with the audience and talk a bit more slowly. I think it had a lot
to do with the anxiety and nervousness I was feeling that day. Fear and anxiety can
greatly impair performance and pose especially difficult problems for public speaking.
(Jones et al, 2011) I value this feedback a lot and will use this as a guide for my future
presentations. Biggs (2003) cited by Holmes and Papageorgiou (2009) states that
students need sufficient feedback on their work in order to understand how they can
improve, and feedback is an important aspect in encouraging a deep approach to
learning. Having known that I tend to talk a lot faster when I am nervous, I will be aware
of it the next time and try to relax so I can deliver more effectively. It is also worth
noting that involving my audience through group interaction is a necessary part of a
great presentation.
Overall, I enjoyed the whole experience—from researching about CRE, where I
learned a lot about my topic, to making my PowerPoint slides with video and images,
and, finally, to presenting my topic to my colleagues.
Reference
Berk, R. (2009) Multimedia Teaching with Video Clips: TV, Movies, YouTube, and
mtvU in the College Classroom International Journal of Technology in Teaching &
Learning 5 (1) pp.1-21
4/5
Brooks Group (2008) Managers – You Can’t Lead Where You Won’t Go [Online]
Available from: http://www.brooksgroup.com/free-sales-resources/sales-trainingblog/2008/06/managers-you-cant-lead-where-you-wont-go/ [Accessed 12 March
2014]
Cottrell, D. and Jeary, T. (2008) 136 Effective Presentation Tips Inspire, Inform &
Influence Anyone Anywhere Anytime [Google eBook] Texas: Cornerstone Living
Institute Available at: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=xP9JCLielcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=effective+presentation+skills&hl=en&sa=X&ei=IKMgU
_CPOemp0QWd04GwCw&ved=0CHQQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=effective%20pres
entation%20skills&f=false [Accessed 12 March 2014]
Holmes, K. and Papageorgiou, G. (2009) Good, bad and insufficient: Students’
expectations, perceptions and uses of feedback. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure,
Sports & Tourism Education 8 (1) pp. 85-96
Jones, C., Fazio, R., and Vasey, M. (2011) Attentional Control Buffers the Effect of
Public-Speaking Anxiety on Performance. Social Psychological & Personality
Science 3 (5) pp.556-561
Keep, D. (2013) Uncovering the motivation to learn. Training & Development, 40 (3)
pp. 16-17
McCombs, B. (2014) Developing Responsible and Autonomous Learners: A Key to
Motivating Students [Online] Available from:
https://www.apa.org/education/k12/learners.aspx [Accessed 12 March 2014]
Reynolds, G. (2011) Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and
Delivery [Google eBook] Indianapolis: New Riders Available at:
http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=m1xt5IMJbXAC&oi=fnd&pg=PT9&dq
=effective+presentation+skills&ots=afS_MyclP&sig=IE4z9Ky8UcMuuXNzgE16S837Y1E#v=onepage&q=effective%20pres
entation%20skills&f=false [Accessed 12 March 2014]
Sweet, J., Raman, V. and Ramlogan S. (2014) A comparison of two forms of
teaching instruction: video vs. live lecture for education in clinical periodontology.
European Journal of Dental Education 18 (1) pp. 31-38.
Wikepedia The Free Encyclopedia (2014) Windows Movie Maker [Online] Available
from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Movie_Maker [Accessed 12 March 2014]
5/5