Let’s take a look at two possible scenarios if Bec decides to do nothing about the situation.
In this example Bec has been at her work placement for 5 weeks, a mid-semester report is coming up and she has not had a conversation with Ms Murphy.
In this scenario doing nothing wasn’t a good option. Bec ended up:
- Feeling like she “hasn’t really done anything yet”
- Not knowing how to approach Ms Murphy and how to start a conversation at this late stage
- Being stressed about the mid-semester report
- Feeling like the longer it takes the worse it will get
- Thinking that her university coordinator will say she should have done something about this earlier
Choosing to avoid the situation and do nothing has left Bec feeling worse and she acknowledges that in this example the longer she continues to do nothing the worse it will get.
Let’s take a look at another example
In this scenario Bec has had her mid semester review and Ms Murphy has marked her off as satisfactory, including marking off some things Bec has not done yet. Although Bec is happy with her mid semester grade she is still not satisfied with the situation. In this instance Bec ended up feeling:
- That it has not been the experience she was hoping for
- That she “hasn’t learnt much”
By choosing to do nothing in this instance Bec might get marked of as satisfactory in the end, but she would not have had the experience she was looking for. Subsequently Ms Murphy will not know how Bec has been feeling about the placement and would not have been given an opportunity to try and change the experience Bec has had there.
Bec’s decision to do nothing may also impact on future placement students as Ms Murphy may continue to think that her placement students are happy with their experience.