This activity will form the first part of your assessment at the end of this module. Although the observation itself will only take around 30 minutes, you should allow at least another hour to record and share your observations. Planning for your observation will also take time so please ensure you plan for this.

Observation is a simple tool that allows you to take some time to step back and watch what is going on from the position of an observer. It can be a shock and quite challenging to realise that there are differences between what we think we (or others in our organisation and/or teams) do and what actually happens. By undertaking this observation with one of your non-executive directors (or patient governor if you are in a foundation trust) or another patient representative, you may also gain different perspectives. 

Observing care can seem to be quite daunting and you might think it will be difficult to do - especially when you are not clinical or used to working in a clinical setting. It is, however, a really powerful development tool and the analysis of this experience forms the basis of your Module 1 assignment. The activity links to all three of the programme’s Golden Threads repeated below, as well as the Unit’s Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate the way in which I understand equality, diversity and inclusion and implement this proactively in my leadership  
• Demonstrate how I remain constantly in tune with how the quality of care provided to patients, service users and their carers matches what we would want for those we love 
• Demonstrate how I lead sustainable improvement of relevant services and processes to ultimately enhance patient care and population health  

Use this Observation of Patient Experience Guidance resource to help you prepare, conduct and reflect on your observation.