Discussion 1: Self-Reflection—Your Assessment and Professional Interviewing Skills

When developing any new skill set, it is important to obtain a baseline measure of your current competence. To do so, you will spend time reflecting on your present skills in assessment, which could include needs assessments, community assessments, and personal assessments to name a few. You also will self-assess your professional interviewing skills. When you engage in a professional interview, you are eliciting information from a person, which in essence, is conducting a level of assessment. The skills used in professional interviewing incorporate reflective listening, establishing rapport, and asking open-ended questions. These also are some of the basic skills necessary in motivational interviewing.
In this Discussion, you will reflect on your current assessment and professional interviewing skills and identify areas of strength and areas in which you need further development. At the end of this course, you will have an opportunity to reassess your skills to see how far you have come and which areas you should continue working on after this course has ended.

To Prepare

Reflect on your own skills related to traditional assessment techniques and professional interviewing. Identify areas of strengths and areas in which you need further development.