To be an effective social worker, there are ten core competencies which a professional practitioner must embody. There are no competencies which are valued more than others, but all should be used in conjunction with each other to have a professional, informed practice. For this journal, the main competencies which will be focused on include the ability to apply critical thinking to inform and communicate professional judgments, the ability to apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment, and the ability to respond to contexts that shape practice. These are all crucial to the developing social worker, and to enable the professional to continue to improve their practice. Competency three involves the ability to apply critical …show more content…
The competency draws upon various other competencies, but particularly competency six involving research. Continuing research must be implemented throughout your practice to adapt to the changing contexts in the field. It is crucial for practitioners to stay up to date on the latest developments to the be the most effective practitioner. I showcase this in my field placement by continuously attending trainings influencing our practice. For example, in April I will be attending a training on Recognizing and Investigating Child Physical Abuse and Medical Neglect which could potentially have a significant effect on the ways in which DSS practices their policies. I have attended other child welfare trainings during my time at this field placement and have brought this knowledge back to my supervisor to discuss and provide my personal feedback. In this way, we have bounced ideas off each other about how to tweak an aspect of policy which we had not thought of previously. Continuous learning is crucial to being an effective practitioner, with knowledge being obtained both within your organization and from outside of it. Many trainings are joined in conjunction with the organization and are a part of a new policy