Social workers have several responsibilities. They have to provide service, justice, and dignity to a client. They have to possess integrity, competence, and patience. Social workers need to possess knowledge of human rights, and how to perform scientific inquiry. Social workers occasionally have cases in which problems ensue and a solution is not found within a certain time frame.
From time to time, social work practitioners face different challenges and one of such example is being confronted with ethical dilemmas. An ethical dilemma is defined as “when the social worker sees himself or herself as facing a choice between two equally unwelcoming alternatives, which may involve a conflict of moral values, and it is not clear which choice will be the right one” (Banks, 2012). Ethical dilemmas can occur in the context of either client or organisational-related conflict situations at work. The first ethical dilemma is when the patient refuses medical treatment and services because he or she would not accept that there is any problem.
First of all, I had the opportunity to interview Kim Bartells who’s a Licensed Social Worker (LSW) in Michealsen Health Center and learn more about her role as a social work. Before I started interviewing Kim, I asked her if it was alright with her if I recorded the conversation and she said it was fine with it. I started the interview with asking what type of population Michealsen Health Center serves and she told me it was mostly elderly people. Kim works in a “Microlevel intervention involves working with individuals--- separately, in families, or in small groups---to facilitate change in individual behavior or in relationship” (DuBois and Miley 69). This types of individuals she is working with are elderly residents “who utilize long-term care experience a combination of physical or cognitive limitation that require some level of assistance in activities of daily living” (DuBois and Miley 314-315) and their families as well.
Social work skills, theoretical knowledge and values that has been learnt and obtained through both of my placements has and will continue to be a fundamental component of my emerging social work identity. Work being undertaken, whether that being in a government or non-government organisation, has proven to be at times difficult, as often organisations which state that they provide diversity, social justice and inclusive practice are restricted by funding constraints, hierarchical structures and rigid polices. Personally having had two non-government placements, it has been difficult to be able to first-hand make these comparisons. However, through speaking with peers in my PSAG group and through government agency visits conducted on my previous and current placement, it has reinforced that even though we as social workers are working with such rigid and stricken policies, by using a wide range of practice skills and theoretical knowledge that has been acquired throughout my two
This week I met with a social worker at Cherry Health which is located a few blocks from Heart of the City. When I met with the social worker we did a role playing exercise. She played a client that was experiencing depression and sadness. In addition, she role played as a client that she typically work with at the agency and I role played as the therapist. I enjoyed the role play because I was able to receive feedback about my progress.
Tasks:2 Make a critical reflection on any two areas of knowledge (knowledge base) in International social work practice. Social workers are often very concerned even when faced with situations that require effective decision-making. To achieve this, more information and knowledge must be obtained so that the quality of decisions taken is the most effective in the best interests of its clients.
My understanding of Human Services is to help people who need additional help and guidence to move forward with their life. Sometimes people need help with external problems such as the loss of a job, the need for food or housing or for help getting out of a dangerous situation or mental and physical health crisis. The Human Services practitioner is a professional who acts as an agent to assist and or empower individulas, groups, families and communities to help them function more effectivly in all areas of life and improve living condition. Human Service professional will always advocate for their clients and will never give up on them and make sure to strive for the clients well being as long as the client want to change.
My individual standards and beliefs impact reliably my involvement to work in the health as well as social care background. For my individual input to the care of individuals undergoing significant life occasions, I would give prominence to the circumstance that I still believe to mark a perhaps superior involvement since I have an inadequate knowledge so far. Nonetheless, I have continuously been anxious with the acceptable completion of my proficient responsibilities as well as the operational assistance and help being delivered to individuals suffering challenging and substantial life’ occasions. Moreover, my work in the health and social care environment was a significant affair for me since it added to my professional as well as personal advancement. In this respect, my role encompassed fundamentals of both wellbeing and social care, though I accomplished utilities of a health care professional principally.
Portfolio Part B: Reflection on the overall learning within the module Prior to starting this course the MA Social Work course and the PPSWP module I felt very confident in the aspects of communicating effectively and working with a diverse range of people, and after the reading the professional capabilities framework I believe that I hold the same personal values which is expected of a social worker. The PCF6 talks about the importance of critical reflection and reflective practice explaining that it helps improve accountability, professional development and helps to you understand your own tacit knowledge and gain new knowledge, which improves outcomes and experiences for social workers. (Capabilities within the PCF, 2016) For this reflection
Social work is a career that I have recently become interested in pursuing. I spent many years with misconceptions concerning the sector. However, following three years of working close by these experts, I have picked up a more profound comprehension of the significance of the work. I am especially interested in working in child welfare along with terminally ill children. I have got to a stage in my career where I have started to search out instruction that will make me more efficient in creating plans and providing services for vulnerable people.
Modern social workers are frequently tasked with certain objectives by their agencies, which leave little room for any work beyond specific treatments and timeframes (Gitterman & Knight, 2016). Although social workers are bound to the set of ethics put forth by the NASW, practitioners are often limited to focusing on the issues of the individual rather than the larger societal issues that may be behind those concerns. Additionally, many social work students end up working in direct practice, rather than macro work. There is a need for social workers to engage at the macro level in order to facilitate community organization and empowerment. Critics suggest this theory may not take into account the unique experiences of each individual and perhaps key characteristics of the individual or group are not taken into consideration (Sadan, 1997).
Social work is a profession that dedicates its efforts to ensure the well-being of individuals and the well-being of the society as a whole. The primary mission of social workers is to meet the fundamental needs of every person, especially the ones with special needs such as those who are oppressed, vulnerable and the people living in poverty. As a social worker, I intend to use these core values such as service, integrity, and dignity as guidelines to my work to make a difference in the lives of as many needy people as I can. My main goal will be to offer services to needy people to help them solve and overcome social problems that they encounter each day in their lives.
1. My life experiences just happened to lead me to social work by chance; I believe it was meant to happen, however. After I got my GED when I was 18, I was left with the question: what now? Do I decide to try college, or go to work? My mother tried to go to college at Ball State, but she barely finished a year before she decided it wasn’t for her.
Interning at DFCS has most certainly impacted my personal, professional, and academic goals. Before my internship, I knew I wanted to pursue my Master of Social Work after graduation and had some ideas about potential careers within the social work realm. My internship with DFCS has truly solidified my desire to pursue an MSW. While I have enjoyed my placement at DFCS, the internship has shown me that I don’t think DFCS is necessarily the agency I would like to work with after graduating with my masters. My work with DFCS (and seeing how many of our clients struggle with substance abuse) has solidified my thoughts that I would like to one day work as a substance abuse and mental health counselor.
Over the semester I have learned many new aspects of social work that have helped deepen my understanding of what social work is really about. This course has taught me things that will help me become a better person and will also help me with my future working with children. Self reflection is a key skill to have when working in social work. We need to understand how we are, and our social location, influence everything we do with social work. My beliefs and values would be beneficial for being a social worker because I have a caring no judgment, personality that allows me to be a neutral and to listen to people.
