There is expectation to demonstrate core communication skills and the capacity to develop them and ability to engage with people in order to build compassionate and effective relationships (The College of Social Work, 2014). Communication skills are fundamental in social work; every aspect of their role involves communication. In order to communicate effectively, social workers need to be aware of the forms of communication, i.e. non-verbal, verbal, body language and written and understand communication barriers. (Thompson, 2009). In light of this, when communication barriers occur, i.e. someone not understanding English or wanting to discuss their issues, having these skills allows social workers to overcome this, i.e. asking the right questions or putting in place an interpreter. Having effective communication within social work provides a strong base for good professional relationships. Trust is able to be built, providing confidence in both the social worker and service user in meeting, discussing and building upon solutions (Koprowska, 2005). I promoted such skill throughout the interview as I remained aware of my body language, ensuring I was open, faced the carer and remained good eye contact. I was also continuously aware of the carer’s body language, to inform me of how she was feeling. Being mindful of her eye contact, facial expressions and position of body enabled me to realise she was not being responsive in the conversation (Banks, 2006). Being able to identify this, allowed the barrier to be overcome by asking probing questions and engaging her back into the conversation. I provided active listening skills by summarising what the carer expressed, responded accordingly to what was being discussed and nodding to show ...
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...romoting effective relationships which incorporate many values (Beckett, 2006)
Supervision and feedback offers critique and support to improve trajectory in learning, education, knowledge and accountability. Given and used constructively it assists with potential development and enhances understanding (Kadushin & Harkness, 2002). It creates confidence, encouragement and emotional support; which helps relieve stress (Kirkland & Manoogian, 1998). To demonstrate professional commitment and taking responsibility to my practice I ensured I asked for personal feedback. To my delight the carer expressed she felt comfortable with me as I provided empathy and a sense of understanding just by listening. Also, core issues were discovered which lead to self-directed discussion based on solutions she wanted. This feedback was essential in providing me confidence and motivation.
This year I am most excited about learning how to better communicate with children and being able to see how communication changes depending on their stage of development. I’m excited to learn how to accurately take blood pressure and other vital signs like pulse and respiration. As well as, being able to identify any values that are abnormal. I am also eager to learn how to appropriately express these abnormal finds to my young patients without igniting fear.
This assignment will give a reflective account of two main communication skills that are important for relationship-based practice in social work. Relationship based practice is important in social work, this establishes a positive relationship with professionals and service users. In agreement of Carl Rogers (2012) and Threvithick (2012) it is vital to establish relationship based practice because it demonstrates social workers are trustworthy and dependable, this will enable the service users feel more confident to disclose information, be more open rather than distrustful and taking all the support in consideration rather than being wary. Relationship based practice supports unpretentious approach with service users and carries out progressive
There are different forms and reason people communicate in a health and social care environment. Methods of communication used in social care settings range from verbal and non-verbal communication and as such, communication is the exchange of information between people in an organisation (BTEC, 2010). Pearson Education Limited identified the different reasons people communicate which are; to express needs; to share ideas and information; to reassure; to express feelings and/or concerns; to build relationships; socialise; to persuade, argue and inform; to compliment and gain attention; to learn, teach and educate; to ask questions and to share experiences (2013). Hence, Communication is about making contact with others, we communicate to understand and to be understood. Thus, it involves
Interviewing and research skills are needed within the social work profession. Effective communication skills are one of the most crucial components of a social worker’s job. Every day, social workers must communicate with clients to gain information, convey critical information and make important decisions (Zeiger, 2017). This interview experience was an opportunity to explore the daily challenges and rewards of a licensed social worker. I was excited for the opportunity to interview a social worker in the gerontology sector as this is a specialty I am considering. This meeting allowed me to explore the educational steps of being a social worker, practices of the agency, the clients who are served, and the challenges the agency has.
Nurses are able to reflect upon their past experiences of work and build and improve this ensuring their level of competence and skills is in line with NMC guidelines. Improving the quality of care provided to patients is an ongoing process and requires practitioners to contently reflect and improve their practice. (Howatson-Jones, 2013) One way in which reflection can improve the quality of care is through the use of professional supervision, as stated by (Daly, Speedy and Jackson, 2014) a focus for supervision should be enhancing a nurse’s skills and ability to reflect on practice. It should reflect on the standard of care provided and highlight areas for improvement such as further training. This, in turn, leads to a greater self-awareness of practitioners’ own abilities. The process is not about finding faults, but to improve and learn to ensure the quality of care is high and professional for all patients. Being self-aware is a skill important to reflection and the provision of quality of
Strengths and Limitations of Social Work Practice in Colombia: A View from Canadian Social Work
It will also consider how breakdowns in ‘effective communication’ (K101, Unit 8, P134) occur as a result of barriers arising, including ‘Physical Environment, Disability and Impairment, Attitudes, Cultural Differences and Emotions and Feelings (K101, Unit 8, P136). This can ‘dis-empower’ services users leading to an identity being imposed on them which may generate feelings of insecurity and worthlessness and deny them the right to a voice. Similarly, evidence will be provided to show care workers applying skills to develop strategies which aid in the process of overcoming these barriers. The evidence produced in this essay will be taken from case studies based on oral history and life story work. Both strategies grant service users the ability to talk about their past experiences, discover who they are and develop a sense of identity, thus providing them with feelings of confidence, security and self-esteem.
When looking back on the event, I can now acknowledge how unprepared, and unsupported, I was when first introduced to Mrs X. There are many barriers to communication that can lead to the message becoming distorted, and I feel my lack of knowledge and understanding, played a big part. Therefore, as mentioned by Lishman (2009) in order to achieve effective communication, it is important to be aware of the physical, psychological, and social barriers, that could affect the communication process. Being able to effectively communicate, is an essential skill in providing person-centred care. Therefore, it involves learning to communicate effectively even when various barriers to communication are
As now it can be concluded that to make a supervision session effective it is essential to have a deep understanding of these facts and theories. Characteristics of both supervisor and supervisee are equally important. As supervisors must know their roles and responsibilities at the same time, supervisee should have interest towards reflective practice. Maintaining a good supervisory relationship will be useful to analyse the problems. If there are any signs of underperformance seen in the supervisee, the supervisor can approach them to sort out the matter before it causes
Also, continually seek feedback from my preceptor has been crucial. Learning from my previous experiences, I have realized that a balance of ongoing constructive, and appreciative feedback has a very positive impact on both my learning, and confidence level. Therefore, during my first meeting with my preceptor, I discussed how important her feedback is to me, which has ensured that throughout my preceptorship I have received detailed, and timely
Feedback is derived from a previous performance initiating a review process of improvements to be implemented (Archer 2010; Dayton & Hendricksen 2007 as cited in Motley & Dolansky 2015). Without honest and constructive feedback the learning process does not improve skills because the knowledge given through feedback allows nurses to see how colleagues viewed their performance and suggest areas for future development, self-awareness, and growth within the industry (Day-Calder 2016). Clear, concise feedback delivered in a manner that is non-threatening and avoids emotions is called constructive feedback (Day-Calder 2016). Disapproval is potentially beneficial in making healthier relationships by bringing you closer to the patient’s views and understanding their concerns (Catto & Mahmud 2012). For a patient to realise that their message has been heard and understood shows that reflection, summarise, and feedback are necessary for ascertaining a positive outcome (Shipley 2010). An empathetic attitude requires self-knowledge in relaying emotions in a mindful and compassionate response (Terezam, Reis-Queriroz & Hoga 2017). Nursing colleagues often work as a team collaborating and communicating with each other to make improvements and achieve goals through team attributes (Motley & Dolansky 2015; De Janasz et al. 2014). This team
The verbal communication goal is to encourage the client to fully express the changes and wants of set outcomes established. Both verbal and non- communication can have an impact on the client once interaction is met. Non-verbal communication consists of body language, facial expressions, closeness, and eye contact (Schore, 2008). If a client senses the listener is uninterested or showing signs of discomfort due to their diagnosis or disability, it can cause one to be unengaged in the conversation. Verbal communication can also result in the same disengagement due to the social worker/ therapist tone of voice. Social workers are to be mindful and educated on the background of the client being served to be aware of the different approaches to take when engaging with the individual. The social work intern effective of non-verbal communication skills as the client continued to discuss her life before her recent hospitalization. The social work intern ensured to make steady eye contact, in which the client was receptive of. The social work intern also created a posture that created empathic body language, allowing the client to be more open during
Today’s skills session on social work interviewing skills covered the uniqueness of social work interviewing in comparison to interviews conducted in professions such as the police, doctors, employers, etc. It covered also different types of questioning and how to paraphrase. Another area covered was, what to avoid when interviewing a service user and the use of silence. I leant that interview skills are fundamental in social work and social work interviewing is unique. Social workers empathize with clients because of their knowledge of the client group and the need of help to alleviate their problems. Empathy however does not equate accepting that the client is right in what they have done or that the social worker is condoning their actions. Empathy relates to the issue of ‘trusting’ and ‘believing’ the client. In as much as a social worker should seek to establish trust in the relationship, this does not necessarily mean they should believe
As a social worker it is important to have basic communication skills in order to connect with clients. There are six basic and four advanced skills that are used in direct practice to make communication more effective. The basic skills include reflection of feelings, paraphrasing, open ended questions, closed ended questions, clarification and attending behaviors. Advanced skills consist of summarization, information giving, interpretation and confrontation. Not only is it important to know what these skills are, it is also important to know what the appropriate and inappropriate uses are. It is also important to self-reflect on your use of these skills, and whether it is a strength or something to continue to work to improve on.
Social work is a profession which promotes social change, problem solving in human relationships and enhance well-being. It is important to acknowledge the history of social work and the purpose of social work and why it exists. Social work is a questioned theory with different perspectives on what it is and how it should be practised. Social work helps people to deal with personal and social problems so that people can overcome or adjust to any personal difficulties. Social work is a combination of social stability and social change. Social stability promotes individual and social welfare and social change seek to change negative aspects of society. Values are implicit within the law and policy and these tend to reflect the values within society. Personal values can influence the way social workers interpret and implement their profession.