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The concept of professionalism
An essay about professionalism i
Thoughts on professionalism and the importance of it
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Professionalism in the social work field goes beyond licensure and expertise (Cournoyer, 2014). According to Cournoyer (2014), social work professionalism encompasses the concepts of integrity, self-efficacy and knowledge, self-understanding and self-control, and social support (Cournoyer, 2014). Embedded in social work professionalism is the person-environment perspective, which posits that our personal attributes, interactions and relationships with others, and environment influence a social worker’s practice. Cournoyer stresses that it is a social worker’s responsibility to acknowledge and regulate his or her personal biases, ideologies, and beliefs when working with clients in order to prevent them from negatively impacting the therapeutic …show more content…
My Big Five Personality Test results revealed that I typically do not like to try new things, I am well organized and reliable, introverted, courteous and supportive of others, and generally relaxed. Some aspects of my personality can be beneficial in social work practice. For instance, I scored high on agreeableness and low on neuroticism, which means that I am reliable, trustworthy, altruistic, and emotionally stable. Since a central component of the therapeutic alliance is the client’s ability to depend on a social worker to provide effective and ethical services to that client so that the client may have positive outcomes, these personality traits can benefit my practice. However, one trait that may not benefit my practice is scoring slightly low on openness to experience. Since I typically do not like to try new things, it may be difficult for me to adapt an innovative approach and try new therapeutic techniques with clients if I have already found a method that works, which could ultimately limit the scope of services I provide. To offset this tendency, I will utilize my proclivity for continuous learning to increase my willingness to try new therapeutic approaches with …show more content…
Cournoyer (2014) holds that if a social worker is self-aware, then he or she can ensure that one’s personal issues and biases remain personal in a professional setting. I scored high on the self-control measure, which indicates that I can manage my thoughts, feelings, and behaviors such that I can simultaneously acknowledge their existence, understand how they might impact my client, and decide how I should react based on my client’s best interests. However, in situations that are emotionally arousing, it is difficult for me to consider other’s thoughts and feelings because when my emotions are raging a disconnect occurs between my intellect and emotions, which in turn produces a narrowed, one-sided perspective. To counteract this tendency, I will practice relaxation techniques such as deep breathing exercises when working with clients to ensure my focus remains on the
Social workers have many tools at their hand to enabling personal values to remain in check. The general practitioners communication with supervisors and collages can provide guidance on this issue. They can attend professional workshops pertaining to subjects such as ethics, and maintaining professional relationships. Social workers can continually evaluate their own values and beliefs and seek professional help such as therapy when
Interprofessional practice is essentially the collaboration of multi-disciplinary professionals to achieve a common client-centred goal and in doing so, better assist with the complexity of the clients’ challenges (Chenoweth & McAuliffe, 2015, McCallin, 2014). Whilst the ability to work in partnership with other professionals is essential in creating the best outcomes for a wide variety of client care (Pecukonis, Doyle, & Bliss, 2008), social workers face a range of boundaries that may limit their ability to work coherently, including miscommunication, lack
Social workers may in their professional careers, be faced with situations which may cause them to question the next step. If social workers uphold their ethical standards, most challenging situations will be handled in a way that is fair to the client. Social workers must be aware of themselves as therapist in order to be an effective professional.
Entering the field of social work you must be prepared to encounter many personalities. Knowing this, you have to become aware of people with different backgrounds and morals. By doing this you will be able to help your clients to the best of your ability, without forcing your personal beliefs or values on to them. A value is a set of rules or or beliefs that affect your every day decisions (Sheafor & Horejsi, 2011). Applying your personal values to every situation is very important, however, you must learn to separate what you know and what is in actuality the best outcome for your client. I will be discussing the ways I feel about the “Vignette’s”, while also incorporating different things I have learned from the readings and class discussions.
Competencies are “measureable practice behaviors that are comprised of knowledge, values, and skills.” (Kirst-Ashman, 2010). Thus it can be said that competency takes more than skills and knowledge, it requires the right and appropriate attitude that eventually translates to behavior. For the reason, it is the "means" to achieve the "ends." One should always bear in mind that the competencies of each job position differ from one another and may influence our career decision making. I have mastered several skills that would enhance my performance in a professional social work setting. These include but they are not limited to problem identification and solution with the use critical thinking, excellent communication and organizational skills, building collaborative and trust worthy relationships, flexibility etc…
Conditions of “engaging in appropriate study, training, and consultation,” while having competent people in intervention or techniques providing supervision is ethical (Code of Ethics, n.d.). Another criteria that defines competence in the field of social-work recognizes the role of the practitioner regarding identifying and targeting families that are troublesome, along with the negotiation of access which requires special consideration (Spratt, 2011). The profession of the social worker is to design alternative examples while viewing issues in order to understand and act upon social problems (Spratt, 2011). Through the continued required development of support and one’s understanding, along with the appreciation of the position the practitioner might take in the development of solutions rendering it effective, and considerations are made regarding what leads to harms taking place over the life-span (Spratt, 2011). As an example to substantiate this claim of competence, we see social workers working within their professional boundaries, while attempting to perfect their development in the field in order to “advance their expertise” (Code of Ethics,
As a social work professional, you must take into account your own personal values before you can be an effective worker in this field. Social workers sometimes need to put their own values aside when working with clients who don’t share their same ideals. Clients are diverse and are not going to always have the same values that the worker has. Social workers need to be professional and adhere to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) guidelines when working with any client.
As a consequence of this, a trusting environment is created and the client feels safe and cared for (ibid). This can also be supported by Håkansson (2003) who portrays empathy as a shared experience between the empathizer and the target. The importance of being understood by another human being is indispensable for the client, not least because it can lead to self-understanding. Self-understanding can last a lifetime, longer than any professional involvement which may be passing (Trevithick, 2009). Geldard and Geldard (2008) argues that if a helper has not sorted out his or her own value conflicts, there is a risk that their own confusion will interfere with the ability to focus on the client's confusion, and the helper may inadvertently end up using the counseling session to resolve his or her own conflicts rather than the client's. It is important for a helper to not get to emotional when meeting a client. Social workers need to be in control of their emotions
The following paper aims to discuss and analyze the way in which my personal values intersect with the values I hold as most important within the profession of social work. It would stand to reason that these values would stand on common ground; however, there are places where my personal and professional values diverge. These conflicts may prove to be problematic within my chosen career unless I find a way to prioritize my values, or find ways for them to work harmoniously with each other.
According to Wilson (2011), the key to effective and successful social work is the quality of the relationship with the social worker and the clients. Furthermore, social work is all about relationships. Relationship with colleagues and organisation, relationship with the clients, and most importantly, a relationship with the self which means having recognises oneself to see others as a unique individual in various circumstances. As Harrison & Ruth (2007) stated as for the effective practice, one need to reflect, critically analyse their experience and make sense of what happened. Therefore, self-analysis and reflection influence social work
The social work profession is not only about the knowledge of the theories, ethical guidelines, values and principles of the profession, but also it’s about applying that knowledge to everyday situations. It is a profession dedicated to enhancing human capacity to solve complex social problems in order to create a more humane and just society (Arizona State University, 2013). In the profession, social workers are encourage to use their skills such as their critical thinking and especially their decision-making skills. In addition, they work in a number of different settings with diverse individuals. Although dilemmas will arise, social workers need to be culturally competent to work with others and to avoid breaching any ethical standards.
One of the things about my job I struggled with in the beginning was learning to separate my life from my job since I was so immersed in the work that I was doing and the people I was helping. Over time, I quickly learned how to set boundaries and the importance of practicing self-care. Burnout is very common in the field of social work, which is why I prioritized my well-being. My professional experiences have taught me how to become more emphatic. The ability to empathize with a client’s experience is one of the essential core skills a social worker should possess because it is an effective way to understanding client’s, emotions and behaviors. I also believe I possess is the ability to actively listen non-judgmentally. As a counselor, active listening is essential in order to establish a good rapport and validate client's feelings. The simple act of listening will not only establish trust with the client, but it will help the social worker determine which specific intervention is right for the client and teach effective coping
As someone involved in the field of Social Work, I am regularly challenged to assist individuals and families to cope through, work on. and deal with internal and external issues that can affect their ability to feel empowered. These factors can undermine their personal sense of well-being and their self-esteem. Therefore, it is important that I am aware of the available ways to effectively assist my client, while at the same time maintaining boundaries and professionalism.
Todays society has the ability to create a significant amount of issues for individuals and communities as a result of neoliberal, individualistic ideologies underpinning the way in which our society functions. In response to these social issues, the government has implemented a number of services, programs and social security in order to sustain the wellbeing of its citizens (Ivory Research, 2013). As the social work profession is concerned with the provision of welfare and human services, they are often the implementers of social policy interventions within society. Subsequently, social workers are often influenced by social policy in their practice, profession and the impact that they have on their clients. Therefore it is essential to understand
Social work is one type of profession. Social work profession requires specific knowledge, skills, and values. The skills that social worker can apply in their profession are listening, counseling and communication skills. The values in social worker such as the value of self-determination, social justice, dignity, and worth of the person. Like other professions, social work has their own term. Example client or service user in social work refer to the people who come to ask for help in social work. Social workers do the assessment with the clients. The term “assessment” which have the same meaning as the term “diagnosis” in doctor profession. Social workers also contain different areas such as medical social workers,