If I was Foua Lee and her families’ social worker, I believe the biggest challenge I would face would be a lack of proper communication. Considering the Foua only knows Hmong in a verbal sense and not a written sense, it would be a challenge to have a beneficial conversation with her. In the case of discussing Lee’s medical needs, as a social worker I wouldn’t know how to stress the importance of her treatment to Foua and her husband. It is important for any social worker to not dwell on the difficulties of taking on a client like the Lee family. A good social worker takes the difficulties and develops a solution. I could hire a translator to come with me every time I meet with the Lee’s, or I could communicate with Foua via one of their English-speaking …show more content…
I could also excel beyond the typical limit and I could figure out a different way to communicate with the Lee’s, maybe through hand signals or taking the initiative to learn the common phrases of the Hmong language. It is imperative for a social worker to not accidentally denounce their client. I would need to take my biases into account before I even begin the job. I should identify any biases I do have prior to starting the job and create ways to avoid discriminating against my client. I would be a privileged white female going into an environment where these client’s are almost foreign to me. I would have very few similarities with the Lee’s, so it could be hard to relate myself to them. The Hmong were a culture I knew nothing about before reading A Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. As a dedicated social worker I would put all of these issues aside and figure out the best way to approach this new cliental. The most important thing I can think of that would help me diminish my biases against the Lee’s would be to learn the cultures and values of the Hmong. Jeanine Hilt, the Lee’s social worker in A Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, is a good example of a social worker that went above and beyond for her client. She was honorable towards the
In the social work practice, social workers should abide by and respect the protocol of their particular organization. The first ethical standard I would like to discuss is that a social worker having cultural competence and social (NASW, 1999). A social worker must possess the knowledge of values, customs, tradition and history just to name a few in order to have success with clients that may identify as something other than their own identity. Culture directs impacts human behavior. Within this case study, due to Mrs. Sanchez’s culture, she struggled to assimilate with the American culture and this included her being able to learn the English language. Her culture was very important to her and I respect that. As a social worker, I would have
If the social worker can’t determine what the client’s physical behavior may determine, then it can be hard to communicate with the client especially if the social worker isn’t aware with the client’s cultural norms and behaviors. Some clients also prefer to be in group sessions instead of individual centered sessions, therefore the client may not feel comfortable speaking thoroughly. Class-bound values can impact communication with clients by the client not feeling motivated or have energy to communicate because of their home situations or how their transportation was difficult to get to the session. Clients may also not have time for insights, not giving the social worker detailed descriptions because they feel that there 's no need, can impact communication with a client. Language variables can also impact communication with clients by the client not feeling comfortable speaking because English can be their second language, or because the social worker isn’t bilingual therefore it 's hard to translate some words if the client doesn’t know how to say them in English. Since the U.S culture does not appreciate Ebonics, it may be hard for a African American to speak with the social worker. And since there’s a lack of bilingual social workers, this
As our textbook states, “Communication includes the willingness of individuals to share their thoughts and feelings” (Purnell, 2103, p. 21). To that end, the Hmong people are primarily illiterate. For this culture, they have a belief that Americans are rude because direct eye contact is maintained when conversing, as well as asking direct questions. In order for there to be successful education regarding the risks of cupping or coining as well as needle pricks, it is important to know that when speaking to someone of the Hmong culture to use quick glances without starting and to initiate a light conversation prior to asking anything regarding their beliefs, health, etc. The Purnell Model of Cultural Competence states that the domain of high-risk behaviors is one area that healthcare providers can make a significant impact on a patient’s health status (Purnell, 2013, p. 30). Advice to the parents, under these circumstances along with other obstacles that could potentially be faced due to the very different cultural aspects, would best be given via one-on-one or through family counseling techniques. From what I have learned so far from our readings, spirituality plays a very important role in a cultures health and well-being. Knowing the beliefs pertinent to the culture you are treating allows you as the provider to better assist them to attaining better health and well-being. Trust is also paramount and it is very clear that to interfere with a person’s spirituality could possibly hinder their physical recovery and actually cause physical
I know numerous East Africans and other minorities who fear and put off going to the hospital or clinic simply because they feel no one truly understands them on a more personal level and that their needs can’t and won’t be met entirely. According to the American Medical Association over 55% of health care providers agreed that, “minority patients generally receive lower quality health care” due to the lack of cultural competence. Those of different cultural backgrounds feel uneasy due to communication barriers and the lack of cultural competency amongst some health care providers. As a Somali-speaking nurse, I feel Somali patients, along with those of varying cultural backgrounds would be able to establish that sense of ease that’s needed when entering a health care facility or without having to feel the shame of having an interpreter hear about their personal health issues. According to Hospitals in Pursuit of Excellence,
Cobb, Torry Grantham, DHSc, MPH,M.H.S., P.A.-C. (2010). STRATEGIES FOR PROVIDING CULTURAL COMPETENT HEALTH CARE FOR HMONG AMERICANS. Journal of Cultural Diversity, 17(3), 79-83. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezp-01.lirn.net/docview/750318474?accountid=158556
It is important to include cultural issues in the helping process to be more effective. We also need cultural competence because the U.S. is becoming more diverse. Therefore with diversity comes different beliefs, norms, and values. Eurocentric values dominate sciences and began cultural universals which puts the clash of dominate and non-dominate cultural behaviors in motion. In 1996 the NASW Code of Ethics increased the recognition of cultural competence. It is important to know diversity exist within ethnic and cultural groups because social workers need to know that relationships between helping professionals and clients may be strained. This happens because of the distrust between groups. Another important aspect is that the professional realizes their own values, biases, and beliefs. The reason for this is because they must value diversity to start with and understand the dynamics of difference. Culturally competent practitioners have to go through developmental process of using their own culture as a starting point to meet all behaviors. Striving for cultural competence is a long term process of development. The literature on cultural competence is theoretical and conceptual. They have not been evaluated in a systematic way. Roughly there are 2 million Native americans in the U.S. Which survive decimating disease, over-repressed in child welfare system, suffer from health problems, and are among the poorest people in the United States. Working with them clearly falls within the social work clearly mandate to serve vulnerable and oppressed clients. However, we do not know how many people from this group is actually receiving help from social workers. Even though it is important to train social workers to provide care in th...
1. What relationships and/or experiences influenced your decision to enter the field of Social Work? A personal experience that influenced my decision to enter the field of social work is when I joined the military after high school. While serving, I was able to assist the Director of the Combined Federal Campaign. This is a major campaign that is sponsored by the military and United Way, and it is geared towards raising money for nonprofit agencies. I enjoyed visiting various agencies, organizing events, as well as educating people about the available resources within their communities. This was definitely a season of growth; furthermore, after careful research I discovered the field of social work was the best profession for me. This was
As part of my Culture, Health and Illness class, I undertook a critical analysis of the book “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures” by Anne Fadiman. This book was published in 1997, and documents the struggle of a Hmong family from Laos in communicating with and understanding the American health system.
Cultural Competence Understanding culture is an important aspect of being a social worker; this does not mean learning common cultural traits is of great significance to the social work profession. “Consider the second-generation Japanese-American social worker whose practice consists of Mexican-American and African-American families. Memorizing national traits or cultural rituals would be interesting and informative, but ultimately these would be an inaccurate basis on which to “know” these particular families” (Dorfman, 1996, p. 33). When understanding cultural competence, it is important to learn from the client about their culture in order to serve them in the most helpful and efficient way possible. There is a major drawback to memorizing information, and that is, this information will not give you a real understanding of who your client is and what life experiences they have personally faced.
...ation could have been improved between doctors and patients in simple ways. Interpreters were used and children went to school and helped translate for family members. These helped communication somewhat, but it wasn’t enough. There may not have been any other way to help, but some people tried to and doctors tried to be patient with the Hmong to understand what they wanted and to make them understand what was going on.
A social worker must present themselves as a learner and understand clients from all experts of their own experiences. To show your respect to the clients as a social worker you must be able to show that you understand complexity of cultural identity. Cultural competence targets social workers knowledge of development, focusing on culturally specific demographics, characteristics, values, and intravenous technique. When dealing with cultural sensitivity a worker’s genuine appreciation of the client’s uniqueness and universalistic respect for the client’s humanness is needed. To have success in multicultural practice, cultural responsiveness come in to play, which means to be culturally responsive, social workers use dialogue skills that place the client’s construction of reality at the center of the
I obtained my Masters in Social Work (MSW) degree from India in the year 2006. As with most countries around the world, the emergence of social work in India was from charity aiming to eliminate poverty. Gradually it shifted from philanthropy to rights based approach and then to organized social work. Community organization surfaced as the most central method of social work practice along with practice of casework. Although social work is much more structured in nature now, it still operates along the conventional perspective of social work. Social work is not even recognized as a profession in India. An indicator of an occupation being publicly recognized as a profession is exhibited by
Ethnic minorities seeking services should have access to culturally sensitive social workers, who acknowledge and confront practical dilemmas when working with increasing numbers of culturally diverse people in the community. Professionals working with minority groups, “must provoke moral sensibility, political consciousness, and social action” (Aponte, Rivers, & Wohl, 1995, p. ix). It is imperative f...
Research is a necessity when it comes to providing services. Social Workers need it to be able to determine their clients ' needs, to see what resources/services they have access to and if their client doesn 't have much access where can they get it. Research is also used to see how effective an intervention is and whether it would be a right fit for their clients. It provides social service agents with ways to identify problems within their clients, communities, organizations, and the government. Also it helps them to create ways to aid in effective change. It is very beneficial when a social worker needs to "assess the needs and resources of people in their environments, evaluate the effectiveness of social work services in meeting people
The social work profession is defined as “a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people (ISFW, ‘Global Definition of Social Work’, 2016).” The definition may be true about the profession but it is more in depth than just that. To me, the profession’s primary focus is to help others through life as much as we can while letting them make their own choices and guiding them. In society, social workers are utilized in many different nonprofit and government roles. They serve the community in many different ways from monitoring parent visits to helping people through mental illnesses. Human beings are so complex and things that happen