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why become a social worker
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Growing up, I have always known that I want to make a positive difference in peoples lives. After going through several experiences as a child, it became clear to me that I should go into the field of social work. Social workers create positive change in the wellness of individuals in various ways and as a social worker, my goals will be to influence a positive social change. There are many ways that I can attain this goal, whether it be personally in my social work practice, or within the community of social workers that I will work amongst. Some of the ways that I can do this is by promoting healthy and active living, offering programs, supports and services targeted towards older adults and by having age friendly environments readily available to members of the community. As a social worker, there are many core values to follow. Some of which include “Respect for human rights and dignity, promotion of social justice and human well being, recognizing the worth and uniqueness of every person, and the importance of the community” (C. Phillips, lecture, October 6, 2015). By following the core values, this will allow me to have a client-focused practice, which will cause a positive experience for both the clients and myself. Well-being consists of many …show more content…
According the Checklist of Essential Features of Age-friendly Cities, “[Older adults] should play a role in suggesting changes and implementing and monitoring improvements” (World Health Organization, 2007, p.1). Older adults are going to be the people who have ideas and suggestions about what they want to have happen and this will allow them to be independent and have a better well-being. By listening to what they have to say, social workers can most definitely take this into account and put these goals for independence and better well-being into
This plan is to validate that individuals in needs will continue to receive services from a social worker on a regular basis. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the need for social workers is expected to grow twice as fast as any other occupation, especially in gerontology, home healthcare, substance abuse, private social service agencies, and school social work. Based off the given information about the need for social workers, it is imperative that this reinvestment act become an official law to help promote social advocacy in today’s society. The high expectations of social workers needed in this career field is directed towards those experiencing aging and with aging comes physical and mental changes in health which would require a need for more professional social
First, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics Preamble (2008) states, “The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human wellbeing and help meet the basic human needs of all people.” In RCT, the goal is also to enhance wellbeing through the basic need for connection and growth-empowering relationships which is based on mutual empowerment for all people (Banks, Jordan, & Walker, 2011). Further, the NASW (2008) lists their core values to be: “service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence.” All of these values define RCT, because it emphasizes human relationships and the “five good things” (Jordan, 2008, p.2) that promote authenticity, respect, self-esteem, dignity, equality, and acts that promote relationships that empower others for an inclusive society (Banks, Jordan, & Walker,
This includes helping those who are in need as well as to fulfill roles in society. The social work paradigm includes values such as service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationship, integrity and competence (NASW, 2008). The main mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and to help everyone to meet their needs by using all of the social work values. The central attention to social work is the environmental forces that create, contribute to, and address problems in living. Therefore, as social workers we must help our clients overcome environmental forces by providing them with the resources that this country has to offer. Social workers have a duty to strive to end discrimination and other forms of injustices through “direct practice, community organizing, supervision, consultation administration, advocacy, social and political action, policy development and implementation, education, and research and evaluation” (NASW,
The Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) Code of Ethics (2010) proposes three core values of Social Work, respect for persons, social justice and professional integrity (pp.12). These core values establish “ethical responsibilities” for the social worker (AASW, 2010, pp.12), specifically, the value of respect for persons, which sustains the intrinsic worth of all human beings as well as the right to wellbeing and self determination consistent with others in society (AASW, 2010,p.12). This Code of Ethics stipulates the duty of care a social worker must provide, a...
The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people. Particular attention is paid to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty. Social work is a profession based on enhancing the capacity of people to participate in society and enhancing the capacity of society to include all people in it. Social workers address problems related to social, political, and economic
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.
The National Association of Social Workers, NASW, considers the following as its six most core values; service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence. The value of service is considered to be a core value because offering help to those in need is a crucial goal for all of those looking to practice in the field of Social Work. These services can include, but are not limited to, addressing social problems, helping those in need, and volunteering their knowledge to those who cannot otherwise afford such help. Social Justice is also an important core value for a Social Worker to develop. As a Social Worker one will encounter many people from several different walks of life, no two cases will ever be exactly the same. Some of these walks of life can leave a client vulnerable, defenseless, exploited, oppressed, and troubled. Therefore it is important to learn what Social Justice is, and how to help people from falling victim to injustice. Dignity and Worth of the Person is one of the most important values that one should uphold. People who need the help of a Social Worker many, but not all, times feel powerless, embarrassed, and worthless because they feel as though they cannot control aspects of their life an...
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.
Social Problem. The problem and topic I am interested in is the emotional well-being of the elderly. The rapidly growing social work field I hear about is working with senior citizens. This is true, but to understand why, we will need to look at government statistics at the county, state, and national level. According to the census, San Francisco County’s population of persons 65 and older is at 14.4 percent, an increase from the 2010 estimate of 13.6 percent (census quick facts). In addition, California is at 12.9 percent, up from the 2010 estimate of 11.4 percent and nationally, the United States stands at 14.5 percent, up from the census’ 2010 estimate of 13.0 percent (census quick facts). With aging comes special needs most humans should
The six core values of social work should guide and impact how social workers act and treat their clients. A social worker must show anyone who they come in contact with that they are valued by serving, standing up against injustices, letting them know they have inherent worth, teaching them the importance of healthy human relationships, having integrity, and being competent. These values are necessary to apply not only to the professional areas but in our daily
Social work practice is a profession where it works alongside the ‘code of ethics’, these consist of formal statements which represent values of the professional community. The national associations such as Britain state the core values within this field are human dignity and worth, social justice, service to humanity (human rights), integrity and competence. The professional field is regulated by the ‘British Association of Social Work’ (BASW). The core values within social work are huma...
For years, when I thought of Social Workers, I imagined a person coming into a client’s home and taking their kids away for neglect. Later, I found out that social workers could go into so many dimensions, such as clinical social workers, case mangers, and even administrative positions in agency settings. Furthermore, I realized that I was maturing into an adult. For example, when I began telling people of my decisions to become a social worker, a lot ...
Among an array of Values from The Code of Ethics (TCE) of social work Value 1 dictates that as social workers we must respect the dignity of our clients and refrain from passing judgement onto them (Canadian Association of Social Work, 2005, pg.7). As a social worker, it is important to follow this value as it prevents the distancing of the client from the worker as the client will have a better chance of opening up to someone who does not instantly tell them what to do or reprimand them for their actions or non-action in their lives. Oppression relates to the TCE in that it says the social work profession’s main purpose is to raise their clients who are vulnerable, oppressed and/or living in poverty (CASW, 2005, pg.7). Taking this into account
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
families, and communities to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social workers are change agents and because of that, they aim to help people develop their skills and abilities to use resources provided to them to strengthen and improve their lives and communities to resolve problems. One of the main goal of social workers is to improve the well-being and lives of the most vulnerable populations, fight against poverty, unemployment, domestic violence and the underserviced population by emphasizing on the person-in-environment and social justice model. The social work profession, considerers the individuals’ internal and external struggles, while working with the individuals to examine their relationships, family, work environment, community, and other things that might impact them and identify ways to help address problems and challenges.