Galina Soracheva began her academic journey into the world of social work at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in the fall of 2015(G. Soracheva, personal communication, July 27, 2017). I attended the same program with Galina, so the following statements are verified by my own personal experience, as a BSW (Bachelor's of Social Work) graduate. In my opinion, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay BSW social work program can be considered the most well known social work program in the northeast Wisconsin area. During my time in the program, I learned how to initiate social change while maintaining a client centered perspective in practice. This program is completely accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, it allows graduates
At the beginning of the semester, I did not know what the "Service Learning and Social work Practice" course mean. However, through the process, with the accompaniment of Professor Preeti Charania, I understood the course and noticed a lot of transformation in me through the semester. The following are some of the changes and growth I have seen in me from class readings, discussions, group works, and working with the Church World Service (CWS) agency.
This essay aims to explore the characteristics that make a good quality social work assessment in child care. Martin (2010) stated that there was “no single agreed definition of social work assessment.” Coulshed and Orme (2006, p24) did not offer a formal definition but they described assessment as “…a basis for planning what needs to be done to maintain, improve or bring about change in the person, the environment or both.” According to the Maclean and Harrison (2015) good assessments must be “purposeful and timely.” This is because practitioners need to be clear about why they are carrying out assessments and what it is they wish to achieve at the end of that assessment.
Identify and explain the three major sources of conflict and misinterpretations in social work practice: culture-bound values, class bound values, and language variables.
Morales, A., Sheafor, B. W., & Scott, M. E. (2012). Social work: a profession of many faces. (12th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
The LPN-Team Lead contacted the social worker about Dr. Sundaram’s patient. The patient is a single, Caucasian grandmother and mother of two; she is alert and orientated to person, place and time. The patient reports that she lives with her 16 year old daughter and 3 month old granddaughter. The patient states that she works two jobs, one full-time and one part-time job and she assist with the care of her new granddaughter while her daughter is a work. The patient report that she is feeling (angry) and hurt because her boyfriend of 11 years cheated on her when she was in the hospital and left her a month ago; this and the loss of her child last year at 6 months gestation in addition to her CHF, COPD and influenza appears to have left the patient feeling of depression and hopelessness. The social worker noted that the patient scored a 19 on her PHQ-9, although she denies thoughts of suicide at this time. The patient states that she suffers from insomnia and gets approximately 2-3 hours of non-continuous sleep a night.
I knew I loved to help others but it was not until I was an emerging adult that I knew what my calling was. My devotion to improve the quality of life for those who are disadvantaged is one of the reasons I have chosen to pursue a Master’s in Social Work. After obtaining my masters, I plan on diversifying my masters by getting licensed and becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I would like to study social work because I feel it will lead me directly to one of the most emotionally fulfilling careers available, as well as giving me the chance to combine helping people 's mental well being with their physical
Social Workers are very important to everyday life. They are the ones that help people in need when they have nobody else to turn too. Also, they provide resources and better understanding of predicaments that you could be experiencing. I will reflect on how the class has affected me, my own experiences and how some theories have connected to my life experiences, and lastly, if the class helped toward my major. This class is important for someone that wants to become a social worker and wants to learn about the different theories used. Also, learning about me during this process of completing this class is fun and a way to see if the social work profession is right for me. There was many theories explained throughout this class but many will not be said because it wasn’t the main points that I was trying to get across. There are two tools that are used that can help a social worker organize a client’s life: Bubble map and Briefcase exercise. There are so many different ways a social worker can help a client deal with their problems and come up with a solution. It is up to that social worker to identify the client’s problem and see what theory fits.
Social Work has put me in a position to have a vast conceptual view on what it is to be a competent Social Worker, who is able to advocate for others and oneself. In my experiences, I have learned that it is essentially more difficult to advocate for myself then it is to advocate for others due to my natural nature of being selfless. Due to my selflessness I find myself having hardship in the educational part of my life specifically with field. One of sections that may have appeared to need improvement during field was my interviewing skills, communication and time management. The interviewing skills that was supposed to be implemented during my previous field placement is preparation.
I first became interested in social work when I took a human rights course as part of my political science major requirements. Throughout the course, I was fascinated and disturbed by the historic oppression of many large groups in society, and I realized my interests lie outside of the political arena; thus, I double-majored in social policy & practice because of my desire to learn more about how to enhance human well-being, fight social injustice, and pursue social change. I soon realized I wanted to pursue graduate social work education in order to gain a more holistic understanding of social problems and human ailments and, in turn, better understand the best ways to fix them. My background in political science and social policy gives me a unique perspective on the field of social work, as I have gained immense knowledge on social issues, the law, and public policy that will be useful in my graduate school and professional endeavors to fight for social justice and human rights.
Krysik, J. L. & Finn, J. (2013). Research for effective social work practice. New York, NY:
The social workers in both videos gathered information regarding each of the client’s issues. Another common denominator in both videos is that both of the social workers repeated what the client had said in their own words to allow the client to feel heard and understood. In the first video, social worker Karen asked direct questions relating to Mike’s alcohol addiction while also addressing how the addiction impacts his relationships including his marriage. Karen also addressed inconsistencies with the client doing so appropriately and quickly. It appears that in the first video, Karen focuses on the reality of the issue at hand to assist the client with establishing and accepting
According to Toseland and Rivas (2005), group dynamics are “the forces that result from the interactions of group members” (p. 64). These forces refer to either the negative or positive influences towards meeting members’ socioemotional needs as well as goal attainment within a group (Toseland & Rivas, 2005), like within my class work group experience. Some of dynamics that continue to emerge and develop in my group is the effective interaction patterns and strong group cohesion, which has generated positive outcomes and group achievement thus far.
Social work practitioners can use the information from this study to document activities that MSW graduates engaged in relevant to cultural competency. The study will provide current and future social workers with specific details and strategies that they can employ to assist them on their journey toward culturally competent practice. In addition, this research study will offer examples of what social workers can do to build their knowledge, skills, and values.
Over the course of the semester, I have learned a variety of many things regarding social work. These things vary from learning how to help oneself to understanding how to help others. Not only were the textbooks very useful, but also the materials that furthered this textbook learning. The in class presentation, activities, and guest speakers gave us insight and a different perspective on the material we were learning. I feel like this course has given me a good foundation and prepared me as a future social worker (1).
On July 7th I had an interview opportunity with the Oasis Shelter in Owensboro, Kentucky. This was one of the numerous opportunities that I placed on my possible field interest to receive an internship at. I met with the director of the Oasis shelter in Henderson, Kentucky that afternoon for the interview. The interview went well, and I informed the director that I was a Sociology undergrad student looking to expand my knowledge with domestic violence. Towards the end of the interview, the director informed me “we do not accept many Master of Social Work students because MSW’s are know it all. The student thinks they know more than individuals in the social work field with five or more years of knowledge.” I received the directors contact