Navigating the Challenges of Time Management

Description

One of the critical challenges that I have faced as college student is balancing between working, social life, and attendance of classes. Though it becomes difficult to manage the scarce resource of time, I have learned how to strike a balance to ensure all three aspects are enjoyable. There are many useful lessons that I have learned during my coursework, challenging me to be better. During this specific semester, the exposure that I have had has been superb with the kind of exposure I have had to course materials and various elements concerning the Health, social and social work course. I have learnt valuable lessons that have and will improve me to become a better professional. Besides, I have learned much legislation that governs my profession in various situations. Through this, I am in the position of being able to make informed decisions without doubting myself. The most valuable knowledge that I have obtained is how social work was defined to me and the scope it covers, something that I did not understand.

Also, I have learned the benefits of working as a team and enhancing personal learning and improving. It was evident through the lessons that failing in the health and social work field happens because of lacking proper communication, teamwork, and collaboration. Through collaboration, social workers can share skills, perspectives, and training because they come from diverse backgrounds and commonly work towards attaining a common goal of social care provision.

The best aspect of the coursework that I undertook is that we can use practical for familiarising different elements that assist us in counselling clients with trauma. I have also learned that performing social work aspects in a group is very important. Through group work, social workers can support one another on areas of weakness. Social workers lack the aspect of working in a group; they are likely not to perform correctly.

Feelings towards the Coursework

One of my most memorable activities was when we decided to undertake a group practice to apply teamwork as a social work skill in learning knowledge and getting in-depth explanations. I was in a group that helped a person with cerebral palsy and physically disabled at the same time. In my career experience, never ha I handled a case of such before. On trying to help, I found myself emotional and uncomfortable; however, with my colleague's support, I provided my input successfully. The discovery I made was that disabled people experienced discrimination and disrespected at the same time. At this point, I eliminated the fears that I had and started dealing with a case I had not experienced before. The support of anti-discriminatory lessons I had helped me to have the ability to address the problems he faces and communicate to him effectively.

At the same time, the case we studied in the class of a juvenile who experienced mistreatment while he was young through being beaten while social workers, police, and doctors did not lender any help made me change my perception about child abuse. It made me feel that some of the integral people in society can fail to make the right decisions. Further, I felt that domestic violence needs more beyond just the rule of law taking its course. What arose from the case was that the scope of the social workers needs to be expanded so that they can be able to help different people who are suffering even though they have not shown severe signs of suffering.

I also learned that I need to undertake deep studies about my career to ensure I fully understand what the social worker requires (Beresford, Croft & Adshead 2008). There was an element of shallowness in what I knew, and continuous learning is necessary to better my career. Through these, I have discovered a need for advanced knowledge and skills that could improve my critical thinking. Through this, I can improve my level of creativity and curiosity and ensure I fit into the client's perspective in the process of providing services.

Applying the principles of Banks, 2012, I discovered a need for a social worker to gather information about any situation he faces. Every decision a social worker makes should be evidence-base hence the need to also plan and review the data collected for the correct course of intervention be selected (Banks 2012). Besides, I discovered a need for a social worker to undertake a situational analysis that will help eliminate the tensions that arise due to the procedure of practice and their desires. Doing this will help to make decisions that are independent in the course of providing services.

Based on what I learned and felt, I need to get involved in a lot of teamwork, develop further the level of emotional intelligence, and get to learn more about my career. Emotional intelligence can be the most significant skill that I could ever develop as it will help me work with diverse people (Walsh 2013). Also, I had a lot from the coursework, like the case studies the led to rekindling my curiosity, the reminder of gathering information, assessing situations, and engaging before deciding on the next course of action. The skills are excellent and they will help in the development of my career.

Evaluation of the Coursework

The learning process was the best when it comes to career development. There are many skills that I learned that otherwise could have been challenging to develop. The case studies used in class were the best as they brought some of the incidents that I do face in my routine practice of career and felt challenges in handling these cases. The course provided an in-depth explanation of various aspects that I did not know. The structure employed in the teaching was one of the best as it made the learning process engaging and simple.

Another outstanding achievement of the course is that the course used a practical approach to impart knowledge to us. It enabled me to develop a hands-on experience that otherwise could have been difficult to understand using theory. Though one could learn using the case studies, the skills get better because we practice and ensure that everything is right. Those areas that one is still weak, he could experience and get to improve them through asking questions.

Group learning was another approach that made me develop the ability to work as a team and learn from others who were better than myself. The discussion that we could have together with my colleagues enabled me to understand areas that perceived as difficult. The approach helped learners, mostly when we were in the field since we could tackle different situations. We developed confidence that otherwise, we could not have attained if not for the group. Other students encouraged me not to be emotional, especially in cases that were wanting.

Checking on the gains and progress that I have made this far, I can conclude that the course has helped my career development. My time was well utilised, and my other resources did not go to waste. The course has been an eye-opener and allowed me to progress over a short time.

Analysis

Through the course materials, I gained different skills because of the way it is designed. Some of the case studies made me understand that I had shallow knowledge in a field that I was an expert. For example, coming across different legislation that governs the social work profession was vital towards becoming a better profession. In the past, I had problems handling the dilemma situations; however, the legal mind that I acquired tit could address this problem amicably.

When dealing with clients who experience different problems, the skills that I obtained were superb. Gathering information and assessing it was one of the best ways to understand and guide you towards having a better decision for each issue. It will enable me to have the best solution for each case. As a profession, it will make me more efficient and will allow me to excel in my career.

Taking an independent decision in the health and social work career may one of the most challenging experiences a professional may go through. However, an evidence-based approach plays a key towards ensuring that independence. When one takes a decision based on evidence, he/she does not need consulting anyone; instead, he chooses the right thing to undertake. Also, it ensures social workers become people who can approach each case as they see it based on evidence instead of relying on other external sources of information.

Besides that, the fact that the code of conduct was one of the areas that we learned in class was an area that most of the students and I had little knowledge. Ethics and values in any profession have a great responsibility to ensure that everything takes place as per standards. Without ethics and values, even the clients could not receive the best services they could have wished. Through the guidelines provided in the code of conduct, professionals can understand what is right for them and the clients at the same time. Social workers can know that social work is not predominantly a profitable venture but a profession requiring people to volunteer and give their best in everything.

Conclusion

Various course materials have been of great help in my career development. They have taught me in areas that I could not handle previously. I have become competent through the extra knowledge that I lacked to become a smart and progressing social worker. Different problems presented to us were able to challenge us and even allow us to correct the mistakes that could have happened while practising our career in the actual fieldwork.

Some lessons turned out to be very memorable; the impacted and changed the way I perceived different aspects of the career. Also, the way I approach things after understanding that there certain steps that I should follow. The discovery that even clients have their rights will also make me more careful about how I undertake different functions. I learned how to regulate emotion and make an independent, viable decision based on the evidence I have regarding the situation I'm facing.

A key element could also include having a surprise or unannounced visits to the home. These check-ups would find the abuser flat-footed in her attempts to conceal the injury or danger on baby P. In this way, the social worker would get a better concept of the child's environment and what he is undergoing. Such would stop any excuses or weird explanations the abuser would have to cover for any harms the child may have suffered.

Action plan

Our group had used the Tuckman's stages to help us deal with the case study and our routine discussions. However, effective communication within the team was a challenge was because of the intricacies involved through forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning/mourning, a described by Lacay (2019). This approach could have caused the challenge because its stages are delineated, whereas groups need to develop more flexibility. In future practice, we will need to establish three stabilising skills, amplifying and clarifying to improve the group situations.

Above all the lessons, teamwork and collaboration among group members seem to be the most overriding factor in social work practice. The teacher taught us that teamwork could only be effective with open communication, collaborating with agencies and having clarity in roles-aspects that were missing in the case study. Personally, attending the lectures and collaborating effectively have been my areas of strength. I have learnt that as one goes about communicating with service users and team members, one has to be respectful, engaging, effective and motivating especially when handling conflict (Lacay 2019). Overall, the course is interesting and inspires professional curiosity as it concerns the discipline. The course work and my instructors have been resourceful in presenting me with the peculiarities of dealing with neglected children and the physically disabled, which has made me more aware of the expectations associated with the truth of the practice. I intend to collaborate with my team members and always consult my professor and other social work agencies on issues that concern my direct practice. After the course work, I will always put my practice, the effect I can have on others, service users, fellow employees, legislation and social policy into practice consideration.

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References

Beresford, P., Croft, S., & Adshead, L. 2008. 'We Don't See Her as a Social Worker': A Service User Case Study of the Importance of the Social Worker's Relationship and Humanity. British Journal of Social Work, 38(7), pp. 1388-1407. doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcm043

Frost, E., Höjer, S. and Campanini, A., 2013. Readiness for practice: social work students' perspectives in England, Italy, and Sweden. European journal of social work, 16(3), pp.327-343.

Lacay, S., 2019. Breaking Boundaries With Empathy: How the Therapeutic Alliance Can Defy Client/Worker Differences. [Online] Socialworker.com. https://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles/practice/Breaking_Boundaries_With_Empathy%3A_How_the_Therapeutic_Alliance_Can_Defy_Client-Worker_Differences/ Available at: [Accessed 12 Apr. 2019].

Tuckman, B. W., & Jensen, M. A. 1977. Stages of Small-Group Development Revisited. Group & Organization Studies, 2(4), pp. 419-427. doi:10.1177/105960117700200404

Walsh, J. 2013. Direct Social Work Practice. Encyclopedia of Social Work. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.105

Wiles, F. 2019. Peter Scourfield, Getting Ready for Direct Practice in Social Work. Journal of Social Work, 146801731984296. doi:10.1177/1468017319842966