Competencies #4-6
Competency #4
Engage in Practice-Informed Research and Researched-Informed Practice
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For Competency 4 my artifact is my Week 5 Mini Individual Assignment from my SOCW 427 class which is all related to research methods and social work. The reason I chose this artifact is because in this class we learned about research methods and how it relates within social work. In the beginning of the course we discussed how EBP takes place in studies and how social workers use research to further back up data and interventions with their clients. Research is important as a social worker to find and analyze data to find best interventions to use with clients. In class we focused on doing research and learning about the sections that consist of using EBP. In this class we completed weekly assignments where we were asked to propose a study and do research on studies that have been done related to the variables. This research would help my group add on to our proposed relationships.
Along with this competency 4 wants us to further see how data is used as a social worker with clients and in the Week 5’s assignment we are to translate that data from previous studies and further explain how it can be used to strategize interventions and programs that can help your clients. In this assignment we learn about how to find the strengths, limitations, validity, reliability, independent and dependent variable from previous studies. Another portion of this assignment is to find the conceptualized and operationalized definition which helped me look at some models that were used to collect data in the research. Sometimes the data collected allows for social workers to find what strategies work best for our clients needs. Something that I also have been learning is how research and policy go hand in hand and how research findings are put into play within policy and service delivery as a social worker.
Competency #5
Engage in Policy Practice
For this artifact I choose to look at my SOCW 410 Gilbert and Terrell Policy analysis paper because it gave me an understanding of how policies affect the services that social workers can provide to their clients. Competency 5 explains that we should assess how social welfare and economic policies impact the delivery of and access to social service. Not all policies are able to provide all benefits and services to all people. In SOCW 410 class we talked about the deserving and undeserving history from social work and within this paper I have learned policies deprive individuals of basic rights. As social workers we would learn that policies that are in place will push us back from being able to provide and best fit the needs of our clients. In this policy analysis, I work to identify a social policy and breakdown that policy to understand strengths and weaknesses of this policy. The Gilbert and Terrell format of this analysis allows to also assess how the social policy distributed the elements of justice which include adequate, equality, and equity. The breakdown of this analysis further allows us to identify where issues come into play within the policy and what recommendations can we make from the research and analysis.
Competency #6
Engage with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
For Competency 6 I decided to use my Reflective Response for my Final role plays from SOCW 401 which dealt with engaging with individuals. This competency key work is the engagement portion and during these role plays I was able to watch them and further reflect on my interactions with my clients and the skills that I brought in to further engage with them. The role plays allowed me to further become self-aware of what interpersonal skills I bring when working with a client. As the social worker I learned through my role plays that I am quite empathetic to my clients and come from a place of understanding what my client needs.
As a social worker I reflected over my role plays and noticed how important it is to build rapport with clients so I can further work on helping them trust and share what are their needs. I also learned that it is crucial to work on how to best communicate with clients which requires both listening and talking. Something that also helps with communication is asking questions and having small talk, that would allow for your client to become comfortable to share. These role plays allowed me to take on the role of the social worker but also understand what it means or looks like to be in the role as the client. It allowed for further work on better understanding and empathizing with a client that may not want to share in the first few sessions