Past Experiences and Academic Achievements that have led to the Choice of the Social Work Profession
I am interested in clinical social work program. I have chosen to pursue the major after witnessing numerous cases of vulnerable children in the community. Growing up, I spent time with children who were neglected and abused. I even attended school with such individuals. The situation motivated me to work hard to help them in future. The future has arrived, and I am prepared to pursue the career to become a great clinical social worker. Many individuals within the vulnerable population are waiting for my input into the profession. I will not only help the needy but also play a role in advancing the profession by following the code of conduct in all encounters with clients. I am prepared for the task and challenge that is ahead as I work with diverse populations.
Since I discovered my interest in the social work profession, I have dedicated my education towards achieving the goal. I have concentrated on areas that will help to achieve the objective. Besides my educational qualifications, I have studied the professional Code of Ethics to guide my behavior as I work with vulnerable populations. During my educational journey, I realized my concerns about children with behavioral challenges. I have researched some of the causes of the problems which point to environmental foundations. Family challenges affect some children who consequently become aggressive or violent towards others. Worth noting is that the change of behavior has remained one of my most important topics as I continued to study. I have been learning and working with neglected children in foster care to understand their problems and know what I could do to help them overcome the issue. As a result, I have gained considerable experience in this area and feel prepared to join this field.
Personal Values and Beliefs that are not compatible with the Professional Standard
The professional Code of Ethics remains an interesting area of study. After reading through the NASW code of ethics, I discovered that there were some particular areas that I needed to work on, especially interacting with children from different cultural backgrounds. I believe that parents have an obligation to their children and there should not be any reason for neglecting them. However, I have realized that this challenge is still prevalent since particular cultural and racial groups are more affected by the problem than others. As a result, I developed a negative attitude towards those families that neglected or abused their children. Nonetheless, I have to change the attitude and understand that people have beliefs and values that differ from ours.
My prevailing attitude goes against the code of conduct and might hinder my professional progress if I fail to change. I have discovered that working with diverse populations and clients/communities require that I understand and respect the differences. The beginning place to reconcile the differences in beliefs and values is to learn and work with individuals that I consider different. For instance, I should take time within the communities with minority cultural and racial groups to learn how they live. In addition, it is worth to understand their beliefs to know how and why they differ from my beliefs and values. Under those premises, I will be in a better place to serve diverse populations if I understand the diversity and the way it affects my work. I need to learn from the parents and children to become better when addressing their needs.
Ethical Dilemma and its Solution
As indicated earlier, I have an interest in helping children from vulnerable communities. In one of my trips to a low socio-economic neighborhood, I encountered a child who was aggressive. I watched the children in a football game, and I could tell that the child was violent. I spoke to the coach after the match, and he confirmed the child’s problematic behavior. In addition, he informed me that he had tried to speak to his mother who is a single parent and always drunk, but she felt that the coach was invading their personal space. The family is from a different racial group from the coach, which is one of the reasons the mother could not listen. At the same time, I felt that the child needed help, but I could not force the mother to comply.
The dilemma was addressed through the intervention of another person from the same cultural background. Luckily, the coach directed me to another social worker who shared the family’s cultural beliefs. The intervention ended up with the child being taken into a foster care temporarily as the mother sought rehabilitative care for her addiction. I understand that I will face more ethical challenges in the future and I have to be prepared. I am taking the clinical social work program to help more children facing similar challenges. I know the institution will give the opportunity to develop myself within a community that believes in providing a better future for the children. The institution has a team of committed professors who will support my objective to become an effective person in the field of clinical social work.
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
