Instructions: Respond to at least two colleagues by suggesting strategies for growth in the areas identified in his or her post.
a. Said Ali
Agency Reflection
I visited Touchstone Mental health which is an organization that helps people suffering from mental illness. The organization helps clients recover from mental illness as well as imparting them with the basic skills necessary as the clients get incorporated back to the society ("Professional Development | Touchstone Counseling Services Inc."). The organization employs professional clinical sociologists who help in providing care to its clients. The main source of funding is through donations from well wishers.
As an organization dealing with mental illness, touchstone mental health offers significant opportunities for the mental health workers to improve their knowledge as well as skills. It does this through providing classes, structured intern training programs and helping families undergoing transition from divorce ("Professional Development | Touchstone Counseling Services Inc."). Therefore, the organization was a good place and gave me an opportunity to develop as a social work student and professional.
Reference
"Professional Development | Touchstone Counseling Services Inc.". Touchstonecounseling.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 2 Feb. 2017.
b. Julie Braley
For the Agency Visit paper, I visited Saint Luke's East Hospital in Lee's Summit, Missouri. "Saint Luke's Health System is a faith-based, not-for-profit, aligned health system committed to the highest levels of excellence in providing health care and health-related services in a caring environment. [It is] dedicated to enhancing the physical, mental, and spiritual health of the diverse communities [it serves]" (Saint Luke's Health System, 2015a). This hospital branch "offers extensive inpatient and outpatient services," as any hospital usually does, but also includes 3-D mammography services, a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), minimally invasive surgery and the da Vinci surgical robot, and is a Level III Trauma Center (Saint Luke's Health System, 2015b).
While the hospital is capable of serving all ages, the surrounding community is primarily of retirement age. Nearby is the John Knox Village for senior living. Michelle Wales, the social worker I interviewed, pointed out that the patients, generally, are entitled and have "suburban" issues, although the number of uninsured is increasing (personal communication, January 29, 2017).
Saint Luke's is a not-for-profit health care system comprised of ten hospitals in the Kansas City area. It likely earns its money from Medicare and private insurance payments (Reinhardt, 2009), benefits from tax breaks and is able to plow its earnings back into improving its facilities and human resources (Sesana, 2014). Its organizational structure is similar to any corporation in that it has an executive staff, consisting of a chief executive officer and many senior vice presidents (Saint Luke's Health System, 2015a).
Three opportunities for growth at this hospital branch are community outreach to those that are underinsured or uninsured, such as preventive measures, assistance for the cost of medication, and providing a hospital shuttle bus or another manner of increasing transportation within the community (M. Wales, personal communication, January 29, 2017).
Reinhardt, U.E. (2009, January 23). How do hospitals get paid? A primer. Retrieved from
https://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/how-do-hospitals-get-paid-a-primer/?_r=0
Sesana, L. (2014, April 8). Why nonprofits are the most profitable hospitals in the US. Retrieved from
https://www.arbiternews.com/2014/04/08/why-nonprofits-are-the-most-profitable-hospitals-in-the-us/
Saint Luke's Health System. (2015a). About Saint Luke's Health System. Retrieved from
https://www.saintlukeshealthsystem.org/about-saint-lukes-health-system
Saint Luke's Health System. (2015b). Saint Luke's East Hospital. Retrieved from
https://www.saintlukeshealthsystem.org/locations/saint-lukes-east-hospital
Instructions:Respond by Day 6 to at least two colleagues by sharing an insight from reading your colleague's posting.
a. Christina Burns
Every person or group of people have a set of values and ethics that they adhere to in order to make difficult decisions. Different institutions or organizations of people have their own set of ethics that they abide by (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2012). For example, the social work core values and the values set by Walden University have similarities and differences.
The social work core values are service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence (2008). Walden University has similar values but they are worded in different ways. For example, in Walden's mission they state that they want their scholars to effect positive change. This directly relates to the social work core values of service and social justice. The other core values are embedded in the rest of Walden's vision and mission. They can be found with inferences when thinking about what other traits are necessary to attain the mission and values (2013).
It is imperative that individuals adhere to their own set of values, morals, codes, and ethics. In social work, it is necessary that social workers abide by the social work core values as well as their agency's codes. There are many gray areas when it comes to making decisions though that may be difficult.
The values and codes can be used as a guideline but they are not instructions for making decisions. An example of an ethical dilemma is in the story of Debra. Debra was a battered woman. She received interventions and eventually decided to continue the relationship with her abuser. She stopped the regular visits with the worker because she felt that she did not need them anymore ( Plummer, Makris, & Brocksen, 2014).
This situation would have caused me as a social worker to make a difficult decision. According to NASW code of ethics, my responsibility would be to serve my clients to the best of my abilities. My own personal beliefs conflict with assisting Debra because I feel that she should leave her abuser. I also do not think that she should continue the relationship. Letting Debra discontinue services without a fight would make me feel as if I was not adhering to my core values.
I have to remember though that I must be objective in each and every situation. I would ask my self the questions concerning Debra's safety, Debra's right to choose, and to have a sense of empowerment. I would also need to keep in mind that I can not overstep my professional boundaries. After thinking about all of this information, the conclusion that I would come to would be that Debra is empowered and can make her own decisions. I would stress the importance to her to continue with scheduled check ins and make her aware that I was still there for her as a support.
It is important that each ethical dilemma is taken seriously and that the proper thought processes are used when forming a decision. It is helpful to talk with others that are aware of the situation and to keep the codes, values, and ethics in mind. It is also necessary to weigh out the pros and cons of each decision (Kirst-Ashman & Hull,2012).
Kirst-Ashman, K. K., & Hull, G. H., Jr. (2012). Understanding generalist practice (6th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.
National Association of Social Workers. (2008). Code of ethics. Washington DC: Author. Retrieved from
https://www.naswdc.org/pubs/code/code.asp
Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen S.M.(Eds.). (2014). Social work case studies : Foundation year. Baltimore, MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital source e-reader].
Walden University. (n.d). Mission and Vision. Retrieved June 16th 2013, from
https://walden.edu/about/social-change/mission-and-vision
b. Syreeta Hill
The NASW Code of Ethics serves six purposes: the Code identifies core values on which social work's mission is based. The Code speaks on ethical principles that reflect the profession's core values and establishes a set of specific ethical standards social workers should use in practice. The Code is designed to help social workers identify relevant considerations if there is a conflict or ethical issue. The Code provides ethical standards to which the general public can hold the social work profession accountable. The Code teaches new to the field to social work's mission, values, ethical principles, and ethical standards. The Code talks about standards that the social work profession itself can use to assess whether social workers have engaged in unethical conduct.
(Retrieved from https://www.naswdc.org/pubs/code/code.asp)
The Walden University Mission and Vision is change. Walden sees their students and faculty making differences in their community. On a scholar level Walden's college leadership, faculty members, and curricula developers continually evaluate Walden's programs to assess the effectiveness of our curriculum in helping the student's effect positive social change.
(Retrieved fromhttps://www.waldenu.edu/about/social-change)
Applied change is giving back to your community such as community service. Inspiring change means listening to those who are actively implementing change throughout the world and encouraging students as me to create change.
The ethical dilemma identified with Pedro is right to self-determination. Pedro is not compliant with his HAART medication. Although we all know the medication is needed to keep Pedro for dying from the illness, he has the right not to take the medication. As the social worker I would speak with Pedro about the pros and cons of not taking the medication regularly. I will document our conversation to show that the consequences were given to Pedro. According to the NASW the Code is designed to help social workers identify relevant considerations if there is a conflict or ethical issue.
As a social worker currently practicing in the field my goal in my current profession is change. If a child can return home, my goal is to assist the family in changing their negative ways that resulted in their child being placed in foster care. My goal is to return the child back into their home if it is possible.
References
Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen S. M. (Eds.). (2014). Social work case studies: Foundation year. Baltimore, MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader].
https://waldenu.edu/about/social-change/mission-and-vision
https://www.naswdc.org/pubs/code/code.asp