Introduction
The following paper reflects on Kwadwo’s interview, highlighting his role and effect on personal and faith-based practice. Kwadwo is a certified practicing social worker and a case manager at an emergency department in a hospital. In particular, Kwadwo’s roles and responsibilities include ensuring that patients’ requirements are met by identifying the resources they will require once they are discharged from the hospital and ensuring that patients returning home are in a secure environment.
Working with specialists in psychiatric services, occupational therapy services, respiratory therapy services, nursing services, and physicians, Kwadwo’s primary responsibility is to speak up for clients and support systems. At his agency, he can interact with, appraise, intervene on behalf of, and engage with clients. The agency can provide resources and support services to its clients to make their lives manageable. The agency helps clients by making engagement appointments, determining patients’ baselines, creating a case plan to identify relevant intervention measures, and conducting need analysis.
Since Kwadwo works in an emergency unit, he treats a diverse range of patients, from infants to the elderly. This population’s shared needs include financial, emotional, physical, psychological, and social. Most clients require assistance with housing, mental health, activities of daily living (ADLs), how to get their prescriptions, and disability support. Socioeconomic status, oppression, and discrimination affect the population’s ability to obtain their medications, leading to poor health outcomes.
Kwadwo provides counseling and support to people affected by socioeconomic injustices, such as homelessness, a lack of access to resources like healthcare, poor wages, abuse, and violence. When addressing the demands of his clients during the COVID-19 pandemic, he encountered moral quandaries where his obligation to serve patients was hindered by agency shortages and restrictions on attending to patients from a distance. He must adhere to the organization’s policies and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Kwadwo must compromise his professional obligations and moral responsibility to uphold his clients’ well-being.
Social Workers’ Role
Social work aims to assist people, families, and communities in achieving social, economic, and environmental justice. It achieves this goal by advocating, creating, implementing policies, and offering direct services. Macy et al. (2009) note that social workers must assess the survivors’ physical and mental health needs and connect them to services that can help heal them.
Kwadwo stated in the interview that his primary role is to advocate for his clients and to connect them with the right resources and services. According to Perdue et al. (2012), social workers can be instrumental in promoting laws and other measures to shield victims of human trafficking. This type of community organization and lobbying exemplifies the core competencies of such work. As a result, social workers can participate in evidence-based strategies, including policy formulation and mobilization to lessen domestic minor sex trafficking.
According to the interview with Kwadwo, social workers assess the patient’s baseline and determine their specific needs. According to Harr et al. (2013), social workers must adopt a trauma-informed approach and create therapies particular to each patient’s requirements. Sun (2012) argues that social workers facilitate a smooth transition from hospitals into the community.
Kwadwo’s role involved the analysis of his population’s needs and providing social, financial, and emotional support. This can be supported by the Cook-Craig et al. (2011) study, which concluded that family-based shelter programs require social support. They ensure that patients returning home have a safe environment.
When dealing with clients, social workers should consider the client’s autonomy. According to Hodge (2011), client autonomy is a fundamental social work value that guides virtually every aspect of its practice. The core competencies of a social worker are associated with Kwadwo’s duties. The competency of engaging in self-reflection is an essential skill for social workers (Thompson et al., 2011). They should reflect on their practice to ensure clients receive the best services.
Personal Interest
I have always been interested in social work since it is tremendously fulfilling. I discovered that social work was a profession that shared a similar interest with me, as I was considering my professional route and job alternatives. The conversation with Kwadwo confirmed my passion and gave me a fresh, upbeat perspective on what a social worker does.
Kwadwo talked about his duties as a case manager in an emergency room. He discussed his work routine, the demographic he served, and their everyday needs. He works with various specialists, including psychiatrists, occupational therapists, respiratory therapists, nurses, and doctors.
This intrigued my interest in social work since it allowed me to apply socializing skills to build relationships with other professionals. He also described the engagement, assessment, intervention, and evaluation steps in the support process used by his organization. This engagement process aligns with my desire to care for people as a social worker since I like working step by step.
To stay up-to-date with social work literature, Kwadwo also discussed his experience with recent world events related to his practice as a social worker and how he combined practice-informed research and theory into his work. This was intriguing since I love doing more research; this would resonate with a social work career that entails individuals engaging in more literature to ensure evidence-based interventions are used. He discussed the benefits of inter-professional cooperation while sharing his own story of discrimination and oppression. This portrays that social workers collaborate with other professionals to ensure positive patient outcomes. This resonated with my collaborative principles to achieve more meaningful goals.
His role in conducting patient needs analysis resonated with my ambition of researching a vulnerable population. After speaking with Kwadwo, I have more faith in my desire to pursue a career in social work and am motivated by his excellent work. His emphasis on teamwork, activism, and helping those in need resonates with me. He offered excellent advice that could shape my career and social life.
He emphasized the importance of building interpersonal relationships with patients and knowing when to detach in social work, which aligns with excellent socializing skills. This is essential in comprehending our duties as social workers and creating appropriate boundaries with patients. I am grateful that he shared his experiential knowledge and insight into the field of social work. His advice will be of great help as I pursue my career.
Faith in the Practice Setting
Faith plays a significant role for social workers working in an emergency department. Most social workers need help to balance professional integrity and moral convictions. My faith resonates with the roles of a social worker. For instance, as a Christian, God has always been my pillar of strength and has assured me that I will bear many fruits.
As a social worker, my faith would dictate that I care for patients holistically, regardless of their socioeconomic status. However, I might experience religious conflict when advocating for clients’ needs whom I view as sinful. One biblical principle I would use in this situation is limiting my judgment of people, since that is God’s duty.
Appreciation of the Assignment
I had the chance to learn more about the duties and responsibilities of a Case Manager in an Emergency Department during my interview with the social worker, Kwadwo. It was fascinating to observe how he was able to work in unison with experts from several disciplines, including psychology, occupational therapy, respiratory therapy, nursing, and medicine, to benefit the people he serves. His self-care techniques and methods for engaging, evaluating, and intervening with clients were encouraging. I valued his open candor regarding the difficulties of being a social worker and his suggestions for those considering this line of work.
I can use several vital takeaways to advance my academic and professional careers in social work. First of all, Kwadwo underlined the value of drawing lines between one’s personal and professional lives. Maintaining a professional demeanor and avoiding getting too engaged in your client’s life is crucial for social workers.
Second, Kwadwo discussed the importance of inter-professional cooperation in offering the population the finest services. This is crucial to remember when working with experts to provide consumers with the most thorough and efficient services possible. Kwadwo emphasized the importance of staying updated with social work literature by attending meetings, continuing education classes, and researching current issues. It is crucial to invest in this technique if you want to remain current and be able to offer your customers the most outstanding services.
Conclusion
From the interview, social workers are essential in the emergency department. They assess patients’ baseline, formulate policies, advocate for clients’ needs, and connect them with effective services. Kwadwo’s experience has helped him balance his personal and professional life and maintain inter-professional collaboration. The social worker’s role is demanding but rewarding. This information and the skills gained will aid in shaping my social work career.
References
Cook-Craig, P., & Koehly, L. (2011). Stability in the social support networks of homeless families in shelter: Findings from a study of families in a faith-based shelter program. Journal of Family Social Work, 14(3), 191–207. Web.
Harr, C. R., Horn-Johnson, T., Williams, N. J., Jones, M., & Riley, K. (2013). Personal trauma and risk behaviors among youth entering residential treatment. Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal, 30(5), 383–398. Web.
Hodge, D. R. (2011). Using spiritual interventions in practice: Developing some guidelines from evidence-based practice. Social Work, 56(2), 149–158. Web.
Macy, R. J., Ferron, J., & Crosby, C. (2009). Partner violence and survivors’ chronic health problems: Informing social work practice. Social Work, 54(1), 29–43. Web.
Perdue, T. Prior, M. Williamson, C., & Sherman, S. (2012). Social justice and spiritual healing: Using micro and macro social work practice to reduce domestic minor sex trafficking. Social Work & Christianity, 39(4), 449–465.
Sun A. P. (2012). Helping homeless individuals with co-occurring disorders: The four components. Social work, 57(1), 23–37. Web.
Thompson, S., Bender, K., Cardoso, J., & Flynn, P. (2011). Experiential activities in family therapy: Perceptions of caregivers and youth. Journal of Child & Family Studies, 20(5), 560–568. Web.