Essay Example on 10,000 Hours to Social Work Greatness

Introduction

Every field from entertainment and sports to politics and science has individuals who strive to be the best or excel in their practices; some are average and the ones who are awful at what they do. It is claimed that 10,000 hours is the magic number required to achieve greatness. The book highlights some aspects suggested by researchers for those who want to achieve greatness; these suggestions and many others can be applied in the field of social work to achieve greatness, improve practice effectiveness or strengthen social work practice competencies. This paper discusses what needs to be done to increase the effectiveness of social work practices. It points out the strategies that need to be put in place to strengthen areas of competencies in social work practice.

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Improving Effectiveness in Social Work Practice

Competencies in social work can be described as practice behaviors that can be measured and are made up of values, knowledge, and skills. The outcome approach aims to show the full integration of the competencies and how they can be applied in practice with people, social groups, communities, and organizations. The key to strengthening these competencies is to set goals and SMART objectives. A good goal should be concise, jargon-free should specify an expected effect, should be easily understood, should have a declarative statement, and should provide a framework for objectives. A SMART objective, on the other hand, should be specific, achievable, relevant, and should be time-bound. To improve areas of competencies in the social work practice, the competencies that need strengthening, first need to be specified. The following are the competencies and the related strategies;

Competency of Identification of Professional Social Work

The following strategies will increase effectiveness. The first strategy is to fully and readily advocate for the social services access by a client, an example of activity related to this strategy is preparing a list of concerns that can be discussed in supervision meetings. Another strategy is attending to professional roles and boundaries, engaging oneself in career-long learning, and practicing personal image and self-correlation, which assures professional development. Also, this competency can be improved by showing professional conduct in behavior, communication, and appearance of oneself.

Identified Competency in Social Work Practice

Applying Critical Thinking to Inform and Communicate Professional Judgment

It can be improved in several ways; one is that models of intervention, assessment, prevention, and evaluation should be analyzed keenly by the social worker. Another is that effective oral and written communication should be demonstrated while engaging with clients. Another way of improving the effectiveness of this competency is to differentiate, appraise, and integrate several knowledge sources, which include research-based knowledge.

Using the Ethical Principles of Social Work to Guide Professional Practice

In this competency, one of the strategies includes using the appropriate consultation and the right supervision to process clinical situations that involve ethical conflicts or decisions. Another means that can be utilized recognizing and managing personal biases that may harm the clinical relationships, which in turn affect the clients ‘well-being. Ethical decision-making skills can be applied to challenges that are particular to clinical social work practice. Employing strategies of ethical thinking to tackle the effects of technology and other advancements in social work practice on the rights of the client is another means.

Assessing People, Social Groups, Communities, and Organizations

In the field of social work, the theories of people’s behaviors are well known, and so are the theories of the social environment and how it affects assessment; they are also aware of how personal experiences affect their assessment of people, social groups, communities, and organizations. To improve the valuation process, a social worker can gather data, organize it, and use critical thinking in the interpretation of information from the clients he or she is dealing with. Another way of improving this is by using the theories of human behavior, that of the social environment, and other related theories in the study of the valuation of clients’ data. Also, picking the right intervention approaches determined by the knowledge, preferences, and valuation of clients improves this competency. The last strategy involves developing goals and objectives for intervention that have been jointly agreed-on, purely determined by the key valuation of the weaknesses, strengths, and opportunities and challenges among the clients.

Engaging in Diversity and Difference in Practice

It is known in social work practice that diversity and the different characteristics and one’s experience are vital to identity formation. To increase the effectiveness of social work practice, a social worker can apply and communicate the knowledge about the significance of diversity in determining the human skills in practice at the macro, mezzo, and micro. Also, applying self-control and self-awareness in the management of the effect of personal prejudices and values in engaging with varied clients is a way of improving this competency. Another strategy is presenting oneself as an apprentice and engaging with clients as professionals of their experiences.

Conclusion

There is a need for social workers to discuss solutions rather than just griping over the challenges faced in the profession. Social work is a profession that needs a variety of emotional and psychological skills to add to academic training. The above competencies are among the core competencies of social work that have been identified as needing strengthening. The strategies discussed to increase the effectiveness of social work practice.

References

Barnhardt, B., & Ginns, P. (2017). Psychological teaching-learning contracts: academic integrity and moral psychology. Ethics & Behavior, 27(4), 313-334. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2016.1167604

Morley, C., Ablett, P., & Macfarlane, S. (2019). Engaging with Social Work. Cambridge University Press. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ad6CDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=Morley,+C.,+Ablett,+P.,+%26+Macfarlane,+S.+(2019).+Engaging+with+Social+Work.+Cambridge+University+Press&ots=hvD0pdHw4N&sig=XBscfkoKSnnNmNRU5iEjtTOcfYg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Morley%2C%20C.%2C%20Ablett%2C%20P.%2C%20%26%20Macfarlane%2C%20S.%20(2019).%20Engaging%20with%20Social%20Work.%20Cambridge%20University%20Press&f=false

Royse, D., Dhooper, S. S., & Rompf, E. L. (2016). Field instruction: A guide for social work students. Waveland Press. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=wSd1DQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Royse,+D.,+Dhooper,+S.+S.,+%26+Rompf,+E.+L.+(2016).+Field+instruction:+A+guide+for+social+work+students.+Waveland+Press.&ots=mziFePuuJ8&sig=t8sBi8ZR4ruaVo2TLUIyyL2fVW0&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false