Social Work and Human Services Admission Essay
While many may not perceive the importance of social workers, it came to my realization that social workers are very important people in our society. This career is not only an interest but also a passion, which is driven by the need to solve social and human issues. I feel that our society is in social crisis due the increase in social problems such as drug addiction, child negligence, families living in poverty among other issues. These are among the most social issues that concern me and as such I feel when given an opportunity to study this course, my knowledge and skills would assist in solving them.
A social worker, according to my understanding is a link between the society and the government. This means that their responsibilities include working closely with the community in order to identify the plight of individuals and families. This constant interaction enables the workers to understand the cause of the challenges that people go through. According to UNESCO (n,d pp. n,p), social workers, “are not only the bridge linking clients to other helpers, they also provide their clients with hope, and encourage their first steps towards a new life.” In cases such as child negligence, a social worker is able to report the case to child support, which is the first step to a new hope for the child. As a social worker, I would like to be a source of hope to people in the society.
Being a person with great interpersonal skills, I have learnt the art and importance of effective communication, which I believe, will help me in this profession. This is because; social workers responsibilities involve constant interaction not only with the community but also with other government departments such the police, medical care practitioners among other agents. In addition, I am very observative and pay attention to detail. I am able to scan through a house and area and notice some unusual things. This trait will assist as a social worker; I will be required to go to people’s homes to investigate reported social cases. Equally important is my compassionate nature, which I consider strength in this career. This is because, social work services are intended to improve clients well-being and in some cases such as clients living in extreme poverty levels and sexual assault cases, my compassionate trait will push me towards finding a solution for them.
As a social work, I am well aware that I will be required to work and interact with all kinds of people ranging from drug addicts, ex-convicts, gay, lesbians, women, children, and men who will require my services. Moreover, I will constantly be assigned cases that involve domestic violence, sexual assault, sexual orientation confusion among other cases, which will all require me to focus on helping the individuals. As such, my major role as a social worker is to enhance human well-being, therefore I will have to overcome all hurdles to achieve the main goal of improving the well-being of every individual who will require my help.
Like every other profession, social work is also prone to challenges, hence I will also face challenges such as interacting with people of diverse cultures whose beliefs and values are contrary to mine. As a human being, I have values and beliefs that were instilled in me since childhood that may affect my judgment in some cases. For instance, while growing up I encountered domestic violence where her husband would often physically abuse one of our closest neighbour and family friends. This greatly affected me resulting to a disliking for abusive men. Assignment to such a case will be a challenge since my judgment will be interfered with and I feel that I will be harsh which is not appropriate for a social worker. However, with frequent assignment to such cases, I feel that this challenge will be confronted since I will get used to them.
Concerning the internship requirement, currently I do not have any engagement that would affect my internship programme. However, in the event that an engagement changes this situation, I would reach an agreement to offer fewer hours per week, probably in the afternoon in order to fulfill the programmes requirements.
In conclusion, a social worker is an important person in a society. Through social workers, many social cases are solved, individuals are given hope, and families are reconciled. This is what I desire to do for the rest of my life, which is to solve social issues and to make my society a better place. Social work has been a long life dream that I am working towards full filling, of which the first step will be admission to college where by I will gain necessary skills and knowledge concerning the profession. Moreover, college will enable me to interact with other students who share the same passion as me and beginning to the fulfillment of my dre
References
UNESCO. (n,d). Social Work-Module 3. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/education/mebam/module_3.pdf