Value Orientations are an important aspect to social work practice. It is critical that social workers do not let their personal values interfere with their daily work ethic. In addition, social works must keep an objective outlook on the issues they confront because values differ across cultures, race, ethnicity, etc. The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical self-reflection on my personal values. I identify with various group memberships such as white, American, female, catholic, heterosexual, young adult, middle class, and student. The groups I most strongly identify with are white, female, and student. I most strongly identify as white because race reflects our physical appearance and is an innate characteristic that should be embraced throughout our lifetime. I most strongly identify as a female because gender is an important factor in human differences. In our society, the male gender receives more advantages and is perceived to be superior to the female gender. For example, men typically receive a higher salary and are more likely to advance in the workplace. The female gender has its own, more personal, advantage. Females have the ability to reproduce and, in my opinion, that is a far greater reward. I most strongly identify as a student because my daily life consists of attending classes and completing school work. I value that membership because it allows me to advance my education and be surrounded by others who share common goals. My
Ethical theories are however debatable and usually mean different things to different people. It is therefore essential for social workers not to base their decisions solely on these theories, but make use of Codes of practice when faced with ethical dilemmas. Codes of practise are there so service users and carers are informed and know what to expect from social workers and hence there will always be trust between service user and client. According to Banks, values are regarded as those beliefs people regard as worthy or valuable (Banks, 2012).Some values are personal, yet some are culturally/ societally shared. Our personal values form during personal and social development; also past and present experiences influence them. Ethics is that which society considers as right, yet values are
The Social Work profession is founded in a set of values and principles with one mission in mind, to enhance the wellbeing of all individuals and empowering those who are vulnerable by providing adequate services and skills. Social Workers are guided in their practice by utilizing resources like the NASW Code of Ethics, CSWE, and HIPAA to ensure that they are in compliance with the Social Work professional standards in making ethical decisions. Educational training is given to all professionals within the field to enhance their knowledge on ethics- related management, handling complex situations, ethical misconduct and ethical standards.
Personal values and professional values run parallel in the social work field. Recognizing and managing your personal values while working with clients is an important task. Concentrating on your professional values is required for a social worker to assist her client to the best of her ability. During my internship there have been a number of cases that I have had to practice managing my personal values.
In order to become a great social worker, one has to develop great skills and be familiar with different strategies that will allow a social worker to help in the best way possible. Identifying your strengths, and weaknesses is a great way to start the process of learning about the areas one has to improve on. This paper will discuss my personal values, and how my values and feelings influence my attitudes and behaviors. In order to fully explore my identity I have taken the following surveys; professional identity development survey (PIDS), core survey, and VIA character strengths survey.
Values are important in health and social care as they cause effect on how health and social care workers build relationships with the individuals receiving care. It is important to have the required and expected values as a health and social care worker so that one it is possible for the health and social care worker to make good decisions for which are necessary for the service user. Age, ethnicity, gender, ability will all influence the way a health and social care worker makes decisions regarding to the individual’s care decision making processes and the care the service user will receive. Our own individual attitudes are linked to our own personal values and morals. They will affect our behaviour and treatment towards others.
In chapter 2 of Social Work Skills for Beginning Direct Practice by Cummins, the main topic of discussion was on the various values and ethics in the social work profession. I really like Cummins (2012) definition on the mission of social work, he states “Social work stands for the social welfare of all people and is committed to social justice through social change at the individual, family, community, agency, and structured levels” (pg. 19). The core values in social work are self-determination, empowerment, confidentiality, and a belief in the inherent worth and dignity of all people (Cummins, 2012, pg. 19). In the profession of social work these values are represented in the daily actions of a social worker. These values are seen in
I was born in the late 1950s and spent my childhood in the 1960s and teen years in the 1970s. My upbringing was shaped very much, by how I was taught and raised. My parents were both members of a conservative religious organization and so with that said I learned this way of thought. We were raised to believe that the 10 commandments were the basis of all things right and wrong, that if we followed them our lives would be as God wanted. Not to mention our parents! As a child, we first believe all that our parents teach us. They are like God to us and must be right no questions asked. I had by then
Values makes us who we are as human beings, our actions are connected to our values. Social workers should have knowledge about other cultures, understand people’s emotions, behaviour
Since the working profession of social workers main goal is to assist in the well-being of society, a professional social workers personal goal must be to help other people achieve clear-cut vision of their own personal values while remaining confident in their own particular beliefs, thus, in order not to infringe upon “the needs, wants, priorities, or realities the client experiences” (Morales, Sheafor, & Scott, 2007, p. 146). So in
A lot of these values can agree with the values in social work practice. By having a strong and positive outlook for myself will show me that I can work with those that are non-positive people and some that don’t see a direction and help them out. I might not know exactly how I will be able to do so right away, but if me and the client work together things can be done for the better. By seeing how I pushed myself can let me see how I can let others have a good outcome as well. For instance, looking at the
As I have grown as an adult and moved further towards success in my life, I have always maintained a guided structure to achieve goals and tasks that challenge me. I call these my “Core Values”. This is a strict regimen or a belief system that I have instilled into my everyday practice to complete any task that presents itself. Although not perfected, I have found this method to be quite successful. My work ethic, responsibility, and my drive to further my education and knowledge have never failed me. Life can seem tough and demanding on a very consistent basis, but I believe that I have cultivated a plan to accommodate and withstand any trial
The four global social work values according to Ashman (2011) are “(1) primary importance of the individual (2) Respect and appreciation for differences (3) Commitment to social justice and the well-being of all in society (4) Willingness to persist despite frustration” (Ashman, 2011, p. 452).
When considering what part values play in social work practice, one of the first things to understand is what our values are, Thompson (2000) states that One of the significant features of values is that we tend to become so accustomed to our own values and beliefs that we do not recognise that they are there or how they are influencing us. An important step, then, is to be clear about what our values are. Thompson (2000,pp33) I will discuss both the personal and professional values that influence social work practice and discuss a particularly challenging experience I had with two clients who came for counselling. The names of the clients have been changed to ensure confidentiality.
Improving the lives of individuals is the objective of the social work profession. There is six values within National Association of Social work Code of Ethics (NASW): Service, Social Justice, Dignity, and Self-worth of the person, Importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence. These values are for social workers and their work with the client(s). Regardless of one’s race, religious belief, sex or sexual orientation each value benefits all individuals. Social workers should always practice professional values. Clients suffer from when the social worker does not uphold values. Code of Ethics is established for all social workers to obey and follow them. In this this paper, I will discuss the how “Importance of Human Relationship” will be the easiest to uphold and how “Social Justice” will challenge me as a social worker working with future clients, community and organizations.
I think a core value that aligns and is very useful in the field that I acquire is being aware of a person’s dignity and worth. I am the kind of person that treats a very wealthy person and a homeless person equally, I don’t believe that people are better than others in any circumstance. I also grew up in an extremely diverse community which has allowed me to think broadly and not have a person’s culture, ethnicity, or other differences effect my perception of them. “Social workers treat each person in a caring and respectful fashion, mindful of individual differences and cultural and ethnic diversity” (NASW, 2008). I think this is one of the most important values in social work because a worker simply cannot provide the best service if their differences can’t be put to the side. I believe