My Growth from Taking a Social

My Growth from Taking a Social Work Course

Student’s name

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My Growth from Taking a Social Work Course

Since I started taking this course, I have gained a lot of knowledge pertaining to social work, which I did not have before. I have learned about what the job of a social worker entails and how to professionals are expected to behave. My experience in field placement was not only exhilarating but also eye-opening. The internship exposed me to the ideal work environment and showed me the good and the ugly side of social work. I interacted with many professionals in this line of work and I was lucky to get a mentor from the workplace. Having a mentor is an added advantage because I have an experienced person by my side to hold my hand and guide me as I venture into the social work career. The experience was quite fulfilling because I had an opportunity to participate in trainings and group sessions for recovering drug addicts. Seeing people receive help and get better by the day gave an individual joy and a sense of fulfillment (Snowden, 2018). Without a doubt, working with an instructor that did not have access to blackboard was challenging. At first, I was frustrated and did not know what to do. However, as time passed, I managed to get creative and found alternative ways to communicate with the instructor. I managed to get the instructor’s email from the department official and I reached out to him. We were able to communicate through email, which made the internship experience, including assessment, easier.

Covid-19 had a grave impact on my field placement. To begin with, I had difficulties finding a suitable organization to accept my internship placement. At the time, most institutions were not in full operation. Some were partially open, and most of them were working remotely. The number of available internships was rather limited because of the disruption caused by covid-19 (Toros & Madar, 2015). When my internship was accepted in one of the institutions I had applied to, I experienced difficulties settling in. It was a new environment for me so it took me some time to get used to working in an office space. The field placement experience taught me a lot of things, including how to dress as a professional and how to carry myself in an office environment. When going for my internship, I was very clueless that I did not know phone call etiquette. By the time I was leaving the institutions, I had grown both as a person and professionally. Before taking the course, I knew little concerning the code of ethics; however, thanks to this course, I have learned more about why dual-relationships are prohibited. I realize that they can hinder patient recovery and cause relapse.

References

Snowden, F. (2018). The formation of the Black medical movement and its implications for social work, part I: African American physicians. Urban Social Work, 2(2), 159-175.

Toros, K., & Medar, M. (2015). Social work students’ thoughts on self-reflection: A qualitative study based on reflective journaling. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 5(3), 89-96.