Please answer the following questions when creating your journal entry.  Feel free to use references, share links, media, pics, and other items that you feel would help your teammates.

1. Which of the NASW Code of Ethics (Module 3) or (https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English) is the most important for you to incorporate with clients.  Are there any that you anticipate would be difficult to employ?
2. Are there any groups of individuals/clients that you may anticipate might be difficult for you to work with? or may be triggering?
3. In what areas do you hope to develop additional competencies and skills during your practicum?
4. How are conflicts handled at your agency?  Example:  If a child discloses that there is abuse in the home, but your task supervisor advises you not to call Child Protective Services, what would your options be for seeking support, as a mandated reporter?  How would you handle an ethical dilemma at your agency?

Name: Polly Smith

Agency: Seminole County Public Schools

1. I’m not sure if this question is asking about the values/principles or the ethical standards so I’ll just write about the values. For me, the value of the importance of human relationships is huge. On the surface, it may look like a social worker is helping mainly by providing material goods (like a food bag), giving information (such as about a community resource the client can benefit from), or advocating for clients’ rights. All of that is of course beneficial, but at the core is the relationship between the social worker and the client. We can help a client with attachment issues by being a stable and reliable person for them to begin forming a more secure attachment style. This can eventually lead to positive outcomes outside of the worker-client relationship, such as feeling more support and connection with friends and family. I know in my internship working with elementary aged children this value will be just as important as it is in my job now working with adults.
2. In the context of my internship at an elementary school and future goal of working as a school social worker at the high school level, I anticipate having a few triggers. A main concern for me working in the school setting is school shootings. I have a lot of fear and anxiety around guns and mass shootings- I don’t think this fear is irrational, but I need to make sure it doesn’t get in the way of me doing my job. In terms of clients, I know that I won’t be a good fit for every student and that’s okay. Thankfully I have been working in this field long enough to have realistic expectations about my capacity to help others and not trying to save the world. What does concern me though, is the idea of parents being upset with me, especially if it is about a serious issue related to their child. What gives me some peace of mind is that Seminole County Public Schools seems to have an amazing staff of social workers, and I would have support to get advice and process things with others.
3. My last response leads in to this answer actually- I want to expand my skills of working with multiple stakeholders (parents, teachers, administration, etc.) and challenge myself to do things despite having fear. I’m looking forward to learning about myself as I enter new situations like IEP meetings, home visits, truancy court, and more. I also want to challenge myself to be okay with making some mistakes and not letting self-doubt hold me back.
4. I had orientation yesterday with SCPS and I am very impressed with how the district/social services team handles conflicts. There are very clear parameters for what I should and should not be doing as an intern, especially as it relates to being a mandated reporter. They also reviewed what to do with home visits and it was reassuring how safety-minded they are. I should also specify now since I will be referencing them often: the lead person for SCPS social workers is Aja Smith, and she is the one who did the orientation yesterday. I will not be working with her directly, but she is responsible for many of the positive things about SCPS. I will be working with Sheila Giacomo, and she is a social worker and also won Teacher of the Year two years in a row! I’m fortunate to be interning with some amazing and competent women, and I know I have a lot of support to navigate some of the challenges I might face this year.

Name: Alicia Henry

Agency: Health Central Hospital (Orlando Health)

1. Forming personal relationships with clients is the most crucial thing for me to integrate. It is critical to set boundaries so that the lines between a provider and a client do not become blurred. It enables us to stay objective and neutral as social workers. I don’t anticipate any difficulty applying any of the NASW Code of Ethics because I have 28+ years of public service and have held numerous leadership positions.
2. Throughout my years of working with clients of many origins and cultures, I have encountered racism and prejudices. In all honesty, this can be triggering. I’ve learnt not to take it personally because it represents the individual. Despite being triggered, I continue to handle myself professionally.
3. I want to learn more about the various organizations and service providers involved in patient discharge preparation. This includes dealing with insurance companies, family doctors, long-term care institutions, Alf’s, home health agencies, transportation companies, durable medical device manufacturers, dialysis facilities, and interacting with the families. I want to make sure I am knowledgeable about every detail necessary to make sure the patient’s needs are satisfied after discharge.
4. I am unable to answer this question currently regarding how Orlando Health handles conflict.  My field supervisor was on vacation. I won’t see her until next Tuesday for orientation. I’ll use an example from my current job (DCF) to demonstrate how I would handle an ethical dilemma. My employee documented really disparaging racist remarks in his case notes. This bothered me since it was very offensive. I told my superior, who seemed unconcerned about the matter. I went a step further and spoke with HR, who agreed that this type of documentation was inappropriate and insulting. This employee received a counseling memo.  I’m also working on incorporating Racial Sensitivity training into my organization as a required training.

Name: Elizabeth Prophete

Agency: Orlando Health REACH

1. I would have to say that NASW code of ethics 1.05 Cultural Competence is the most important one for me to incorporate with clients. Not all individuals are the same because they are all different. Everyone has their own culture/ethnicity which includes their values and way of life. Understanding the dynamics of an individual and meeting them where they are at, allows you to develop and build morals and form some kind of relationship with your clients. This can help lead to them being open to you and becoming more vulnerable and can help increase client engagement. Not only that but understanding one’s own culture allows you to also understand the client’s status when it comes to society and class as well as economics. Therefore, when implementing services, you can implement the appropriate services that best fit the client themselves. This then can lead to a code of ethics that will be possible be difficult for me to employ, “1.13 Payment for Services”. I have worked in Child Welfare for over 5 years with children and families. The population that I have mainly served are Hispanics and Caribbeans, which I am familiar with as I do share similar practices. In many of their cultures, offering food is a way of expressing gratitude and someone who rejects it is seen as being disrespectful. Although I do understand not taking food, etc. I would not want to come off as being disrespectful towards my clients. Also, knowing that a client is not able to receive services and or engage in services due to financial hardship will be a challenge for me.
2. My goal is to help reduce the maternal mortality rate and provide services for the future and current mothers that will help them along with their families. I have not had the opportunity to really engage in such practices. However, what will be difficult for me would be working with a family that has lost a loved one (mother or child) due to a pregnancy related death. I know that will be a challenge and very difficult to deal with.
3. When it comes to developing additional competencies and skills during your practicum, I would like to become more knowledgeable with “Advancement of Human Rights” (Competency 3). The maternal mortality rate requires having a great understanding of the disparities of quality health care and the issues as to why black women are 3 times more likely to die compared to white women followed by Hispanics, when it comes to pregnancy related deaths. I will need to be able to “Have an understanding of the social, economic, and environmental justice” of the clients that I am serving “to advocate for human rights at the individual and system levels”.
4. When it comes to dealing with conflicts at the agency, I can speak to my task supervisor as well as the assistant supervisor and manager when dealing with conflicts. When dealing with an ethical dilemma, I would need to think critically as to the issues that I am facing and communicate with the appropriate parties. Referring to the company’s policies and procedures to help with my decision making. Most importantly now that I am not alone and can always reach out when there are issues. I have not come across any issues at this time; however, they have made themselves available so when there is an issue or if I have any questions, I am able to communicate with them.

Name: Polly Smith

Agency: Seminole County Public Schools

Alicia- I first understood the issue with your employee to be that a client was making racist remarks towards the employee. That would be upsetting, but what actually happened is even worse! I would be concerned that if he is documenting disparaging and racist remarks about clients, what is he doing that he is not documenting? It sounds like you handled it really well and created a learning opportunity for him and the rest of the staff.

Name: Alicia Henry

Polly- I admire how you acknowledged you fear and pushing forward to overcome it. Fear does not push us outside of our comfort zone. I applaud you for not just wanting to learn skills about your internship, but also learn new skills about yourself.

Name: Elizabeth Prophete / Agency: Orlando Health REACH

Alicia and Polly – I like how we all see the importance of developing a relationship with our clients as that is a strong and important foundation to have. You all voiced the importance of this and how it allows us to better sever our clients.