Woo-Hoo!
Thursday, April 24, 2008: Thursday was the last day for my grief and loss group. I co-facilitated with another intern and we wrapped up the group and had the members do evaluations. Their feedback on how the group went was important to me since it was the first group I have co-facilitated outside of role playing within the classroom. The school social worker who helped us get the group going in the school was grateful for our time and that we were so organized. (I like being organized, it gives less room for confusion:) The overall concensus of the group members was that they enjoyed being able to express themselves in the group.
Course Objective #5: (Last one!)
I interviewed an ex-offender in order to better understand their resources and how it has been for them to find what they need within the community. This particular client is a former veteran, so they can access medical care with the Veteran's Hospital in Indianapolis. The client is living in transitional housing for recovering alcoholics and clients with substance absue problems. Alcohol was the root of the offenses that got the client into trouble in the first place so they are trying to stay "sober, sane, and responsible" in order to keep their life on track. The client has many resources through this housing because they offer different meetings, such as Alcoholics Anonymous. This is helpful for the client because they are surrounded by people who understand what they are going through every step of the way. The client has also moved into a point within the housing where they can be a mentor for those coming into the house that need a little help getting started in the program. The client works a full-time job and has an outstanding work history. The client is very excited about this program and getting their life on the right track.
April 28, 2008: YAY! Today was my last day at my practicum. It seems as if this semester has just flown by. We all deserve a pat on the back for making it through this semester. I worked with my field instructor to make sure everything was in order for the final evaluation and portfolio (which I turned in this afternoon around five'o'clock). I am a little sad because just when we get comfortable somewhere, we have to change it up and find somewhere new, but I am looking forward to a break from schol this summer. YAY!!!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Week #15
Almost there! Monday, I worked on finalizing and organizing some of my different things. I looked again at the learning plan to make sure that I had everything done and in order. In the afternoon, I had the grief and loss group. We had a little too much fun. I find that the students are becoming harder to keep on task, but we got everything on the agenda completed that we needed to. Tuesday, I worked on finalizing some more things as far as my portfolio goes. I am just trying to get a little ahead so that Monday is not as hectic.
Integration question: (Micro) The group that I co-facilitate will be ending this Thursday. I feel that the way that we have prepared the students for the ending is by giving them tools that they can use effectively on their own to deal with their own grief and loss. We have done a variety of exercises and discussed different ways to handle the different emotions (sadness, anger, etc.) that come with losing someone close to them. We have also provided other resources for them. Other group settings and activities that they can become involved in outside of school that might be even more helpful to them.
Integration question: (Micro) The group that I co-facilitate will be ending this Thursday. I feel that the way that we have prepared the students for the ending is by giving them tools that they can use effectively on their own to deal with their own grief and loss. We have done a variety of exercises and discussed different ways to handle the different emotions (sadness, anger, etc.) that come with losing someone close to them. We have also provided other resources for them. Other group settings and activities that they can become involved in outside of school that might be even more helpful to them.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Week # 14
Monday: I worked in the office most of the day. I had some individual meeting time with my field instructor to make sure that I was on the right track and would have everything on my learning plan complete by the end of the semester. I also had another session with my grief and loss group. Since it was the last period of the day, I think they were ready to go. They were a little rowdy, but they are talking more to each other. One of the students made a comment to her counselor that they liked the group and did not know that there were other students who had lost someone close to them. That made me feel pretty good because even if the students do not always listen and pick up on what I want them to pick up on, they at least know now that they are not alone.
Tuesday: This was a pretty busy day. I started by interviewing a Medical social worker at the corporate building for Marion County Health and Hospital Corporations (for my course objective #16). I began by asking her the different types of jobs that she has done as a social worker and which ones she liked and disliked. She was very open which I appreciated. I feel that sometimes, because someone knows that we are going into the field, they try to sugarcoat it and avoid talking about some of their bad experiences. Bad experiences come with any job and social work is a tough field; we all know that coming in. Anyhow, she was very open about her answers. I interviewed her about how her experiences have made her more aware of herself and her own beliefs. We discussed the grieving process. She spoke about a former client that she had in another position and how she lost her husband while she was their family's social worker. She talked about thinking how strong this woman was and how hard it must have been for her. While this was going on in her workplace, the social worker said that someone close to her was also becoming very ill and eventually passed around the same time of the client's husband. She said that, in a way, it gave her hope to move on because her client had done so. I thought that was a very interesting story about how our clients affect us sometimes just as much as we affect them.
After that interview, I headed over to meet with an HIV Outreach worker for another interview (Objective #6). This worker is also HIV positive and goes into the community and speak out about HIV education and advocacy. It was pretty inspiring especially considering the medical affects that someone has with HIV. This person is a very active member of the community and feels passionately about sharing their story with others. The main topic of the interview was support systems and how the client's life has changed since they have been diagnosed. They had some very interesting things to say about their own journey and coming to terms with the virus and their own addictions.
After that, I went to work with Covering Kids and Families and shadowed an employee at the South District health office. We did not have too many clients, but the afternoon went by quickly. I will be returning to work with them next week.
Integrative question for the week: (HBSE) Although I do not have client contact everyday, I do have to evaluate from some of the different things that I have done. For example, another intern and I did a presentation at a high school about abstinence. I measured the success of our presentation based on the pre and post test scores of the students. How much did they really learn from our presentation? It was pretty interesting to see how they reacted to some of the facts I presented and that was another way I gauged my performance. If I saw eyes when I looked around the room, I knew I was doing something right because they were at least paying attention. I tried to keep them engaged in discussion and really push a couple of points that I thought were necessary that they know when they left the room. I could have always had them fill out an evaluation, but I think that a lot of them would have ended up on the floor not being filled out. I think at the end of my grief and loss group I will have them fill out an evaluation so that I can know what to work on.
Tuesday: This was a pretty busy day. I started by interviewing a Medical social worker at the corporate building for Marion County Health and Hospital Corporations (for my course objective #16). I began by asking her the different types of jobs that she has done as a social worker and which ones she liked and disliked. She was very open which I appreciated. I feel that sometimes, because someone knows that we are going into the field, they try to sugarcoat it and avoid talking about some of their bad experiences. Bad experiences come with any job and social work is a tough field; we all know that coming in. Anyhow, she was very open about her answers. I interviewed her about how her experiences have made her more aware of herself and her own beliefs. We discussed the grieving process. She spoke about a former client that she had in another position and how she lost her husband while she was their family's social worker. She talked about thinking how strong this woman was and how hard it must have been for her. While this was going on in her workplace, the social worker said that someone close to her was also becoming very ill and eventually passed around the same time of the client's husband. She said that, in a way, it gave her hope to move on because her client had done so. I thought that was a very interesting story about how our clients affect us sometimes just as much as we affect them.
After that interview, I headed over to meet with an HIV Outreach worker for another interview (Objective #6). This worker is also HIV positive and goes into the community and speak out about HIV education and advocacy. It was pretty inspiring especially considering the medical affects that someone has with HIV. This person is a very active member of the community and feels passionately about sharing their story with others. The main topic of the interview was support systems and how the client's life has changed since they have been diagnosed. They had some very interesting things to say about their own journey and coming to terms with the virus and their own addictions.
After that, I went to work with Covering Kids and Families and shadowed an employee at the South District health office. We did not have too many clients, but the afternoon went by quickly. I will be returning to work with them next week.
Integrative question for the week: (HBSE) Although I do not have client contact everyday, I do have to evaluate from some of the different things that I have done. For example, another intern and I did a presentation at a high school about abstinence. I measured the success of our presentation based on the pre and post test scores of the students. How much did they really learn from our presentation? It was pretty interesting to see how they reacted to some of the facts I presented and that was another way I gauged my performance. If I saw eyes when I looked around the room, I knew I was doing something right because they were at least paying attention. I tried to keep them engaged in discussion and really push a couple of points that I thought were necessary that they know when they left the room. I could have always had them fill out an evaluation, but I think that a lot of them would have ended up on the floor not being filled out. I think at the end of my grief and loss group I will have them fill out an evaluation so that I can know what to work on.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Week #13
Monday: Whew! What a day! I started off at Manual High School in the morning. Another intern and I did another presentation about Sexually Transmitted Infections and Teengage Pregnancy. (I got to do the fun part with STI's.) All in all, the presentation went well. Most of the students in the class were attentive and I felt like most of them picked up at least one new thing from the presentation that they didn't know before.
After that, I headed to a middle school on the eastside to co-facilitate a grief and loss group. This was their first day back from spring break and the school has undergone some construction so things were a little out of order when we arrived. We spent about ten minutes rounding the students up for the group, but then we got started. We started with an icebreaker game and then we laid out the rules and regulations of the group. We also asked the group members to sign confidentiality agreements so that we could ensure that they understood how important it was to keep everything said in the group confidential. We explained what activities we would be doing throughout the group and gave them the schedule for the next five sessions and their journals. We are going to use memory journals to let the students in the group express themselves and get the ball rolling on different discussions. I felt like the first session went pretty well and we figured out some things that we should do differently for next time.
Tuesday: I went to a workshop in the morning for Technology and Advocacy at the Julian Center. I am pretty sure that the title was "Keeping up with the Techies". I thought it was a very interesting presentation about technology and the different ways it can be used to help and hurt clients, particularly those victims of domestic violence. I can definitely say that I learned several things from this workshop. The second part was dedicated to confidentiality from a legal standpoint with abusers and victims from which I also learned many new things. The workshop ran way over its time so I was not able to make my second appointment of the day with the Covering Kids and Families Program. Last week, I got to work in the the building with some of the ladies and gentlemen who happened to be in the center on Tuesday afternoon. They showed me how they do some of the intake information and enter it into the database, but we only had a few walk-ins.
Course Objective # 4: While I was at Covering Kids, I did get a chance to speak with a client from Africa who had come in to fill out some paperwork. The client was working, but had recently lost their job. The client was also a student at a nearby college which I thought was interesting. The client said that they had to go slowly in school because when they first came to this country, their English was not very good. I thought it was pretty awesome that the client was working so hard to further their education and overcome the language barriers that they encountered.
I blogged about an ethical dilemma for last week's post, but here is another concern that I have. I have been doing some work in different IPS High Schools and have found out why IPS schools have such a high drop out rate. I have a few different theories, but most of them involve the fact that the students are treated as if they are incompetent. I was in a school recently talking to the students in a class for quite awhile. At first, they were loud and rowdy, but after about half the class was over, most of them were asleep. I told the students not to fall asleep on me. I heard the teacher make the comment that it might be better for them to be asleep than to be loud again. I don't know about that. My purpose there was to teach them. I can't teach people who are asleep. How do the teachers do it everyday? I know that teaching in IPS schools is a tough job, but I would like to think that not everyone has lost hope for their students. My high school had high expectations of their students and I cannot imagine going to class and it be acceptable for students to sleep during class. Why are our expectations so low of these students? Perhaps if we demand more, we just might get it more often. Kids are kids. They are going to push buttons to see what they can get away with, but why are they allowed to get away with so much? Please don't misunderstand, I am not blaming our teachers for the low graduation rate in our IPS schools. This is a problem that cannot be blamed on any one particular source. Parents have a role in their child's learning too. The whole community has a role in their school's performance. I just feel that if we expected more, we might get more from our students.
After that, I headed to a middle school on the eastside to co-facilitate a grief and loss group. This was their first day back from spring break and the school has undergone some construction so things were a little out of order when we arrived. We spent about ten minutes rounding the students up for the group, but then we got started. We started with an icebreaker game and then we laid out the rules and regulations of the group. We also asked the group members to sign confidentiality agreements so that we could ensure that they understood how important it was to keep everything said in the group confidential. We explained what activities we would be doing throughout the group and gave them the schedule for the next five sessions and their journals. We are going to use memory journals to let the students in the group express themselves and get the ball rolling on different discussions. I felt like the first session went pretty well and we figured out some things that we should do differently for next time.
Tuesday: I went to a workshop in the morning for Technology and Advocacy at the Julian Center. I am pretty sure that the title was "Keeping up with the Techies". I thought it was a very interesting presentation about technology and the different ways it can be used to help and hurt clients, particularly those victims of domestic violence. I can definitely say that I learned several things from this workshop. The second part was dedicated to confidentiality from a legal standpoint with abusers and victims from which I also learned many new things. The workshop ran way over its time so I was not able to make my second appointment of the day with the Covering Kids and Families Program. Last week, I got to work in the the building with some of the ladies and gentlemen who happened to be in the center on Tuesday afternoon. They showed me how they do some of the intake information and enter it into the database, but we only had a few walk-ins.
Course Objective # 4: While I was at Covering Kids, I did get a chance to speak with a client from Africa who had come in to fill out some paperwork. The client was working, but had recently lost their job. The client was also a student at a nearby college which I thought was interesting. The client said that they had to go slowly in school because when they first came to this country, their English was not very good. I thought it was pretty awesome that the client was working so hard to further their education and overcome the language barriers that they encountered.
I blogged about an ethical dilemma for last week's post, but here is another concern that I have. I have been doing some work in different IPS High Schools and have found out why IPS schools have such a high drop out rate. I have a few different theories, but most of them involve the fact that the students are treated as if they are incompetent. I was in a school recently talking to the students in a class for quite awhile. At first, they were loud and rowdy, but after about half the class was over, most of them were asleep. I told the students not to fall asleep on me. I heard the teacher make the comment that it might be better for them to be asleep than to be loud again. I don't know about that. My purpose there was to teach them. I can't teach people who are asleep. How do the teachers do it everyday? I know that teaching in IPS schools is a tough job, but I would like to think that not everyone has lost hope for their students. My high school had high expectations of their students and I cannot imagine going to class and it be acceptable for students to sleep during class. Why are our expectations so low of these students? Perhaps if we demand more, we just might get it more often. Kids are kids. They are going to push buttons to see what they can get away with, but why are they allowed to get away with so much? Please don't misunderstand, I am not blaming our teachers for the low graduation rate in our IPS schools. This is a problem that cannot be blamed on any one particular source. Parents have a role in their child's learning too. The whole community has a role in their school's performance. I just feel that if we expected more, we might get more from our students.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Week #12
Monday: Worked with supervisor finalizing some interview questions for my learning plan. Attempted to contact a social worker upstairs in the ACTION Health Center. Worked on various projects from the learning plan.
Ethical dilemma: A teacher within an elementary school was observed knocking a girl to the ground. The teacher was using the girl in an example of how not to act toward other students (pushing, etc.), but apparently, the teacher did not know their own strength. This teacher was also observed making students stand for more than an hour of classtime as a punishment. Two of these students were from other classes and other teachers. This teacher humiliates the students by making them stand in front of the class for elongated periods of time and seems to have a reputation among other teachers as a "punisher" which would be how these students end up in a different class for punishment. Solution: The person who observed this went to the school social worker. She seemed concerned, but referred that person to the school principal to tell what they had seen. The principal then sent out a memo to the teachers about the proper way to administer punishment to the students. This does not seem to be an effective way to deal with the situation. The teacher should have been suspended the first time they were observed touching the student. Then, warnings and memos should have been issued to other teachers.
Tuesday: I finished up some things in the office for my learning plan and worked on a variety of different tasks. Nothing too spectacular happened.
Ethical dilemma: A teacher within an elementary school was observed knocking a girl to the ground. The teacher was using the girl in an example of how not to act toward other students (pushing, etc.), but apparently, the teacher did not know their own strength. This teacher was also observed making students stand for more than an hour of classtime as a punishment. Two of these students were from other classes and other teachers. This teacher humiliates the students by making them stand in front of the class for elongated periods of time and seems to have a reputation among other teachers as a "punisher" which would be how these students end up in a different class for punishment. Solution: The person who observed this went to the school social worker. She seemed concerned, but referred that person to the school principal to tell what they had seen. The principal then sent out a memo to the teachers about the proper way to administer punishment to the students. This does not seem to be an effective way to deal with the situation. The teacher should have been suspended the first time they were observed touching the student. Then, warnings and memos should have been issued to other teachers.
Tuesday: I finished up some things in the office for my learning plan and worked on a variety of different tasks. Nothing too spectacular happened.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Week #11
(I think I got my week's mixed up, but Week #11 integration question was posted under Week #10.)
Monday: Another intern and I did a presentation at Manual High School about abstinence, Sexually Transmitted Infections, and Teen Pregnancy. This was a group of mostly 16 year old sophmores, but I felt like they really did learn something. Interesting audience and topic. Most people might feel weird talking to a bunch of teenagers about sex, but I think that them learning about it is more important than my own embarrassment. I thought the presentation went well aside from a few technical difficulties. I went back to the Health Center and worked with another intern on some learning plan stuff and we had a brief supervisor meeting in the aftrnoon.
Tuesday: Nothing exciting happened today:( I just worked on some of the reasearch stuff on my learning plan and set-up a time to meet with the Covering Kids and Families Program. Next week, I will have some down time as far as working within the agecy, but the following week will pick up and be very busy until the end of the semester. EEK!
Monday: Another intern and I did a presentation at Manual High School about abstinence, Sexually Transmitted Infections, and Teen Pregnancy. This was a group of mostly 16 year old sophmores, but I felt like they really did learn something. Interesting audience and topic. Most people might feel weird talking to a bunch of teenagers about sex, but I think that them learning about it is more important than my own embarrassment. I thought the presentation went well aside from a few technical difficulties. I went back to the Health Center and worked with another intern on some learning plan stuff and we had a brief supervisor meeting in the aftrnoon.
Tuesday: Nothing exciting happened today:( I just worked on some of the reasearch stuff on my learning plan and set-up a time to meet with the Covering Kids and Families Program. Next week, I will have some down time as far as working within the agecy, but the following week will pick up and be very busy until the end of the semester. EEK!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Week #10
This Monday, I went straight to Manual High School with one of the health educators in order to observe his presentation about the "Baby, think it over" program. (This is a program that allows children to experience a simulated baby for one or two nights. The babies cry just like any other baby, but we know that it is just not the same.) I also met with the teacher afterward to briefly explain my presentation for next week. I, along with another intern, will be doing a presentation on STI's and Teen Pregnancy. This will take place on Monday, March 24 and Monday, April 7. Also, on April 7, I will have my first meeting with the grief and loss group. Lots of stuff going on!
Tuesday, I worked in a cube all day on research with different topics for my practicum. I am just trying to stay on track with the learning plan. I am a little worried because I still haven't had my midterm agency visit and I don't want to be too busy to meet. I am going to have to make arrangments for next week to meet with someone from Covering Kids and Families so that I can begin working with that program also.
Integration question:In the ACTION Health Center, there are three main components. The top floor is the social services department, which is where most of the social workers are located. This department looks at risky behaviors that might endanger the client's health. (The ACTION Health Center is mostly used by teenage mothers and/or mothers to be.) Social services looks at the rest of the client's picture as well. Living situation, drug use past and present, and how the client is doing overall. The first floor of the ACTION Health Center is where all of the clinic nurses and the doctor are located. I have not been able to discuss their assessments in depth with any of them, but their primary concern is the health of the child. This means that their questions might be limited, but if they feel that the client needs more attention, they can refer her upstairs to social services. The basement is where many of the health educators are located. (Violence prevention is also in the basement which is where I am.) Health educators would look more at health habits and the client's knowledge about their own health and health concerns. Education would be their primary goal with the clients though they typically work in schools with children.
Tuesday, I worked in a cube all day on research with different topics for my practicum. I am just trying to stay on track with the learning plan. I am a little worried because I still haven't had my midterm agency visit and I don't want to be too busy to meet. I am going to have to make arrangments for next week to meet with someone from Covering Kids and Families so that I can begin working with that program also.
Integration question:In the ACTION Health Center, there are three main components. The top floor is the social services department, which is where most of the social workers are located. This department looks at risky behaviors that might endanger the client's health. (The ACTION Health Center is mostly used by teenage mothers and/or mothers to be.) Social services looks at the rest of the client's picture as well. Living situation, drug use past and present, and how the client is doing overall. The first floor of the ACTION Health Center is where all of the clinic nurses and the doctor are located. I have not been able to discuss their assessments in depth with any of them, but their primary concern is the health of the child. This means that their questions might be limited, but if they feel that the client needs more attention, they can refer her upstairs to social services. The basement is where many of the health educators are located. (Violence prevention is also in the basement which is where I am.) Health educators would look more at health habits and the client's knowledge about their own health and health concerns. Education would be their primary goal with the clients though they typically work in schools with children.
Week #9 Addition
I found an article on the subject of supervision and clinical mental health workers. This article explores the possiblity of enhancing the mental health worker's knowledge and measures their social functioning within the work environment using the Social Functioning Scale and the Krawiecka, Goldberg, and Vaughan Symptom Scale (KGV [M]). Below is the address for the abstract of this article.
http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.ulib.iupui.edu/ehost/detail?vid=8&hid=12&sid=202c00ce-9a20-4737-9893-04ed6af042e2%40sessionmgr7
I was afraid that I was not going to be able to find anything that was not medically related until I found this article on Field Instructor attachment in Social Work placements. The actual title of the article is "A conceptual application of attachment theory and research to the social work student-field instructor supervisory relationship". Authors are Bennett and Vitale Saks and was published in the Social Work Journal (2006). This article is about the different theories of attachment and their use within the field placement by the field instructor. I thought that this was an intriguing article since we are all currently experiencing our field placement relationships. This is an artile that every field instructor should read. It explores the attachment theories and habits of both the student and the field instructor. This is the link to the abstract of the article: http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.ulib.iupui.edu/ehost/pdf?vid=18&hid=12&sid=202c00ce-9a20-4737-9893-04ed6af042e2%40sessionmgr7
I found another article about field supervision study and social work students. "Supervising students developmentally: evaluating a seminar for new field instructors" is the official title of the article found in the Journal of Social Work Education (2006). The authors of the study are Holtz-Deal and Clements. The article analyzes supervision methods of experienced field instructors and inexperienced field instructors. Interesting food for thought. Here is the link to the abstract:
http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.ulib.iupui.edu/ehost/detail?vid=24&hid=12&sid=202c00ce-9a20-4737-9893-04ed6af042e2%40sessionmgr7
http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.ulib.iupui.edu/ehost/detail?vid=8&hid=12&sid=202c00ce-9a20-4737-9893-04ed6af042e2%40sessionmgr7
I was afraid that I was not going to be able to find anything that was not medically related until I found this article on Field Instructor attachment in Social Work placements. The actual title of the article is "A conceptual application of attachment theory and research to the social work student-field instructor supervisory relationship". Authors are Bennett and Vitale Saks and was published in the Social Work Journal (2006). This article is about the different theories of attachment and their use within the field placement by the field instructor. I thought that this was an intriguing article since we are all currently experiencing our field placement relationships. This is an artile that every field instructor should read. It explores the attachment theories and habits of both the student and the field instructor. This is the link to the abstract of the article: http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.ulib.iupui.edu/ehost/pdf?vid=18&hid=12&sid=202c00ce-9a20-4737-9893-04ed6af042e2%40sessionmgr7
I found another article about field supervision study and social work students. "Supervising students developmentally: evaluating a seminar for new field instructors" is the official title of the article found in the Journal of Social Work Education (2006). The authors of the study are Holtz-Deal and Clements. The article analyzes supervision methods of experienced field instructors and inexperienced field instructors. Interesting food for thought. Here is the link to the abstract:
http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.ulib.iupui.edu/ehost/detail?vid=24&hid=12&sid=202c00ce-9a20-4737-9893-04ed6af042e2%40sessionmgr7
Policy changes and violence prevention
Policy changes affect everything that we, as social workers, are doing now and in the future. With this in mind, I decided to research some of the latest policy changes that affect the violence prevention efforts right here in the Marion County Health Department. One bill that sticks out to me specifically is SB 27 which introduced in the Fall of 2007. This Bill calls for a "cooling off" period when someone is arrested for domestic violence (Legislative Services Agency, 2007). Currently, in many places, the rule is that if someone can post bail, then the arrested offender can walk as soon as they pay. With this Bill, they would be required to sit in jail for a mandatory eight hours after their arrest. This would allow the victim of the domestic violence a chance to seek other emergency shelter and move his or her things without interference from the abuser. This Bill would go into effect in July of 2008.
Another aspect I wanted to explore when looking at violence prevention is internet bullying. What kinds of policies do we have to protect our children from internet bullies and slander? In Indiana, cyber-bullying is seen as the same thing as bullying. According to Indiana Code 20-33-8-0.2, bullying is defined as follows, "overt, repeated acts or gestures including: (1) verbal or written communitcations transmitted; (2) physical acts committed; or (3) any other behaviors committed; by a student or a group of students against another student with the intent to harass, ridicule, humiliate, intimidate, or harm the other student" (Indiana Department of Education, 2006). The "cyber" part could be a reference to blogs, MySpace, Facebook, instant messages, and e-mails. H.R. 284 (2005) was a bill that was introduced in order to force schools into developing rules and regualtions for Internet usage and define/prohibit "cyber-bullying".
Policies change every day and night. Sometimes they are so mutated when they are finally enacted, they look nothing like the Bill as it was originally introduced. A Bill might also look like it is going to accomplish one task, when it is really for the oppositition.
Another aspect I wanted to explore when looking at violence prevention is internet bullying. What kinds of policies do we have to protect our children from internet bullies and slander? In Indiana, cyber-bullying is seen as the same thing as bullying. According to Indiana Code 20-33-8-0.2, bullying is defined as follows, "overt, repeated acts or gestures including: (1) verbal or written communitcations transmitted; (2) physical acts committed; or (3) any other behaviors committed; by a student or a group of students against another student with the intent to harass, ridicule, humiliate, intimidate, or harm the other student" (Indiana Department of Education, 2006). The "cyber" part could be a reference to blogs, MySpace, Facebook, instant messages, and e-mails. H.R. 284 (2005) was a bill that was introduced in order to force schools into developing rules and regualtions for Internet usage and define/prohibit "cyber-bullying".
Policies change every day and night. Sometimes they are so mutated when they are finally enacted, they look nothing like the Bill as it was originally introduced. A Bill might also look like it is going to accomplish one task, when it is really for the oppositition.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Spring Break?
This week I am still working my regular practicum hours Monday and Tuesday. Monday, I worked with another intern on a group that we are trying to get going in a middle school for children dealing with grief and loss. I also worked with another intern to try and coordinate a presentation we are giving in a high school about STD's, teen pregnancy, and abstinence. I think Cyndi Lauper put it best when she sang "it's just another manic Monday". We revised the same three papers about five times throughout the day and didn't get a chance to talk to the school counselor about the "W's" of the group.
Tuesday was even crazier than Monday. I went to a middle school, where this grief and loss support group will be taking place. I met very briefly with the school counselor there after I even found out that I was going to meet with her today. She said our plans and agenda went well and gave me a list of student names to interview and screen for the group. She had a list of about ten names. Many of the students have lost a parent. A couple of them are dealing with the recent loss of a friend. I asked them questions about their loss and their interests to get a feel for what exactly these students are going through and how they have dealt thus far. I had to see these students fairly quickly because of our own time restraint. Then, somehow, I got involved in a conflict resolution that my field coordinator had set up with a student. I told him that I had a meeting because I did with another health worker here at the health dept. I do not like having to refuse activities that I might learn something from because of time restraints and learning plans.
I spoke with a client who recently lost someone close to them. The client seems to be exhibiting signs of depression, such as a loss of appetite, frequent episodes of crying, isolation, and increased need for sleep, so I told my field instructor that the client should be screened and his advice was to send the client back to the school counselor for that. I would like to monitor the client behavior for any changes in the group, but the rest of the referral process is really up to the client's counselor.
Tuesday was even crazier than Monday. I went to a middle school, where this grief and loss support group will be taking place. I met very briefly with the school counselor there after I even found out that I was going to meet with her today. She said our plans and agenda went well and gave me a list of student names to interview and screen for the group. She had a list of about ten names. Many of the students have lost a parent. A couple of them are dealing with the recent loss of a friend. I asked them questions about their loss and their interests to get a feel for what exactly these students are going through and how they have dealt thus far. I had to see these students fairly quickly because of our own time restraint. Then, somehow, I got involved in a conflict resolution that my field coordinator had set up with a student. I told him that I had a meeting because I did with another health worker here at the health dept. I do not like having to refuse activities that I might learn something from because of time restraints and learning plans.
I spoke with a client who recently lost someone close to them. The client seems to be exhibiting signs of depression, such as a loss of appetite, frequent episodes of crying, isolation, and increased need for sleep, so I told my field instructor that the client should be screened and his advice was to send the client back to the school counselor for that. I would like to monitor the client behavior for any changes in the group, but the rest of the referral process is really up to the client's counselor.
Week #9
Monday, I got to attend a meeting with my field instructor and two program directors at Pendelton Juvenile Correctional Facility. We met with them regarding their in house gang activity prevention program. They expressed a need for an ongoing mentoring/counseling service for the young men who leave the facility. After that meeting, we headed out to lunch and then over to 38th and Parker to meet with Joakima Doss. She works with Marion County Health Department through the Covering Kids and Families Program. I have plans to work with one of her employees throughout Marion County in order to better understand what their position is and get some one on one experience in working with clients. This would also give me a chance to work with a large client base in every aspect. Since I had car issues this week, Tuesday I met with Byron briefly and worked on some things from home.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Week #8
Monday, I worked with another intern on a grief and loss group proposal and research. We made some decisions about what tools we would use within the group and other perameters for the group, such as number of children and how long the group would last. We also got to view some of the public service announcements about domestic violence and the "Triggerlock" program in Marion County.
Tuesday, I attended the Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) meeting at Stonybrook Middle School with my field instructor. Since this is supposed to be a student lead activity, I did not have too much input in the meeting, but it turned out to be pretty productive in comparison to some of the other meetings I have attended. I wanted to talk to the school social worker about facilitating the grief and loss group because of the school's schedule, but she had already left for the day so I did not get a chance to speak with her. Stonybrook is a year round school, so, if we are going to have a successful group, we will have to work around their schedule.
In my practicum setting, the understanding of the Family Systems Theories would be the most relevant to understand. Since I do not work everyday with a specific client base, I would have to look ahead to the future. I will be working with the Covering Kids and Families Program in Marion County which means I will be working with many different populations and their families. The goal of this program is to get those who qualify for insurance signed up for whichever program they can use. Understanding the client and their environment is relevant here when trying to see if they qualify to participate in certain programs.
Wednesday, I attended the Fairbanks Ethics Lecture at Methodist Hospital. The lecture/discussion was based on the notion of "miracles" in contemporary medicine. It was very interesting because the doctor provided his own perspective and interpretation of miracles within his medical practice. He also discussed other points of view from philosophers and historical figures. This was an interesting and enlightening lecture.
Tuesday, I attended the Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) meeting at Stonybrook Middle School with my field instructor. Since this is supposed to be a student lead activity, I did not have too much input in the meeting, but it turned out to be pretty productive in comparison to some of the other meetings I have attended. I wanted to talk to the school social worker about facilitating the grief and loss group because of the school's schedule, but she had already left for the day so I did not get a chance to speak with her. Stonybrook is a year round school, so, if we are going to have a successful group, we will have to work around their schedule.
In my practicum setting, the understanding of the Family Systems Theories would be the most relevant to understand. Since I do not work everyday with a specific client base, I would have to look ahead to the future. I will be working with the Covering Kids and Families Program in Marion County which means I will be working with many different populations and their families. The goal of this program is to get those who qualify for insurance signed up for whichever program they can use. Understanding the client and their environment is relevant here when trying to see if they qualify to participate in certain programs.
Wednesday, I attended the Fairbanks Ethics Lecture at Methodist Hospital. The lecture/discussion was based on the notion of "miracles" in contemporary medicine. It was very interesting because the doctor provided his own perspective and interpretation of miracles within his medical practice. He also discussed other points of view from philosophers and historical figures. This was an interesting and enlightening lecture.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Diversity: Domestic Violence in Same Sex Relationships
Domestic violence is not limited to same sex couples. It never has been. People have tried to ignore the fact that same sex partners have to deal with domestic violence relationships as heterosexual men and women do. People do not think that women will fight because they are too "caring" and "nurturing" to hurt anyone else. They think that men who are fighting can stand up for themselves because they are men. No one has really thought this issue through until recent years. Same sex domestic violence has not skyrocketed recently, it just so happens that it is the same rate for heterosexual men and women in relationships. According to rainbowdomesticviolence.itgo.com, this number is 30-40% for the GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender) population and for heterosexual relationships.
Most of us know that abuse typically stems from some sort of control issue within the realtionship. Whether the abuse be sexual, physical, or emotional. When one person wants to control the other, he or she just assures them that they are worthless in some way or another until they do not feel like they can do it any longer. Typically, we hear of the male abusing the female in this type of relationship. These men feel that they need constant control over their environment, including the people within it. But what occurs concerning gender roles and same sex relationships? Is one partner always more dominating than the other, or do they switch roles based on their own strengths within a given situation? Gender role stereotyping is an issue among heterosexual couples when it comes to domestic violence research and prevention. More research needs to be done to determine how gender roles affect these relationships when each partner is the same sex.
After researching some of the sites on the Internet specific to outreach in same sex partner domestic violence, I see that all of the steps are the same for same sex relationships and for opposite sex relationships. Safety planning, emergency housing, crisis intervention and legal aide are a part of any domestic violence situation that has come to an end. The victim has to want to leave. The difference between heterosexual and homosexual relationships lies here: a man getting beat by a man probably doesn't feel like a man and that works for women being abused by other women as well. They are less likely to report such incidents due to embarrassment and people are less likely to believe that they are in danger when they finally do report. We cannot be sure how many incidents of domestic violence go unreported every year, whether it be same or opposite sex relationships.
The occurence of domestic abuse between same sex partners is slowly becoming recognized as a social and health issue, but since same sex partners are denied the right to marry in almost every state, they are not seen as a couple in the eyes of the law. In North Carolina, partners are defined as being the opposite sex who live or have lived together and/or share a minor child (Barnes, 1998). Same sex partners are not related by blood or by marriage, so it is difficult for their domestic disputes to be settled. "Although gender-neutral language in 37 jurisdictions implies protection of gay and lesbian domestic abuse victims, only four states have made this coverage explicit, either by the language of the statute (Hawaii) or by case law (Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio) (Seelau & Seelau, 2005). This fact might have changed since December of 2005, but with the continued resistance of the recognition of same sex partnerships in the context of a civil union or marriage, I can assume not much concern has been directed to the subject. One might think that this would make it easier for the victim to leave because he or she has no legal ties to the relationship or mutually biological children.
References:
Barnes, P. (1998). 'It's just a quarrel'. ABA Journal (84) 2. February, 1998. Retrieved Feb. 26, 2008 from Academic Search Premier.
Seelau, S.M., and Seelau, E.P. (2005). Gender-role stereotypes and perceptions of heterosexual, gay and lesbian domestic violence. Journal of Family Violence (20) 6. December, 2005. P. 363.
http://www.rainbowdomesticviolence.itgo.com
Most of us know that abuse typically stems from some sort of control issue within the realtionship. Whether the abuse be sexual, physical, or emotional. When one person wants to control the other, he or she just assures them that they are worthless in some way or another until they do not feel like they can do it any longer. Typically, we hear of the male abusing the female in this type of relationship. These men feel that they need constant control over their environment, including the people within it. But what occurs concerning gender roles and same sex relationships? Is one partner always more dominating than the other, or do they switch roles based on their own strengths within a given situation? Gender role stereotyping is an issue among heterosexual couples when it comes to domestic violence research and prevention. More research needs to be done to determine how gender roles affect these relationships when each partner is the same sex.
After researching some of the sites on the Internet specific to outreach in same sex partner domestic violence, I see that all of the steps are the same for same sex relationships and for opposite sex relationships. Safety planning, emergency housing, crisis intervention and legal aide are a part of any domestic violence situation that has come to an end. The victim has to want to leave. The difference between heterosexual and homosexual relationships lies here: a man getting beat by a man probably doesn't feel like a man and that works for women being abused by other women as well. They are less likely to report such incidents due to embarrassment and people are less likely to believe that they are in danger when they finally do report. We cannot be sure how many incidents of domestic violence go unreported every year, whether it be same or opposite sex relationships.
The occurence of domestic abuse between same sex partners is slowly becoming recognized as a social and health issue, but since same sex partners are denied the right to marry in almost every state, they are not seen as a couple in the eyes of the law. In North Carolina, partners are defined as being the opposite sex who live or have lived together and/or share a minor child (Barnes, 1998). Same sex partners are not related by blood or by marriage, so it is difficult for their domestic disputes to be settled. "Although gender-neutral language in 37 jurisdictions implies protection of gay and lesbian domestic abuse victims, only four states have made this coverage explicit, either by the language of the statute (Hawaii) or by case law (Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio) (Seelau & Seelau, 2005). This fact might have changed since December of 2005, but with the continued resistance of the recognition of same sex partnerships in the context of a civil union or marriage, I can assume not much concern has been directed to the subject. One might think that this would make it easier for the victim to leave because he or she has no legal ties to the relationship or mutually biological children.
References:
Barnes, P. (1998). 'It's just a quarrel'. ABA Journal (84) 2. February, 1998. Retrieved Feb. 26, 2008 from Academic Search Premier.
Seelau, S.M., and Seelau, E.P. (2005). Gender-role stereotypes and perceptions of heterosexual, gay and lesbian domestic violence. Journal of Family Violence (20) 6. December, 2005. P. 363.
http://www.rainbowdomesticviolence.itgo.com
Professionalism
The definition of "professional" behavior according to Merriam-Webster's online dictionary is "exhibiting a courteous, conscientious, and generally businesslike manner in the workplace". What does this mean for a social worker? According to the NASW Code of Ethics, we have a commitment to the field of social work, our employer, our clients, and ourselves. This leaves a lot of room for conflict when situations arise that cause us to have decide one over importance of another. Our first commitment is to our clients (Code of Ethics, 1.01). In order to maintain a professional attitude as a social worker, we must put the best interest of the client before all other priorities. This means that social workers should maintain only their worker/client relationship with the client. The social worker should never date a client or engage with a relationship with him or her outside of the professional atmosphere (See Code of Ethics 1.09, 1.10, and 1.11). Having a dual relationship with a client is one of the most common reasons that social workers lose their licenses, but having a dual relationship with a colleague can be as damaging to the social worker. The client expects ethical behavior from you when it comes to confidentiality, billing and payment options, competence in his or her career, behaving in a respectful manner towards the client and other colleagues, and the client's consent to his or her treatment.
My practicum setting is a host setting. The ACTION Health Center for the Marion County Health Dept. does not only employ social workers. In fact, most of the social workers who have offices here, do not report here everyday. Health educators, nurses, and other case management type positions comprise this aspect of the Health Dept. Social workers are not the primary employees at the Health Dept. This means that not everyone here knows exactly what it is that I am doing here. For me, this is an all new experience in every way. I have always worked retail full-time and paid my own bills so I never really had time to try to volunteer within the community. I am not accustomed to a work atmosphere that requires a "professional use of self". I have to dress better than normal and really watch what I say. I am not so worried about bad language, but more about how the things that come out of my mouth affect the way people see me. This has taken a significant amount of morphing on my part. I began this practicum without a clue of what to expect from myself or the field instructor. Even though I have been here more than a month, I am still trying to get a feel for everything I should be doing and some sort of routine. I meet new people almost everyday. Some of them are not so willing and others want to kidnap you for their own intern. Every one is different. I am not the only social work intern here. We have four interns altogether under Byron. We can all relate to each other's situations because this is a new experience within a new setting so we are all adjusting, but I also have to be careful about what is said between interns, just as I would in any other setting.
A "professional use of self" in a practicum setting means behaving as if you were already a social worker in the field. While there is a bit of a grace period for acquiring knowledge when one is new to the field, there is no grace period for behavior adjustments. I have to uphold the Code of Ethics whether this is the work environment I am used to or not.
My practicum setting is a host setting. The ACTION Health Center for the Marion County Health Dept. does not only employ social workers. In fact, most of the social workers who have offices here, do not report here everyday. Health educators, nurses, and other case management type positions comprise this aspect of the Health Dept. Social workers are not the primary employees at the Health Dept. This means that not everyone here knows exactly what it is that I am doing here. For me, this is an all new experience in every way. I have always worked retail full-time and paid my own bills so I never really had time to try to volunteer within the community. I am not accustomed to a work atmosphere that requires a "professional use of self". I have to dress better than normal and really watch what I say. I am not so worried about bad language, but more about how the things that come out of my mouth affect the way people see me. This has taken a significant amount of morphing on my part. I began this practicum without a clue of what to expect from myself or the field instructor. Even though I have been here more than a month, I am still trying to get a feel for everything I should be doing and some sort of routine. I meet new people almost everyday. Some of them are not so willing and others want to kidnap you for their own intern. Every one is different. I am not the only social work intern here. We have four interns altogether under Byron. We can all relate to each other's situations because this is a new experience within a new setting so we are all adjusting, but I also have to be careful about what is said between interns, just as I would in any other setting.
A "professional use of self" in a practicum setting means behaving as if you were already a social worker in the field. While there is a bit of a grace period for acquiring knowledge when one is new to the field, there is no grace period for behavior adjustments. I have to uphold the Code of Ethics whether this is the work environment I am used to or not.
Week # 7
Monday, we, some of the other interns and I, met with several workers at the Health and Hospital Corporation Building. First, we met with Dana Reed-Wise who is the Bureau Chief of the environmental services at Marion County Health Department. She met with us briefly in the morning and discussed exactly what her position is with the Health Dept. and what the environmental side of health is in Marion County. She talked about new programs relatd to children and lead poisoning. Since the toys that were recalled for lead poisoning, the Health Dept. has had a need for testing toys and other items for lead. They can also do an assessment on your house to see if you are at risk for lead content and poisoning within the home. I thought that was a pretty quick response to the recent battery of lead toy recalls in the last few months.
Dana also discussed with us her current pressing issues as Bureau Chief. The most pressing at this time is abandoned housing. Many of these houses can be rehabilitated, but that can cost a lot of money that people just don't have right now. The housing market is horrible overall right now, but with the tax crisis in Marion County, it has lead to a lot of foreclosures and people simply abandoning their homes because they know that they will have to move out eventually anyway. The money just isn't there to tear down and rehabilitate houses as quickly as they need to be done.
Later, on Monday, we got to meet with Melissa Crawford and her assistant Debra. Melissa is a social worker with the Marion County Health Dept. and Debra is in school to become a social worker. Melissa's job is to follow-up on referrals she receives about a client's living condition. If someone in your neighborhood keeps trash everywhere or does not clean up after his or her animal(s), this is who will come to see them after the health inspector comes by. They have to go into people's homes and help sort out the mess. Though they do not spend most of their time literally "cleaning", they do have to do most of the referring of client's from that point. They deal with everything from mental health services, to home renovations, to roofers, plumbers, drywallers, electricians, services for the elderly, and even the coroner. Yes, they have been forced before to have police break down the door of a client's home because he or she did not answer their door when they came by previously. Tuesday, I worked in the office doing some research and reading for upcoming course objectives.
Dana also discussed with us her current pressing issues as Bureau Chief. The most pressing at this time is abandoned housing. Many of these houses can be rehabilitated, but that can cost a lot of money that people just don't have right now. The housing market is horrible overall right now, but with the tax crisis in Marion County, it has lead to a lot of foreclosures and people simply abandoning their homes because they know that they will have to move out eventually anyway. The money just isn't there to tear down and rehabilitate houses as quickly as they need to be done.
Later, on Monday, we got to meet with Melissa Crawford and her assistant Debra. Melissa is a social worker with the Marion County Health Dept. and Debra is in school to become a social worker. Melissa's job is to follow-up on referrals she receives about a client's living condition. If someone in your neighborhood keeps trash everywhere or does not clean up after his or her animal(s), this is who will come to see them after the health inspector comes by. They have to go into people's homes and help sort out the mess. Though they do not spend most of their time literally "cleaning", they do have to do most of the referring of client's from that point. They deal with everything from mental health services, to home renovations, to roofers, plumbers, drywallers, electricians, services for the elderly, and even the coroner. Yes, they have been forced before to have police break down the door of a client's home because he or she did not answer their door when they came by previously. Tuesday, I worked in the office doing some research and reading for upcoming course objectives.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Week #6
This week was crazy! Monday, another intern and I went on a field trip. First, we went to the Bellflower Clinic to take a tour and learn a little more about what exactly their duties are to the clients that they see. I thought is was interesting because I think that health education is important, especially when it comes to sexual health education. After the Bellflower, we went to Crispus Attucks to see the clinic that is actually a Marion County Health Department Clinic withn the school. Just one school-based clinic among many. We got to talk to a health educator about the services she provides to the students and another counselor who works in the school. Both of these nice women work out of the schools, but are actually Marion County Health Department employees. Interesting stuff. If that wasn't enough fun for one day, we got to meet with a production company to see about making an educational video. The man we met with has a history of working with the Health Dept. and violence prevention to make different videos. The idea for this one would be to follow an ex-gang member through his old neighborhood in Chicago.
Tuesday wasn't nearly as exciting as Monday. We, two other interns and I, went to visit the Indiana Chapter of the NASW. The executive director was very eager to take time out of her schedule and talk with us. She was also very open to questions. Her advice to us was to slow down, have fun, and enjoy our undergraduate years. Easy for her to say! No, really it was very interesting to see that the Indiana Chapter of NASW is really about three offices and a conference room. Not much space, but useful.
Tuesday wasn't nearly as exciting as Monday. We, two other interns and I, went to visit the Indiana Chapter of the NASW. The executive director was very eager to take time out of her schedule and talk with us. She was also very open to questions. Her advice to us was to slow down, have fun, and enjoy our undergraduate years. Easy for her to say! No, really it was very interesting to see that the Indiana Chapter of NASW is really about three offices and a conference room. Not much space, but useful.
Week #5
What a week! I worked again on my learning plan with my field instructor. Monday, we got to go visit the Juvenile Detention Center briefly to survey the space offered to the Violence Prevention Program for use as a resource center. This center is a possible spot for at-risk youth and students to access violence prevention materials and do research. It would also serve teachers in the area as a library for violence prevention curricula to be used within the classroom. This is only one possiblity. Tuesday, I worked a lot from home on my practicum projects that deal with research. I came into the ACTION Center for a couple of hours to work with my field instructor on my learning plan.
Wednesday was LEAD Day! Woo-hoo! LEAD Day was a pretty good learning experience. I appreciated the different discussion forums and lectures at the Sheraton. I attended the Women's Health and HIV/AIDS lecture and learned about several important bills relating to health education and laws pertaining to birth control. Interesting. I would have liked to have seen more instructors there cheering us on while we marched to the State House. A warning to dress casually also would have helped. All in all, it was an informative day, but I felt a little unprepared.
Wednesday was LEAD Day! Woo-hoo! LEAD Day was a pretty good learning experience. I appreciated the different discussion forums and lectures at the Sheraton. I attended the Women's Health and HIV/AIDS lecture and learned about several important bills relating to health education and laws pertaining to birth control. Interesting. I would have liked to have seen more instructors there cheering us on while we marched to the State House. A warning to dress casually also would have helped. All in all, it was an informative day, but I felt a little unprepared.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Week #4
This week brought with it some new opportunites for working one on one with clients through some new programs (for the interns) at the Health Dept. Monday, I worked with my field instructor to try and finalize my learning plan. I started on some of the research that is involved in my learning plan. On Tuesday afternoon, I got to meet with Tara Parchman, who is part of the team that disperses monies throughout the Health and Hospital Corporation. She had some interesting facts to tell us and also commented on the fact that the tax cap in Marion County might have some effects on the Health and Hospital Corporation in the long run. Wednesday, I attended HIPAA and Bloodborne Pathogens training at the corporate buiding.
After taking the personality test online, I found out that I am a Guardian. (I think I took a similar personality test in high school that said the same thing.) This can be good or bad for me when working with people. Co-workers might think that I am snotty and do not want to become their work friends. This is true, I am not a fan of making friends at work and I do not like to gossip about other people at work. I have also had bad experiences with "work buddies" so I usually shy away from that for awhile, at least until I think that I can have some level of trust with someone at work. The people I work for, (for now, they are customers, but will be considered "clients" one day) always like me because I do what I can to help them and ask them questions about their lives.
I feel that one's personality is derived from his or her experiences. And everyone reacts differently to different situations. Some people are extremely adaptable when it comes to change while others can be resistant and rigid. So many factors combine into the melting pot that comprises our personalities.
After taking the personality test online, I found out that I am a Guardian. (I think I took a similar personality test in high school that said the same thing.) This can be good or bad for me when working with people. Co-workers might think that I am snotty and do not want to become their work friends. This is true, I am not a fan of making friends at work and I do not like to gossip about other people at work. I have also had bad experiences with "work buddies" so I usually shy away from that for awhile, at least until I think that I can have some level of trust with someone at work. The people I work for, (for now, they are customers, but will be considered "clients" one day) always like me because I do what I can to help them and ask them questions about their lives.
I feel that one's personality is derived from his or her experiences. And everyone reacts differently to different situations. Some people are extremely adaptable when it comes to change while others can be resistant and rigid. So many factors combine into the melting pot that comprises our personalities.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Week #3
Well, Monday, our agency was closed for Martin Luther King Day and Tuesday I was not able to make it to my agency, so I do not have much to report there. Although, I have already heard some good news this week about some new opportunities opening up (but you will have to wait until next week to hear about those). As far as current legislation, I have found a few items from the State House that interest me, but one in particular was SB 489 which addresses the extension of healthcare to individuals in rural communities who do not have health care coverage. This bill allows a pilot program to be enabled.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Week #2
Week #2 began on Monday, January 14th. I went over some of the ideas and thoughts for my learning plan with my field coordinator. We discussed some of the ways that I could fulfill my course objectives and different tasks that I might be able to undertake while I am interning with the health department. We also met with two women from Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department to watch some videos about abuse for children grades K-5. Tuesday, I spent more time on my learning plan. I spoke briefly with a health educator who works with inner city high school students with a program that sends home a "live" baby with students for about a month. Then, in the afternoon, we went on to a middle school to work with the students in the SAVE (Students Against Violence Everywhere) Program.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Week #1
This week I began my practicum at the Marion County Health Dept. at 29th and Meridian. On Monday, I went over orientation materials, introductions, a tour of the site. Monday afternoon, we went to Stonybrook middle school for an after school program and did the same Tuesday afternoon for a different afterschool program. We also discussed some of the upcoming projects at the Health Dept.
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