(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!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
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.
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