Competency 1: Demonstrate Ethical and Professional Behavior
Advanced generalist practitioners skillfully utilize the value base of the profession and its ethical standards, as well as relevant laws and regulations that impact advanced practice at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. Advanced generalist practitioners utilize ethical frameworks in practice, research, and policy arenas. Advanced generalist practitioners consider personal values and the distinction between personal and professional values. They also evaluate their personal experiences and affective reactions influence their professional judgment and behavior. Advanced generalist practitioners are grounded in the profession’s history, its mission, and the roles and responsibilities of the profession. Advanced generalist practitioners also recognize and support the role of other professions when engaged in inter-professional teams. Advanced generalist practitioners commit to life-long learning and to continually updating their skills to ensure they are relevant and effective. Advanced generalist practitioners responsibly manage emerging forms of technology and use of technology ethically in social work practice. Advanced generalist practitioners:
- Make ethical decisions by applying the standards of the NASW Code of Ethics, relevant laws and regulations, models for ethical decision-making, ethical conduct of research, and additional codes of ethics as appropriate to a rural context;
- Use reflection and self-regulation to manage personal values and maintain professionalism in rural practice situations;
- Demonstrate professional behavior; appearance; and oral, written and electronic
communication both in rural communities and in practice settings; - Use technology ethically and appropriately to facilitate advanced practice outcomes in rural settings;
- Use supervision and consultation to guide judgement and behavior;
- Actively participate in professional social work associations/organizations;
- Design and manage effective self-care strategies to reduce the likelihood of compassion fatigue and burnout.
Competency #1 In Practice
As a social worker, I want to serve my clients ethically. Therefore I will stay current on relevant laws and regulations and use resources such as models of decision making and utilize supervision and NASW code of Ethics to resolve ethical dilemmas in my social work practice. In order to practice with integrity I will maintain a commitment to self-care as my practice and self-care plan evolve together.
1.1 Develop a practice framework for analysis of complex environments, that is ethical, value-grounded and evidenced based
Evidence: In this script from my advanced clinical practice class we ethically addressed a variety of situations a they arise in a group therapy setting through the dialogue of the facilitator. This is a complex environment because each group member has their own perspective and issues that bother them and that they would like to discuss. By ethical addressing their concerns from a value-grounded facilitator perspective we demonstrated a practice framework for a group therapy setting.
1.2 Implement supervisory and self-care strategies that integrate professional strengths, limitations, and challenges
Evidence: I implemented a supervisory and self-care strategy through my self-care plan that addressed my challenges and integrated my strengths. A challenge I have in my internship is being assertive in taking up group time to discuss my cases as there is often a time constraint due to the number of cases. By regularly attending these group meetings my assertiveness increased as I grew familiar with my colleagues and supervisors. With frontline social work there is often pressure to take on more work to meet the demand. Initially I said yes to everything I was asked to do and as time went on I realized that was unsustainable and set some boundaries to maintain my competence. Not working on paperwork for my internship after 11pm and capping my caseload helped me maintain personal and professional balance during my internship. A strength of mine is I love to learn and spend a lot of time driving in the car. I turned this into an opportunity for professional growth by selecting audiobooks that are relevant to myself and the kids I work with. I completed all three of the books listed in my self-care plan and enjoyed them immensely. All together these strategies not only helped me take care of myself but helped me take care of my clients as I fostered the knowledge and emotional energy to serve them better.
1.3 Exhibit commitment to professional growth through continuing education, supervision, and ongoing consultation
Evidence: Throughout my internship at Youth Villages, I have exhibited commitment to professional growth through attending weekly group supervision and consultation meetings, monthly staff meetings and East Tennessee intern meetings, introductory training and refresher trainings in person and online. These meetings provide opportunities to get feedback on cases I am working, feedback that significantly impacts treatment direction. These meetings also give us as staff a chance to network, connect, debrief, and experience for ourselves the importance of human relationships in the work that we do. I have also completed a total of 65+ credit hours of training at Youth Villages, not including 10+ hours of shadowing experience. Integrated into this training are sections on ethics, ethical methods of de-escalation, handling fraud and abuse, and our values as a non-profit. This training not only increased my competence as a family intervention specialist but also my integrity as a social worker by placing ethics at the forefront of what we do.
1.4 Demonstrate professional oral and written communication skills
Evidence: In this Court Letter I demonstrate professional communication skills while advocating for a client I work with in the legal system. This client’s services were funded through the court system and it is important to maintain a good relationship with the court for the benefit of my client’s case and for the future funding of Youth Villages’s cases in Hamilton County Court. She was going for a court review for truancy and by effectively communicating to the court that we were actively targeting her depression which had been driving her truancy, we made sure the court knew of the progress the youth had made and the areas she still needed help, academic performance. Keeping the court accurately updated on her progress smoothed the court review, and relieved the youth’s anxiety about the court case. This is one example of many emails and letters that demonstrate my commitment to competence in communicating with and on behalf of my clients.