How to Become a Social Worker

Scenario 1:

Mr Smith has been admitted to hospital following a fall down the stairs. He is 76 years old, almost deaf, and lives on his own. His closest family live over 2 hours away, and up until now he has been coping independently, with a little help from his neighbours. The accident has affected Mr Smith’s mobility, and he needs constant support to move around and perform basic activities such as going to the toilet. He is often confused, and in pain. The hospital medical team believe that Mr Smith should be placed into a care home. His family agree with this, as they do not feel they would be able to provide Mr Smith with adequate support if he returns home. Mr Smith has expressed clearly that he does not want to go into a home, and would rather his needs were met by a home care social worker. However, he is yet to be assessed by a social worker.

Questions:

1. What are the central issues/conflicts with the case?
2. Do you think Mr Smith has the capability to make the decision?

Answers:

1. What are the central issues/conflicts with the case?

The central issue in this case is the conflict of interest between Mr Smith, his family and the nursing staff. Mr Smith believes he is well enough to return home, and receive adequate home care support from local social workers. The medical staff, and Mr Smith’s family, believe that he should be placed into a care home. The issue that must be determined is whether Mr Smith has the mental capacity to make this decision on his own. If it is determined that he does not have the capacity, then the decision will be taken out of his hands.

2. Do you think Mr Smith has the capability to make the decision?

There are two sides to this argument. Based purely on the above information, we are given little indication of Mr Smith’s mental wellbeing, other than the sentence that reads, ‘He is often confused’. Whilst he is clearly in great physical pain, and cannot hear, this does not mean that he is not mentally able to make decisions for himself. The fact that he has expressed himself clearly on the issue of his housing, indicates that he is indeed thinking logically in some respect. Therefore, based on the above passage, and no other given information, we should lean towards giving Mr Smith the benefit of the doubt. The assessment by the social worker will be key to determining whether he is able to make the decision.

Scenario 2:

You are a social worker for a child named George. George is 14 years of age. One night, you get a phone call from the care home where George lives. He was seen drinking alcohol with a group of boys at the local park, and was brought back home by the police at 11pm. George is often missing from school, particularly during test days. He gets extremely agitated, and responds to teachers and care staff rudely. Both his school and care home have attempted varying degrees of reward and punishment, but nothing has worked. George is currently in his 6th home care placement.

Questions:

1. What are the central issues/conflicts with the case?
2. How would you approach George and engage with him?

Answers:

1. What are the central issues/conflicts with the case?

The central issue in this case is that the individual in question is extremely uncooperative. Furthermore, he is a child, and therefore is largely unaware that his behaviour is both unacceptable, and damaging to himself. We need to find a way to show George the value of education, and the value of working with others. If George can identify how his behaviour is putting his future at risk, then he might be able to change his attitude.

2. How would you approach George and engage with him?

To answer this, use the information we provided you with prior to the sample exercises. You can either take a ‘firm but fair’ approach to George, or a more relaxed, reassuring approach. Let’s assume in this example, you visit the care home personally. Following this, you have a one-to-one sit down with George. Think about what kind of issues you need to raise, what needs to be identified and how you would persuade George to give your ideas a try. Remember that George may be unresponsive, or unwilling to cooperate. Therefore it is your job to get the information out of him.

Scenario 3:

Susan is 13 years old, and has recently been placed with a new foster family. You are her new social worker, meeting her for the first time. Susan refuses to talk with her foster family. She had been living with her biological father, however he recently passed away. There were no other family members available to provide care for her. Since being fostered, Susan has had to move, start a new school, attend her father’s funeral, and say goodbye to her friends.

Questions:

1. What are the central issues/conflicts with this case?
2. Since you are meeting Susan for the first time, what approach would you take with her?

Answers:

1. What are the central issues/conflicts with this case?

The central issue in this case is that Susan has recently undergone many huge changes in her life in a short space of time. Since she is only 13 years old, this has been difficult for her to process. She is not speaking to her foster family and appears to have closed herself off.

2. Since you are meeting Susan for the first time, what approach would you take with her?

As this is the first meeting, and we are dealing with a child who is in a particularly sensitive frame of mind, the best approach to take would be one that is soft and reassuring. In order to establish a future relationship with Susan, you need to introduce yourself as someone that she feels she can come to for advice and help. The more comfortable she feels in your presence, the more likely she is to open up to you. You should try to gain as much information as possible prior to the meeting, so that when it comes to asking questions, it does not feel as if you are interrogating her.