Last day! (Heh I'm nv the type to cry on the last day)

Woohoo! Last day! Feels like a long-short journey. No la, actually it's a very short one. 10 weeks for a beginner like me is pretty nice.

One big slap in the face is when I learnt I'm bound by context (experiencing it is different from knowing it). Bound by political context and agency policy. Hmm.. what do social workers do when clients fall through the service gaps?

I also learnt I need to be a thinking worker. A very reflective one. Easier said than done. Heh, that's why people like FT are an asset to the profession.

Oh well, it's the holidays now! And I'm happy to be involved in the research project that the department is conducting. It's another aspect of social work that I get to experience.

It's another beginning - now I can go back to lectures and tutorials armed with some glimpses of what the field looks and feels like.

Yes, I'll develop more survival instinct along the way. And hopefully not be conditioned to think passively.

What worked:
- knowing theories at your fingertips which I haven't mastered yet
- staying with the client
- empathic listening
- talking about roles
- reflecting feelings
- PADI
- systems perspective
- quality supervision
- 1:1 ratio of student to supervisor
- field seminars
- having a group of friends whom I could discuss social work with

Field Seminar #4

Today's seminar is the last.

What we discussed...
Talked about closure with regard to clients, colleagues, agency and self.

Clients... do we greet them on the streets if we see them in future?

Colleagues... do we keep in touch? Networking purpose? Future job opportunities? But what if they know too much of out shortcomings?

Agency... What about the agency did we bring away with us? What do we not want to bring away with us?

Self... what's next? Should we practice after we graduate? If so, which field? What about burn-out? Who advocates for SWers?

Then we talked about what we envisage the profession to be.. what we hope Social Work in Sg could be like..

- SW as a recognized profession
- Higher pay.. why is it what even within the same profession, the pay scale is different. MSWs are paid more than social workers working in VWOs. Is the value of work that workers in VWOs do worth less than that of MSWs?
- SWers working with oppressed, less-reached groups like prostitutes and foreign workers

(to be continued).

Hmm on the case with the mum and 2 kids.. she talked down on them so much that I was so shocked and irritated. How could a mum pour out so many negative comments about her children to a stranger, and in front of them? But then, what does it say about her? Probably so stressed and frustrated at the same time. Expectations might be unrealistic too.

I was so lost till Lyd called in to tell me to ask her to stop and give her children a chance to talk as well.

Then I read one of my previous entries.. Didn't I already blog a learning point that when such things happen, I should affirm, take charge and move on? Darn. Learn and remember what goes in!

WELL DONE, Ai Ling! You completed all your work by Fri. It was a bit grueling at times to sit still and get work done. Ya FL said I looked very serious. Realised I can be quite restless and I can't sit properly.. like you know, sit up straight and keep two feet on the ground kind. Heh, I make myself feel at home in the office - is that good or bad.

One interesting thought..
I remember Dr Sim mention that social workers in Singapore are passive and don't do outreach actively enough, compared to HK social workers of course. I don't know what the SW scene in HK is like so I can't imagine what exactly he means. But a case in point is what FL shared. FL shared some of her experience in her previous agency.. something that goes along the line of "if I have to go and 'beg' clients to be on a programme, where does their self-determination come in?"

What is the difference between active outreach and 'begging' clients to be on a programme? The line is fine. Then again, maybe not.