Competency or Incompetency
Liam bumped into a client on their night off at a bar and bought them several beers to drink together.
Is Liam acting competently or incompetently?
Incompetent.
- Is opening the door to a dual relationship
- Social workers cannot initially acknowledge clients outside of their practice or agency; nonetheless, they purchase alcohol for clients.
The ability of an individual to do a job properly
Competence
- According to this principle people we are serving must be able to trust that we are qualified to care for them
- Involves a combination of practical/ theoretical knowledge, cognitive skills, behaviors, and values required to perform social work duties effectively.
(Strom)
An administrative/ educational process is used to help clinicians further develop and refine their skills, ensure the quality of care delivered to clients, increase clinicians' self-awareness, or better understand clinical philosophy or agency policy (Strom).
Supervision.
A system of moral standards or principles that direct a person's or group's behaviors (Strom).
Ethics.
Robert Politely declines a client's invitation to join them at their Christmas Dinner in their household.
Is Robert acting competently or incompetently?
Competent
- While a social worker is allowed to celebrate significant milestones with their clients, such as attending a client graduation, they must be cognizant of only attending public events and private or personal circumstances
A clinician whose ability to deliver care effectively has been compromised or diminished due to personal circumstances, psychological distress, substance use, or mental health issues
Impaired worker
An essential activity crucial to the development of skills/ strategies needed to maintain one's professional effectiveness (Strom).
Self-care.
Behavior showing high moral standards is a quality considered morally good or desirable in a person (Strom).
Virtue
Liu has an established relationship with a previous client who is now seeking assistance with their recently adopted baby regarding concerns about the child's development.
While Lui recognizes that she is in a position to help the client and her Husband address their concerns based on their existing relationship and cultural similarities, she also acknowledges that she has limited experience with children nor expertise in adoption.
Consequently, Lui referred her client to an organization specializing in early childhood disorders.
Is Lui acting competently or incompetently?
(Strom).
Competently.
A social worker should _____ a client to a different social worker if they feel as though they are incapable of helping their client based on their level of competency.
Refer.
Social workers are obligated to continue expanding their knowledge/ skills throughout the tenure of their social work career in order to think through clinical and ethical dilemmas and to keep abreast of changes in the field
Continuing education.
A belief that nothing is objectively right or wrong and that the definition of right or wrong depends on the view of a particular individual (Strom).
Ethical Relativism.
Elisha is currently working as a temporary social worker in a high school for her 1st year Social Work practicum placement.
Throughout the middle of Elisha's placement, she was assigned to a student, Blake, who is currently encountering mental health issues in addition to circumstances of verbal abuse within the household.
Due to Elisha's limited experience and lack of skills in the field, she debated referring her client to a fellow social worker in the school who specializes in trauma and mental health. However, Elisha ultimately decided to take on the case by herself as a challenge and to see what she was made of.
Is Elisha acting competently or incompetently?
Incompetent.
- Elisha's recognition of her limited skill base and lack of experience in the field, especially in her 1st-year practicum placement, was an example of acting competently due to employing self-awareness.
However, Elisha's decision to still pursue Blakes's case, knowing that he requires the specialized experience, knowledge, and skills needed to adequately address his issues, went against competent practices and the ability to practice self-regulation.
A problem-solving process specific to a particular goal or situation, unlike supervision which is more ongoing and broadly focused (Strom).
Consultation.
_____, experience, and skills necessary to address clients needs (Strom).
Knowledge.
An action is right if it is for the benefit of the greatest number (Strom).
Utilitarianism
Janice is a social worker at a Junior high-School
She has been assigned to a client, Jacob, who is currently being bullied by his fellow students in his grade for the past week. Jacobs's experiences have impacted him both emotionally, physically, and mentally to the extent that his grades have dropped significantly, and he is reaching a point of wanting to avoid going to school altogether.
Jacobs's mother, Beth, usually attends Jacobs's sessions with him; however, on the 5th session, Beth was annoyed with how Janice was conducting the session and yelled at Janice, saying, "You are incompetent, my son is being bullied, and all your doing is writing stuff down and asking questions".
Janice felt the tension in the room and made the decision to end the session early based on Beth's reactions. She then made note of the incident to her supervisor.
Is Janice acting competent or incompetent?
Competent.
- Janice is acting competently because she made the ethical decision to end the session early due to Beth's inappropriate behavior and inability to remain supportive of Jacob during the session.
- Additionally, Janice ensured that she adhered to her agency guidelines and reported the incident to her supervisor
- It is important to remember that while Janice acted competently, her exposure to this scenario where she was called incompetent directly despite following guidelines makes her susceptible to burnout or may lead to becoming an impaired worker if the experience becomes an occurring issue for her mentally.
Approaches to prevention or treatment that are validated by some form of documented scientific evidence, including but not limited to controlled clinical studies (Strom).
Evidence-based practices
The ability to control or manage oneself without intervention from external individuals or action, including self-knowledge of when one is impaired from performing job duties effectively (Strom).
Self-regulation.
An ethics-based perspective that adheres to a universal law (Kant)
Rule-based ethics