I Would Think We'd Be Higher

Number 9!!

Source: amandaonwriting.tumblr.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Social Workers Tweet

What Social Workers Are Talking About On Twitter This Week

Oh coffee fairy where are you......
— social worker mom (@morncuppacoffee) February 1, 2013

Just spent 2 hours cleaning out a hoarders room. Not even close to looking clean yet. #phew #socialwork 😳😤
— Melissa Sloan (@Mel_Sloan) February 2, 2013

This frontline social work is bloody hard work. Bed time. Hopefully all recovered for birthday bash tomorrow.
— Jess (@Mr_Boddy) February 1, 2013

I think social workers should follow PR people/firms. I learn so much from them about how our profession connects with people. Blog soon.
— Andrew Ellery (@Andrew_Ellery) January 27, 2013

When I started the #socialwork degree I said I'd do anything except child protection. Now I couldn't imagine doing anything else.
— KGH (@KieranGH) January 26, 2013

101 Greatest Websites for Social Workers - bit.ly/Wlwpjc via swhelpercom #SWUnited #socialwork twitter.com/swhelpercom/st…
— Socialworkhelper.com (@swhelpercom) January 25, 2013

Sometimes you have to FIGHT for SOCIAL WORK!
— Aidan Worsley (@AidanWorsley) January 25, 2013

I am drowning in a sea of things that "will only take a second." #socialworkproblems
— Kelly Ked Dixon (@kedastrophe) January 24, 2013

Social Work Digest

This week's news and announcements in the world of social work.

• "We're getting back to good old-fashioned social work". Department of Human Service social workers in Michigan moving into elementary and high schools.
• New Jersey social service workers unhappy as case loads increase but staffing levels remain stagnant. 
• Over 3,000 front line social service workers in British Columbia walk off their jobs in effort to receive higher wages.  “We do realize this is a fight we’re having with the government,” says social services bargaining committee chairperson.
• Finally! Someone explains "what is social work". Spoiler alert: Not all social workers work in schools or for child protection agencies.
• I like this U.K.  model for attracting and retaining social workers.  Adequate supports and ongoing opportunities for advancement and trainings are key.
• Need for social workers growing; Northwest Nazarene University in Idaho planning to offer new social work program. 
  

  Jan Roeser, regional economist for the Idaho Department of Labor, said careers related to social work and two other degree programs NNU plans to offer in Twin Falls are projected to show a lot of growth.  The number of new jobs is expected to increase by 20 to 35 percent this decade. The professions also have high wages. {via Times News | MagicValley.com} 

  My note: Not  so sure about the 'high wages' part though!
  
  
   

Comfort Care: Pasta-bilities

Pasta is THE comfort food extraordinaire.  This baked ziti dish makes for a filling, cozy winter supper.  Add a glass of red wine and I'm in heaven!

More photos including the recipe for this mouth-watering piece of magnificence can be found at Gonna Want Seconds.

I Will

Its hard to believe that next month marks the 10-year anniversary of the 9-11 attacks.  911day.org is reaching out on a collective level to gather ideas and ways to honor and remember this important day in U.S. history while paying tribute to those that were lost in the attacks. The premise is to draw support to make September 11 a day of service in whatever community, capacity or collective endeavor available.  I think its a beautiful concept.

Grant Me The Serenity To Accept The Things I Cannot Change

I'm in my second month of my new position as a case manager in an eldercare facility.  There are also many changes taking place within this organization, which makes my new role a little bit harder to learn.  I know that down the road, things will click into place, but for now, it's an uphill battle as anyone who has ever been involved in a massive organizational overhaul knows that most people DESPISE change, no matter what form it takes.

I must be odd, because I kinda enjoy when things are in a state of flux.  Sure, cultivating a routine and having a sense of security are important on the job, but I seem to thrive in chaos for some strange reason.  My main issue (or gripe?) in all of this is attempting to facilitate cohesiveness in a setting where many of my colleagues and team members seem prone to getting caught up in negativity. It's easier for some, to adopt a fatalistic attitude when so much is changing around them.  Many of the other disciplines in this facility have been a part of the organization for more than 20 years and I do believe for a few folks, there is almost a secret wish for the new direction being set forth to flounder.

Yet, on the other side of the "doom and gloom" and  nay-saying, there is a lot of great potential that comes with change.   Change is never all good or all bad.  In the middle ground, there tends to be a huge amount of room for growth.  Perhaps that is why the notions of change and chaos appeal to me. I like knowing that when all is said and done, I will have been a part of an evolution of sorts.

For now though, I have to suck it up sometimes.  I try to set a good example, but it does get difficult to avoid getting pulled into some of the negativity.  There is a lot that is unknown in this early stage.  I make mistakes regularly as I attempt to feel my way around and plow through the maelstrom that has become my current work environment.   I do believe that it all will work out in the end and that I will truly hit my stride in this next chapter of my social work career.

I'll just have to do a lot of drinking between now and then. :P

Without accepting the fact that everything changes, we cannot find perfect composure.  But unfortunately, although it is true, it is difficult for us to accept it.  Because we cannot accept the truth of transience, we suffer.  ~Shunryu Suzuki

Social Work Wonder Woman

I like this idea on Nechakogal's blog asking readers to describe their social work environment via a cartoon-ish character parody.   Now, I can't really identify with the three options given in the poll:

1. Cinderella Social Worker- this is the worker who essentially is caught up in cleaning up after her wicked (and wealthy?) clients.  She pushes paper more than she actually engages the people she works with.  She's a slave to the grind and buried in her work.  Hopefully, a magical Prince will arrive and save her from her thankless tasks and buy her lots and lots of new shoes.


2. The Firefighter- this social worker is running around putting out fires all the live long day.  Ok, I can kinda relate to this one.  There certainly are some days where it feels like all I'm doing is deflecting one hit after another and getting close to nothing actually accomplished.  Everything is an urgent matter.


3. Papa Smurf-- This social worker is community-driven and approaches his or her work with idealistic compassion and seeks to unify rather than divide.  Papa is the social worker I think many of us *want* to emulate, but often get sidetracked because we're busy being firefighters and thinking about new shoes when we're buried in our paperwork.  (How's that for a nice tie-in?) :D

So, I participated in the poll but naturally, had to choose the "other" option.  When it comes down to it,  none of the above truly embody what it is I do or who I sometimes feel like in my practice.   I definitely can see a little of the firefighter tendency in me as a social worker, but it's not a consistent feeling.   The cartoon/fictional character I believe best embodies the social worker I am and the environment I exist within is.....



You got it.

I'm Wonder Woman.

I'm not trying to be cocky or silly, but after truly thinking about this (and consulting the google gods for a little Super Hero back-story research), I think Wonder Woman is a near perfect fit to describe my Social Work Persona and the general themes that develop in my work.   Per Wikipedia:

Wonder Woman is an Amazon (based on the Amazons of Greek mythology) and was created by Marston as a "distinctly feminist role model whose mission was to bring the Amazon ideals of love, peace, and sexual equality to a world torn by the hatred of men.'" Her powers include super-speed, super-stamina, super-agility. She is highly proficient in hand-to-hand combat and in the art of tactical warfare. She also possesses an animal-like cunning and a natural rapport with animals, which has in the past been presented as an actual ability to communicate with the animal kingdom. She uses her Lasso of Truth (which forces those bound by it to tell the truth), a pair of indestructible bracelets, and an invisible airplane.

Ok, so I am no Amazon woman and I don't wear corsets and thigh high red boots to work.  I also don't have one of those newfangled invisible airplanes, (however, my salary review is coming up) but, I dig the "feminist role model" and super-speed/super stamina powers.  Hell, I'm a damn speedy and efficient social worker!  I can get a lot accomplished and still be a client advocate.  Those traits definitely represent me on a lot of levels.  And I have this uncanny ability which warrants people (clients and non-clients)  to divulge their life secrets and on occasion, I hear some pretty heavy confessions.  It's as though I have a symbolic Lasso Of Truth force that emanates from me.  I kid you not.  Also, I have the ability to communicate with my cats.  We talk to each other all the time.

So there it is.  I am Wonder Woman, Social Worker.  Hear me roar!