Bshs 355 - Real Life Human Services Work

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As a social worker, dealing with end-of-life care includes dealing with clients, family, caregivers, and any other professionals that are involved. A difficult process to witness is a resident who still recognizes loves ones and know he/she is not at home and family members are trying to leave. (Burger, 2014, "The Human Services Worker"). It is a painful process to watch because the resident is expressing different emotions such as crying and screaming and calls out to the family to him or her home. The saddest part is when a resident passes away and how frequent it happens. When a resident dies issues of bereavement and grief must be dealt with. Sometimes the death may be gradual and expected and other times it happens unexpectedly. (Burger, 2014, "The Human Services Worker"). There are residents who present themselves who do not have family and applying for guardianship may be necessary. As a social worker there must be knowledge in working with economic, ethnic, and cultural diversity. There may be challenges with ethical dilemmas, conflicts in values, and questions about religions and the meaning of life. When a social worker has a resident who is at their end-of-life, various roles are taken; clinicians, educators, researchers, advocates, and community leaders. ("National Association Of Social Workers", 2017).

Conclusion

Francine Licata’s compassion for the patients and their families are outstanding. She has proven to do whatever is necessary to help the patients especially those with the most problems with no family members around to help look out for their well-being. No matter how often a social worker may encounter death, the experience can never be easy to discuss and plan with the people involved. Even though this barrier is inevitable to resist, the characteristic of a skilled professional that she presents, and the elements she uses to apply her skills, and the functions she experiences as a social worker demonstrate the genuineness in her abilities to help people.

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References

Burger, W. R. (2014). Human services in contemporary America (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning.

National Association of Social Workers. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.socialworkers.org/practice/bereavement/standards/101503.asp?back=yes