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SOCIAL WORK AS A PROFESSION

The national Association of Social Workers (NASW, 2005) defines social work as a helping profession in which individuals, groups and/or communities are assisted by social workers to enhance or restore their capacity to function socially. NASW further notes that:

Social work practice consists of the professional application of social work values, principles, and techniques to one or more of the following ends: helping people obtain tangible services; providing counseling and psychotherapy with individuals, families, and groups; helping communities or groups provide or improve social and health services; and participating in relevant legislative processes (p. 1).

The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of social work as a profession, focusing specifically on the attributes needed to be an effective social worker and the knowledge and values dilemmas that social workers often face in their practice. The paper ends with a series of conclusions formulated on the basis of the reviewed literature.

Attributes Required For Social Work as a Profession

Ginsberg (2000) has noted that social workers practice their profession in a variety of settings. These include: family services agencies, childrenÆs aid agencies, general and psychiatric hospitals, school boards, correctional institutions, welfare administration agencies, federal and provincial departments. Further, there are increasing numbers of social work professionals in private practice. A key question that can be asked is: Precisely what attributes and characteristics are required to practice social work effectively?

With respect to the foregoing, Fookz, Ryan and Hawkins (1997) conducted a qualitative, exploratory study of 30 highly experienced social workers in an effort to identify those characteristics and attributes that made them effective professionals. The authors observed that some of the most important characteristics associated with the profession wer...

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SOCIAL WORK AS A PROFESSION. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 02:38, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1712847.html