The Role of a Clinical Social Worker in a Changing Society

This paper reviews the anomaly that seems currently to exist within the profession of social work — on the one hand a denigration of the value and utility of individualized services, and on the other, the increased anonymity of life in today's technological society. It is suggested that the need for individualized services will continue to exist regardless of institutional change and that clinical social work will remain an essential and specialized part of the social work profession. It is postulated that if the clinicians look elsewhere for education and recognition this will be a loss for social work.     

Stress in Social Services: Mental Wellbeing, Constraints and Job Satisfaction

Correspondence to Margaret Coffey, Liverpool Hope University College, Room AEW 098, Hope Park, Liverpool L16 9JD, UK. E-mail: coffeym{at}hope.ac.uk Summary The public sector is facing an impending shortage of staff,because young people no longer want to work in it and nearlya third of its workforce is over 50 years of age. Staff workingwithin the public sector report that stress is the biggest singlefactor affecting their decision to leave. This research notereports the findings of a recent study carried out in two socialservice departments in the north-west of England. The primaryaim of the research was to explore work-related stress, usinga ‘problem diagnosis tool’ to understand the stressorsexperienced by social services staff, and to inform the developmentof interventions aimed at reducing and/or eliminating them.This study used in-depth interviewing to develop a questionnaireincorporating a variety of measures to assess potential stressorsand mental well-being. The questionnaire response rate was 33per cent (n = 1234) and the results demonstrated statisticallysignificant differences between staffing grades. Staff workingwith children and families reported the highest levels of absenteeism,poorest well-being, and highest level of organizational constraints.Job satisfaction was low compared with established norms forvarious occupational groups. This grounded research baselineis a crucial step to inform specifically designed and targetedinterventions, which can be effectively evaluated from thisbaseline position.     

Reports of childhood sexual abuse by adolescents and young adults: stability over time

The consistency of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) reporting was explored in this study. Two-hundred seventeen adolescents and young adults (ages 14-24) enrolled in urban health care clinics completed self-report questionnaires assessing CSA and other problem behaviors at enrollment and at 7 months. Results indicated that the stability of CSA self-report at two time points was poor (58% consistent nonreporters of CSA, 20% consistent reporters, 22% inconsistent reporters). Consistent and inconsistent reporters were differentiated on risk measures. Adolescents who endorsed more items from the CSA scale were five times more likely to be consistent reporters. In sum, adolescent CSA reporting was quite inconsistent over time. Using multi-item scales and assessing CSA at two time points enhances accuracy of reporting.     

Identity processes and the positive youth development of African Americans: an explanatory framework

This chapter presents Spencer's phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory, or PVEST (1995), as a conceptual framework for examining positive youth development. Contextual factors affecting racial and gender identity of African American youth are discussed, with the focus on the influence of schools and religious institutions.     

The Four S Model in action for de-escalation. An innovative state hospital-university collaborative endeavor

In this article, the Four S Model is presented as a working clinical framework for generating structured nursing interventions and treatment plans. The de-escalation process, formalized by the De-escalation/Alternative to Restraint Flowsheet, is one way in which the model is being operationalized to reduce seclusion and restraints. As shown by the flowsheet, the model allows for integration of mental health and mental illness. It spans the scope of nursing practice at all levels, from para-professional to advanced practice nurse, by integrating the mental health concepts of communication, leadership, clinical judgement, critical thinking, and caring within its framework. Most important, the flexibility to individualize treatment that is built into the model allows for generalization to all psychiatric presentations.     

Continuing Competence and Relicensure

Abstract

The purpose of licensing laws is to provide assurance of high quality service and to protect the public from incompetent practitioners. Safeguarding entrance to the professions by licensing examinations is one part of this responsibility which is entrusted to the professional boards. Assuring the continuing competence of practicing professionals is another part and a major challenge to every board of nursing throughout the United States.

A 1979 mail survey identified 18 states which have specific continuing education requirements for relicensure of nurses. In addition, three states have standards of practice incorporated in the rules and regulations governing the nursing profession.

Mandatory continuing education is a first step in the implementation of a system to assure the public of the continuing competency for practice of the professional nurse. It is acknowledgement, with the force of law, that continuous renewal of knowledge is a necessary condition for assuring competence. However, it is not sufficient in itself. Knowledge must be integrated in performance, which is the final test of competency. Thus, other system components that assure continuing competency must be developed and implemented. These include the identification of standards of acceptable performance, and the development and implementation of measures to evaluate practicing professionals and assure that they meet the performance standards. These measures include peer review, self-assessment, and recertification procedures. Successful implementation of a complete effective system will require the collaborative efforts of practicing nurses, their professional organizations, and the state boards of nursing.     

Are they lonely at the top? Social relationships and social support among Australian managers

This research tested the possibility that managers may be lonely at the top. A total of 572 Australian managers responded to a questionnaire-based survey. Results showed that social support was more frequently available from non-work relationships than from work relationships. The support available from work and non-work sources was also qualitatively different. Workplace relationships offered mainly distraction, whereas non-work sources also offered care, acceptance, and consolation. Within the workplace, co-workers were the primary source of support. Moreover, support for work stressors was received from within the workplace, or from a spouse or partner. However, support was seldom received from within the workplace for non-work stressors. Concerns about social relationships also contributed to most of the nominated stressful situations.     

Introduction: “There Is a Person Here”: An Interview with Judith Butler

In this interview, the coeditors, along with other contributors, ask Judith Butler a variety of questions regarding queer theory, gender identities, scientific and legal discourse, bodily abjection, race and class positioning, and political organizing. This range of subject matter suggests not only the breadth of Butler's work, but also its applicability to any number of people, whose relation to theory ranges from highly politicized to politically indifferent. The interview demonstrates the responsiveness of Butler's work to cultural translation and political action.