Reflective Journal On Principles And Stages Of Case Management Assessment 2 Answer

The community service involves intriguing aspects of human lifestyle which supports me in contemplating on various elements to enhance my communication skills, learn the techniques to be involved in counselling and case management and develop strategies to uplift the communities. The principles of case management helped me to develop my understanding of its profound meaning and definition. We, as social workers support our clients with relevant intervention endorsing to maintain a dignified lifestyle by them whenever they feel confined in complicated circumstances (Goldingay et al. 2020). We as case management learners learn how to empower the clients which restore their level of confidence and build a strong bond of trust, faith, and collaborative relationship facilitating physical, psychological, and cognitive growth in the communities. The day I achieve the position of a case manager, I would like to engage myself in performing multiple roles and functions, with both ethical considerations and critical decision-making skills. 

The guiding principles of case management continuously support us in building strong networking skills which guide to enhance multiple functions for assisting clients and create a strong base for us to be recommended by them to their peers, relatives, friends and families in supporting diverse issues that emerge in a community. We gain knowledge of cultural competence that enables us to be adaptive, flexible, and respecting towards different cultures growing and co-existing harmoniously in our communities (Maidment & Bay, 20200.  We, as case managers or social workers, are entitled to promote and assure client safety through ethical practices and maintaining the code of conduct. We have the responsibilities to comply with the state rules and regulations in promoting better quality outcomes through our services while assisting the clients with healthcare, lifestyle or any other issue. 

We as learners get the scope to understand the significance of in institutional bodies that upheld the human rights and code of conduct and practice for us to enhance our roles and responsibilities while advocating on our professional development. Some of the well-known social and community service professional bodies are represented by the Australian Community Workers Association (ACWA), Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW), Australian Services Union (ASU), Case Management Society of Australia (CMSA), and Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and Other Drugs (APSAD) (Campaign, 2020). These institutions are instrumental in protecting the rights of the clients though Privacy Act 1988, the confidentiality of the services provided to the clients (Queensland Council of Social Services, 2007), and being accountable to the services offered to the clients.  

The practical scenarios of case studies are presented in our curriculum, which supports us to gain profound knowledge and enhance our level of analytical skills on the cases represented through them. I have been opportune to develop my micro-skills like actively listening to the case study and analyze the issue, summarize the case study, respond to the queries with empathy as raised in our classroom setting, and provide a relevant closure after questioning. I have been able to decipher the phases that comprise of engagement through the planning of the case study, intervention technique, monitoring the situation, either use termination or referral as the cases may be and advocacy for our clients while documenting the case study details with an interview process simulation (Karpetis, 2020). We have learnt through our course that how the clients need to be informed on their rights, cost of fees, privacy and confidentiality to their cases, eligibility of requiring service, and accessing the records. It is also mandatory to seek informed consent from the client before the intervention process initiates in our services. 

The assessment part of the case management is sequentially arranged, which while practising in the classroom setting becomes convenient to understand the intricacy of the rational on service requirements by the clients. The sequence of organizing information of the clients like the impact of people including family, friends, or community, interpretation of the information, identification of the strength and weakness of the clients, development of goals and objectives to be attained and selecting relevant strategies to approach towards the set goals become quite intriguing (Raišienė et al. 2019). The entire process requires critical thinking and problem-solving attitudes. The dimensions of the services are embedded within the internal and external factors that comprise of the mind, body, spirit, environment, social and economic factors that have to be considered while delivering effective services to the community. The assessment becomes comfortable and practical when we are provided with the scope to enhance our practices through role-play in the classroom to make the learning for effectual and impactful. 

As social workers, the dimension of our services have set boundaries or focus areas which comprise of the children issues, cultural issues, personal safety planning, housing and accommodation-related issues, health and well-being and anything related to financial and legal aspects in the society. There are specific tools like Genogram, eco-mapping tools and risk assessment tools which emerge conveniently while solving the case studies (Cattani et al. 2020). The other significant aspect of case management, which I believe serves as one of the essential tools is effective communication, either verbal or non-verbal with the staff and the clients that enrich our service outcomes. We also get challenges in our communication method that can emerge from a stereotypical mindset, interference, the ambiguity of information, lack of knowledge on diverse cultures and prejudice or biased thoughts. These challenges in communication need to be addressed and overcome while working as a social worker since they may turn as obstacles if not refined from the initial stages of their occurrence. 

The academic journey has been favourable as well as challenging to understand the diversity of issues that appear in case management. We need to be conscious while applying any intervention since they all differ from the case to case. We need to be careful about the vulnerability of the clients and assess their situations. For instance, a drug abused client will require a different approach than a client who has faced child-abusing since childhood (Mulvale et al. 2019). We need to understand the anti-oppressive practice, which helps in empowering our clients and assuring them to protect their integrity through social support and interventions. The community health guidelines have to be understood thoroughly so that we can apply them as and when required. 

The diverse community and more varied cases present us with challenging situations where we have to deal with patients with demanding clients. It is highly expected from us that we show empathy and gain their trust to resolve their issues through different approaches. We also need to equip us through constant learning of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) which makes our intervention application easy to be comprehended by the clients. The technology helps us to remain aware of our practices where we must not discriminate any client and maintain distributive justice while following our professional responsibilities and improved standard of practices (Chopra et al. 2020). I perceive that professional boundaries must be continuously monitored and reflected upon by us to remember how we need to perform and promote a positive model of service to the community. Self-reflection model is highly essential to evaluate self strength and weakness as those aspects render us with specific information on where we have to improve and where we have to refine our services. I believe that community service is both challenging and intriguing at the same time that supports our personal and professional development over time.