Social worker in a facility for seniors

Social worker in the house for seniors The International Federation of Social Workers established the conditions for the performance of the profession of social work, among which it included:

• the social worker has completed at least a 3-year post-secondary education in the field of social work (in our conditions – a bachelor's degree in social work) or has also completed a master's degree in the field of social work (2 years);
• is interested in lifelong learning;
• has reached the minimum age of 21 years required to start practice;
• meets the personality requirements imposed on him, such as moral integrity, confidentiality, trustworthiness, etc.;
• possesses the required level of general and professional specialized knowledge, social skills. (Levická, 2004)

A social worker helps to improve the life functionality of an individual, group, community by contributing to the mobilization of resources that are necessary for such a solution. The social worker's activity contributes to this:

• to improve social relations in the social environment of the socially disadvantaged,
• encourages the individual to have the right attitudes towards life and a socially appropriate way of behaving,
• teaches individuals to develop and improve their ability to solve problems,
• educates individuals to feel responsible for their own social situation. (Social counseling, 1998)

Personality of a social worker

The personality of a social worker naturally presents itself as an ideal type of individual who possesses the necessary professional knowledge and positive qualities, which must not lack humanity, the ability to work in a team, the ability to self-instrumentalize, initiative and dynamism, moral integrity, social feeling. Ideas about what a social worker's personality should be are also contained in the Social Worker's Code of Ethics, which includes the following requirements:

• justice,
• responsibility,
• credibility,
• moral integrity,
• politeness,
• respect and decency,
• respect for privacy, etc.

One of the basic characteristics of a social worker is humanity, which means that: 1. a social worker is interested in people, their individual fates and problems, 2. the social worker wants to help, 3. has respect for life. (Levická, Mrázová 2004)

The personality should not lack initiative and dynamism. Recently, social work has focused on preventive activities, which include the search for clients, that is, people who need the help of a social worker. Without initiative, a social worker would not be able to work in the field of prevention and would also not be looking for new methodological procedures in their specific practical activities. Thus, dynamism and initiative are qualities that help a social worker to look for new ways to solve client problems.

The fundamental requirements placed on a social worker certainly include the requirement of his moral credit. Social action, social feeling or social orientation are three different aspects of one fact, which is the social worker's orientation towards the problems of others.

However, social feeling is by no means compassion. Empathic understanding of the situation in which the client found himself allows the social worker to choose not only the optimal form of communication with the client, but also the optimal level of assistance. The social worker must remember the fact that if help is to be effective, then it must be:

• timely, addressable,
• must reflect the client's individual needs,
• must reflect the optimal level of assistance.

Part of the personal equipment of a social worker should also include principles and moral integrity, it is based on the assumption that the social worker accepts the general principles imposed on this profession, such as the principle of client equality, the principle of social solidarity, the requirement of discretion, etc.

The requirement for a sense of humor and life optimism is of special importance for practice. Optimism in life means that the social worker, despite the realistic perception of the situation, has enough faith in the client's potential, in his possibility of positive change. When we mention life's optimism and sense of humor, we in no way mean belittling the client's situation or ridiculing him. A sense of humor should help a social worker manage the daily routine. A social worker should be able to use this quality towards himself. A quality such as a sense of humor is supposed to help overcome life and work problems, maintain a good mood and believe that even the most difficult problems can be solved. (Levická, 2004)

Language of the social worker. Language as the main means of communication between the social worker and the client should be understandable. When choosing language resources, the social worker should take into account the level of the client's language culture. A social worker cannot show his professionalism by using foreign words, thereby creating obstacles in the relationship between him and the client. His expression must be substantive, clear and adapted to the client's condition. Correct articulation is also important.

The ability to work in a team. This quality should also be part of the equipment of a social worker. He will constantly work with people who are focused on joint work, i.e. the social worker will cooperate with productive members of the group who contribute maximally to the realization of the goal.

Among the professional competences we could include: The ability to instrumentalize, i.e. the ability to use oneself as a working tool - the instrument assumes that one will dispose of one's knowledge, properties, abilities and skills in such a way as to use them for the benefit of the client. A social worker is required to be involved in clients' problems, a wide range of personal experiences, flexibility, openness in expressing feelings, attitudes, the ability to have an overview of the problem, etc. However, personal involvement must be under control, which requires the so-called cognitive self-distance, which means that the social worker reflects his own feelings, thinking and, of course, actions and does not allow himself to be influenced by the so-called emotional contagion.

Other requirements regarding the self-instrumentation of the social worker include:

• the ability to show understanding, motivate, encourage or praise not only strangers, but also persons he clearly does not like,
• the ability to tolerate even actions that he himself would never accept.

Knowing how to initiate a client to cooperate is also a professional competence. The prerequisite for the development of this competence is that the social worker is able to orient himself in the problem and is able to plan the necessary solutions.

An essential competence is to support the client and lead him to independence. Here, the social worker helps the client take responsibility for his own life, teaches him to control his own actions, eliminate behavior leading to conflicts and leads him to realize his own rights. For this, the social worker uses all the opportunities available to the client, strives to develop his abilities and strengthens the client's belief in his own abilities.

Another required skill is to communicate and cooperate. The meaning of communication in the work of a social worker is given by the need for continuous interaction with clients, colleagues, or other professionals. One of the basic requirements for the performance of this profession is knowledge of the verbal and non-verbal side of communication. During the social worker's communication with the client, the social worker is expected to handle:

• an empathic approach,
• the ability to communicate in the client's language level,
• assertive behavior,
• the ability to unbiased, objective evaluation of information, etc.

A social worker should have the ability to develop effective communication, and its prerequisite is that the social worker knows how to "listen" and create the conditions necessary for the emergence of open communication at all levels.

In order to achieve professionally competent action, it is good to master the tools, that is, the methods and techniques of social work, in this context we are talking about the tool competence of a social worker.

If we say that a social worker acquires reflexive competence, he learns to capture and understand the client's thinking process and emotional state. "Reflective competence is based on the ability not to lose and not to deny development in its basic features, but to integrate it into one's professional equipment." (Levická, 2004, p. 59) The social worker tries to analyze which action acted as an obstacle and, conversely, which action contributed to solving the situation and why.

Social competence is the ability to understand the origin and development of certain social situations in their integrative connection with a certain historical development of society and to be able to find those facts that in the present reality cause the emergence of individual problems of clients. The acquisition of social competence is impossible without experiential reflection, it is due to the fact that professional action is dependent on the conditions created for it by society.

An active orientation towards one's own professional growth is the basis for achieving and maintaining competence. A social worker is aware of the dynamics of the development of social work, its changes as well as the changes of clients, therefore he is able to manage his professional and personal growth. He also uses consultations with colleagues to handle problematic situations professionally and on time. It is also important for a social worker to improve his own professional competences through self-study. A suitable control mechanism must also be part of its study.

Activity of a social worker in a facility for seniors

When determining the activities of a social worker, which he performs in a facility for seniors, we will be based on practice.

The social worker is in daily contact with residents, provides them with information, advice, and helps them overcome various difficult situations in which they find themselves. Even before the citizen enters the facility, he obtains and processes information about his social situation, health problems, family circumstances and together with the citizen tries to find the best possible solution to his situation. If placement in a facility for seniors is the most suitable alternative, the social worker continues to continuously collect data about the resident and, in cooperation with other employees, creates the most ideal program and activities for him, sets an individual plan for the development of his personality. Social work is especially important during the period of adaptation, when the resident gets used to the new environment, new people, then it is helped to overcome the feeling of being excluded from active life, the feeling of being unnecessary, of losing the meaning of life. At the same time, the social worker helps residents in solving their daily problems, maintains their contacts with family and the external environment.

According to Pavlovičová (2008), communication within the work with the client is only one dimension, albeit a very important one. In addition to communication, it also includes interaction and perception. Interaction is mutual action, organizing a joint activity, working together, cooperation, or mutual help or willingness to help. Perception, in turn, includes mutual perception, recognition and understanding of the participants in the relationship. The richer the knowledge of oneself, the richer the knowledge of others and vice versa. Social worker:

• participates in the decision-making process in the facility, in the process of accepting citizens,
• performs social screening in the home environment of the applicant for placement in a facility for seniors,
• processes the social agenda, records, reports, social anamnesis, directives,
• participates in organizing cultural and social events for residents.

The work of a social worker is focused on how to provide quality care for a person in all aspects, on the development of personality, needs and values ​​for people who live in this facility. The job description consists of:

• creation of sociotherapeutic groups, with the aim of creating a positive mood, sitting together with a book, mutual group communication and the like,
• activation of residents for joint walks,
• relaxation exercises (limb exercises that can be done while sitting,
• breathing exercises and others),
• joint conversation on current topics,
• activation of residents for various hobbies they had in the natural environment (embroidery, knitting, social preparation for holidays, life anniversaries),
• monitoring and recommendations of residents for individual analysis (spiritual conversation),
• diverting attention from melancholy and skepticism (social and sports games, trivia competitions, riddles, dance parties).

A social worker constantly improves his professional competence. He is interested in making the residents' environment more pleasant by appropriately decorating their social spaces, makes purchases, accompanies residents to professional medical examinations.

The social worker also performs individual and group work with residents. Individual work with residents is based on an individual approach to work with each resident. Through social diagnosis and rediagnosis, the social worker determines the individual abilities, possibilities, needs and interests of each resident and, based on this information, establishes an individual plan for the development of the resident's personality. He always takes into account his state of health, social and intellectual capabilities. Its goal is to support the physical and mental condition of each resident to the greatest extent possible, to involve them in various activities and activities, to maintain their contact with the social environment.

Group work with residents maintains their mutual cohesion, supports the ability of cooperation, mutual communication and tolerance of differences. At the same time, it develops their creative thinking and meaningfully fills their free time. Residents have the opportunity to attend group meetings, where topics of their own choice and interest are discussed together, current problems are discussed and solutions are found together.

Author: PhDr. Vojtech Ružička, PhD. List of bibliographic references

[1] PAVLOVIČOVÁ, A. 2008. Social communication in health care. In: Selected chapters from medical ethics. Martin: Osveta, 2008. ISBN 978-80-8063-287-8. [2] LEVICKÁ, J. 2004. Basics of social work. Trnava: Váry Printing Studio, 2004. 172 p. ISBN 80-968952-3-0. [3] LEVICKÁ, J. – MRÁZOVÁ, A. 2004. Introduction to social work. Trnava: Slovak Academic Press, 2004. 124 p. ISBN 80-89104-35-5.

The lecture was given at the international scientific conference Applied ethics in social work and other helping professions, which took place on October 20-21, 2010, in Piešťany and was published in the proceedings of this conference: MÁTEL, A. – SCHAVEL, M. – MÜHLPACHR, P. – ROMAN, T. 2010. Applied ethics in social work and other helping professions. Proceedings of the international scientific conference. Bratislava : VŠZaSP St. Elizabeth. 413 p. ISBN 978-80-89271-89-4.