Week 11 - Oranga Tamaki Core competencies

This week the SWRB core competencies that were observed I focused on 1, 7 and 8.

1. Competence to practice social work with Māori

7. Competence to apply critical thinking to inform and communicate professional judgements. 

8. Competence to promote empowerment of people and communities to enable positive change.

Working at the Oranga Tamariki Men's Rehabilitation Centre, I’ve had to balance my social work practice with cultural competency, social justice, and a focus on human rights, particularly when working with Māori men who are often dealing with trauma, incarceration, and rehabilitation.

Culturally safe practice I aimed to create a culturally safe space for Māori patients by grounding my work in whanaungatanga by building strong, respectful connections with patients. I observed that collaboration is key to rehabilitation with whanau to develop a support plan ensuring that entire family were involved in their son’s rehabilitation journey. Critical thinking was crucial in assessing each patients' unique needs and making informed decisions. For example, I observed how working with a Māori patient facing reoffending risks due to intergenerational trauma, the MDT did not just rely on standard assessments.  But considered cultural healing practices, such as rongoā Māori, external cultural programs and connection with iwi, to address deeper emotional and social needs. This practice ensured that equitable care, supportive rehabilitation and holistic services meet the needs of Māori men in rehabilitation helping them integrate into society with the support required.

Therefore, in Aotearoa, to be a social worker, you need to meet the fit and proper policy, which means being skilled, ethical, and culturally aware especially in understanding and respecting Māori and Pasifika cultures, following the Treaty of Waitangi, and being open to alternative methods of healing while being registered with the Social Workers Registration Board (SWRB).

Comments

  1. Elias Martis1 December 2024 at 03:20

    The reflections more focused and responding to the aromatawai question how you demonstrated the competence in the 10 standards, and also the evidence why you consider your self fit and proper in terms of the four areas specified by SWRB (Communication, Professional background, Criminal history and health) would have added value.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 9 - Supervision within Te Whatu Ora

Image
Supervision within Te Whatu Ora comprised both one-on-one and group peer sessions, which was a new experience for me, as each supervisor had their own methods. During my time in supervision with the SAFA coordinator, we discussed the core competencies and how they aligned with my observations during my week in that role. We addressed my learning objectives and any challenges I faced. One area of ambiguity was the operational framework of SAFA and the specific responsibilities associated with the role, as it was newly established in Counties Manukau. This led to differing interpretations among staff regarding how the role should function within the family harm space. Another significant topic was the death of a patient, which we examined during professional supervision. We discussed the circumstances surrounding the event, what could have been done differently, and created a space for open dialogue to reflect on the incident and explore strategies for preventing similar occurrences in t...
Read more

Week 10 - SAFA - Safe guarding vulnerable adults from abuse - Core competencies focused on this week

Image
This week the SWRB core competencies that were observed I focused on 4, 5 and 9. 4. Competence to promote the principles of human rights and social economic justice. 5. Competence to engage in practice which promotes social change. 9. Competence to practice within legal and ethical boundaries of the social work profession. In this case, the police were called out because there were concerns about abuse in the whānau. However, the person involved was able to make their own informed decision and told the police they didn’t want any further action taken. Legally, the police couldn’t step in or forcibly remove them because there wasn’t enough evidence to justify it. New Zealand law requires clear evidence of abuse before any coercive action can be taken, and without that, the police couldn’t do anything. This situation really showed the gap between what the team expected and the legal limits of what could actually be done. The SAFA social worker understood the law and respected the individ...
Read more