Practicum Learning
"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember.
I do and I understand." - Confucius Values, Ethics & Professional Social Work Identity In my practicum, I strived to integrate social work values and ethics by supporting individuals' right to self-determination and access to basic resources by exploring both existing barriers and supports and then incorporating this into my projects. While at first it was not apparent to me, I came to appreciate both the connection and overlap that exists between community development and health development. In developing and maintaining a professional identity, I had to be consistently mindful of placing the needs of others above self-interest, to develop and maintain supportive and positive relationships with HCU colleagues and community members, and to demonstrate adaptability, reliability, solid work ethic, and adherence to social work values and ethics in all my activities. For example, when my work plan would change and additional projects, such as the Healthy Homes Competition, were added to my work load, I had to be open and adaptable and take on the responsibilities with the same integrity and dedication as I put towards my other projects. International/Community Development Practice I was able to gain some understanding of HCU in relation to the local, national and international context through an initial 2 week orientation. And over time, I learned about the various roles, responsibilities and objectives of my HCU colleagues as well as the role and impacts of HCU in the local communities. I was also able to perform development roles that are transferable across different settings and populations as I took on the role of researcher, through my various research activities, and of resource developer, as I developed different documents and trainings. As part of a large multidisciplinary team, I aimed to contribute a social work perspective to HCU by integrating the influence of my practice model into the various projects I worked on, such as by researching sustainable bottom-up development through exploration of community engagement initiatives. Collaborative Practice I believe that collaboration is key in working in a multidisciplinary team and so I aimed to build effective working relationships. I worked collaboratively with HCU staff, especially with our Community Health Officers (CHOs), our Field Coordinator, and our Project Manager, as well as Senior VHT Trainers. For example, I worked closely with a Senior VHT Trainer in revising a Community Development training manual and in developing community development key messages. I regularly submitted reports to various HCU staff in both Uganda and Canada and participated in weekly check-in meetings with the HCU team in Bushenyi. Additionally, I aimed to incorporate research, evaluation and community feedback into my practice. For example, I utilized my literature review and interviews in the communities as to inform the development of a community emergency transport plan model that is now being promoted in the local communities. Facilitating Change In line with my own emphases on looking to strengths and promoting sustainable change, I had the opportunities to analyze and assess community assets and the need for change such as through my exploration of existing community emergency transport plans and my research into various community engagement activities initiated by VHTs in the local communities. By interviewing community members about how having an emergency transport plan have benefitted their community and interviewing VHTs about what benefits have been yielded from their community engagement initiatives, I could evaluate the impact of change on both individuals and communities as wholes. Diversity, Oppression & Social Justice While I do not feel that I personally fostered any social action during my time here, I did have the opportunities to discuss with colleagues how HCU supports the potential for social action. For example, the VHTs that we work with contribute health statistics for their communities to the Ugandan Health Management Information System (HMIS), which impacts the local districts' decision-making, which in turn influences planning at the national level. In learning to understand and appreciate how my personal identity, experiences, values, and biases shape my social work practice, I found it helpful to have discussions with my Ugandan and Canadian colleagues about their experiences and thoughts, while also reflecting upon my own experience here with HCU. In identifying systemic barriers in the local communities, I found through my various research activities, projects and general lived experience here that poor infrastructure, chronic poverty, and poor social service delivery, including healthcare and education, serve to perpetuate oppression and social injustice. |