We are all in this together

We keep talking about what a tough year it is, how we are working through such a difficult time. They don’t understand how students are managing. Or on the flip side people saying you aren’t really doing a proper placement are you. You aren’t learning what social work really is because you can’t visit or see the person face to face. 

Yes, I am.  

I’m learning what social work looks like right now. Not what it looks like ‘normally’ but how we have adapted. Parts that may end up staying that way when Covid is over or different ways of working that make people feel more comfortable and connected. I am not only learning how social work functions, but I am also learning how resilient and open to change social workers are and isn’t that what social work is? Adapting when something doesn’t go your way. Making changes to how you communicate to do it the best possible way for that individual. Waking up in the morning and expecting your day to be one thing and it end up something completely different because of an emergency. Or changing your whole day’s plan because you are the best person to deal with that situation or person in the moment. 

If we weren’t in times of Covid you would get to do….I have heard this type of comment throughout my placement so far of what I would “normally” get to do. Instead I think it is more important to focus on what can I do in times of Covid? How can I learn what I need to for when I qualify at the end of this school year? What is happening now is not what would happen in Social Work Practice if we were not in a global pandemic, however it is what is happening. So, what can we do to make it better? What can you learn that is unique to now? Or could be used in the future. I know that when I qualify and go into job interviews, they will ask about my resilience and I could give them an answer that would go on for hours because if I haven’t gained it in these times when would I?  

Doing my final placement in times of Covid is not teaching me the same way of doing things as people have in previous years but its teaching me a whole lot more. How to use different media, how to keep human rights and people at the centre of everything we do when we can’t even see them face to face. Building my resilience in times that are already tough regardless of being a student or on placement. I am taking every possible opportunity that comes my way. Even if it isn’t ‘normal’ or ‘proper’ social work. I am still learning something new every day and that’s what placement is also about. Learning what Social Work currently looks like and how we can do our best for the people we support, even if that means being creative about how we do it.  

One thing that has been difficult is building up relationships within your team because you are either alone in an office or working from home (for most people). I have found that giving other people in my team a call and introducing myself does two things. It allows me to build a network of people I can turn to when I am unsure or struggling but also I think it’s important to remember the changes are tough on us as students but they are also tough on the staff who have been doing this a long time and all of a sudden have had there way of working turned upside down. The other thing it does is builds relationships and lets other people know that they aren’t the only one. Nearly all the phone calls of this type I have made seem to have been appreciated and generally end with something along the lines of if you need anything give me a shout.   

How we would usually support other people in our teams or get support has changed. So, we need to adapt and work out a way that we can change too. We are Social Workers, adapting and changing is what we do. We just need to be creative and as we have been told plenty of times already.  

WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.