End of ASYE

This is a weird one for me to write because I finish my ASYE tomorrow and this blog started from writing about my experiences as a NQSW which has been a part of my identity for a long time but presuming everything tomorrow goes well (fingers crossed) then I won't be that anymore. I will officially be a Level 2 Social Worker.

I feel a mix of emotions with this. I feel relieved because the paperwork is all done and handed in but I also feel a bit I don't know if sad is the right word. I started over 2 years ago because of maternity leave in the middle, I have done it both full time and part time. Before I was a parent and after so it has been a bit part of my life and although I am staying in my team so nothing changes day to day it is starting to feel different.

I feel the imposter syndrome I had more so when I started my ASYE rearing its ugly head again. I started that fresh out of university and that feels an entire lifetime ago. The people I started with have long since finished and been practising for well over a year now, they are thinking about what training they want to do next to progress further and I am a little left behind. Obviously my life has moved on in other areas and I absolutely wouldn't change that for the world but its a bizarre feeling.

I am not quite sure where I belong in all of this. I am currently a NQSW who has been graduated for 2.5 years. This should have been finished a long time ago so it feels nice to close the door on that chapter but in the same respect I do not know myself as a Level 2 yet. I have been through different stages of being a Social Worker, student to ASYE and now to Level 2. It is yet another change but also day to day not really a change at all.

I know I will work on harder cases, have more responsibility and will continue to gain knowledge through this but I still feel back in my student days in some respects. I know I am not the only one who has imposter syndrome or is waiting for someone to question why they are where they are or what they think they are doing.

I finished my degree in 2021 and I still haven't quite grasped that. I've “almost” finished my ASYE and it is crazy to me that I am at this point. I don't plan on stopping writing this blog but I am not sure how often new blog posts will happen. I am going to try for at least once a month but initially I promise nothing. A lot is changing at the moment in terms of the end of my ASYE but also personal changes that are time consuming. I know that people tell me they enjoy the blogs or find them helpful so it is definitely something I want to continue.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Language

I was recently reading a couple of blogs from Rewriting Social Care and found that it got me thinking about the use of language and whether this has improved over time. One word that is used often when referring to people who require support is the world vulnerable. What does that even mean? There are a lot of different ways of thinking about this word. Does it mean at risk, does it mean open emotionally, does it mean uneducated or lacking in skills. I don't know about you but I have definitely felt vulnerable in my life but I do not require Social Care support. The two things are not mutually exclusive but they seem to be intrinsically linked. I have felt vulnerable physically when having my daughter because you are in effect in a room full of strangers, not wearing very much, in pain and for me experiencing something I had never done before. Not only was I open emotionally, I was at risk physically and I did not really know what I was doing. I have felt emotionally vulnerab...
Read more

Hidden skills

  One of the most difficult things I have found since going back to work is the change to my working hours. I now work 3 days a week. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Which is brilliant don't get me wrong but also it is one of the hardest things about going back. I get a 4 day weekend which is lovely but as I regularly remind people that does not mean I just get to chill. I have a 15 month old so I am in mum mode as soon as I finish work and everyday I am off. I solo parent 2 days a week so they are definitely busy. The tricky thing about the days I work is that Thursday to Tuesday is a long gap. If I am working with a family regarding a situation that needs sorting fairly quickly if I have not completed the work by the end of Thursday then it will be almost another week before I work on it again. They have the option to contact my team in my absence but that is not the best continuity for the family. I am lucky that I am in a role where I manage my own diary so that means I ca...
Read more

Importance of Communication

We talk a lot in Social Work about the importance of communication and generally we are talking about the communication between us and the people we work with. Those who are also involved in the care of the people we support such as families. The thing that I find most frustrating is that this doesn't always happen when it should the most. I had a visit booked this week and when I arrived I was told that they were waiting for an ambulance to take the person I was going to see to hospital to be checked out. I am glad that they were doing what needed to be done for the person but found myself frustrated that nobody thought to give me a call, let me know they weren't themselves or tell me the reason why because I had travelled a long way to get to this visit only to pretty much turn around and travel back. This is time that I could have used to provide support for someone else that ended up wasted due to the simple lack of a phone call. I know people are busy but I felt t...
Read more