Empowering others to improve their quality of life is what social work is all about, and there are blogs for social workers that can help these citizen servants to thrive in their chosen profession.
Matching clients' needs to available community resources is an important skill that all social workers master. Social workers who constantly hone their skills by taking professional development courses or by learning from colleagues in the field are able to serve individuals or groups more effectively.
Here are five blogs that are designed to help social work practitioners to grow personally and professionally.
#1 Inspired Social Work
Inspired Social Work is written by a social worker who is employed in a busy urban hospital. The social worker writes about inspiring moments that occur during their days at work. The blog is not just a journal for the author. It also encourages other social workers to find success in small steps of progress with their clients. Understanding the stress level of the job, the author documents healthy, effective forms of self care that can help social workers maintain their sanity and promote career longevity.
#2 Antisocial Social Worker
While the author of the Inspired Social Work blog is a seasoned social worker, the Antisocial Social Worker blog is written from the perspective of a relative newcomer to the field. This blogger gives an honest assessment of social work education and real-world career challenges that are relevant to anyone who is considering a career in social work. While the author does emphasize the need for boundaries within client relationships, the Antisocial Social Worker blog is not stiff or formal as its moniker suggests. The blogger's writing style evokes thoughts of a fire-side chat with a friend.
#3 Social Worked
According to medical research, people are living longer presumably because of better nutritional education and advances in healthcare. However, many seniors do not have the quality of life that they desire in their golden years. Social workers are often matched with seniors who need help finding qualified home health assistance, financial resources for mobility aid devices or low-cost housing options. Some seniors are simply lonely and need resources about age-appropriate social outlets. Elder Care Guides is an informative blog about the trending issues of today's elders as well as some of the challenges that geriatric social workers face. The blog covers topics like caring for the needs of disabled elderly clients and the rising rates of suicide for older men. The blog is written by clinical social workers who run a home health care service for seniors and people who have disabilities.
#4 Classroom to Capitol
Many social worker blogs focus on the issues that are faced by case workers, but the Classroom to Capitol blog is a resource for social workers who are employed in the policy-making area of social work. The blog is written by a university professor who teaches about topics such as government policy and community advocacy that relate to social welfare. The blog offers social workers information about lobbying Congress to represent the needs of clients who otherwise would not have a collective voice in Washington. Through the Classroom to Capitol blog, the professor also encourages social workers to develop strong policy analysis skills to increase their influence with policy making organizations.
#5 Social Work Programs
Social workers must earn advanced degrees and professional licenses to be eligible for a wider range of job opportunities. The Social Work Test Prep blog provides social workers with free and low-cost test preparation materials as well as tips from experienced colleagues about how to pass challenging segments of the social work exams. Interested readers can be matched with tutors and study groups by contacting the managers of the Social Work Test Prep blog.
Conclusion
The careers and experiences of social workers vary in large part because the field has so many specialty areas. Today's blogs for social workers can include strategies for successful case management, career development information or simply words of encouragement for these professionals who can get overwhelmed by the issues that their clients face regularly.
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