"Competence is the great creator of confidence." - Mary Jo Putney
The
sixth Social Work Value as outlined by the National Association of Social
Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics is Competence. This article will be reviewing the
value of Competence as it pertains to Social Work Supervision. Please see the
other articles in this series for information and discussion on how to use these
Social Work values in supervision at: besupervised.blogspot.com.
The values covered in
this series will be: Service, Social Justice, Dignity and Worth of a Person,
Importance of Human Relationships, Integrity, and Competence in this order.
Value: Competence
Ethical Principle
“Social workers
practice within their areas of competence and develop and enhance their
professional expertise. Social workers continually strive to increase their
professional knowledge and skills and to apply them in practice. Social workers
should aspire to contribute to the knowledge base of the profession.” (NASW)
Those
who are providing supervision should only do so within their scope of practice. It is unethical to provide supervision to a Social Worker who is
working in a subset of the field which a supervisor has limited or no knowledge. It
is for this reason that competence is also strongly related to the value of
Integrity. For more information on how to find a supervisor who is the proper
fit for your work experience, please see our previous blog post (Finding a Good
Supervisor).
Application in
Supervision
When
considering competence in supervision it is important for both the Supervisor
and Supervisee to bear in mind the work backgrounds of both professionals
involved as well as the future goals of the Supervisee. For example, if a Supervisee
has been practicing Medical Social Work, but is hoping to eventually move into
private practice they will want to locate a supervisor with competence in both
areas. Medical Social Work because that will be the clients they are discussing
during supervision sessions, and private practice because the supervisee will
want someone who can guide them into that field of
practice. Additionally, a Supervisor should be able to help the supervisee
locate training opportunities, including readings, that can help the
supervisee reach their long-term goals. The competencies of the Supervisor should
be discussed at the initial session, and be clearly outlined in the supervision
contract so that all are aware of the strengths and limitations of the
Supervisor in the event that questions or concerns arise during the course of
supervision.
In
closing, the values put forth by the NASW are the “lighthouses” of our
profession. They are the beacons by which we steer our ships around murky
waters. The values of our profession should not not just be part of the Social
Work education curriculum, or discussion points for continuing education
courses, they are essential pieces of how we should proceed in our profession
day to day. The values are also essential for knowing how to engage in the
practice of Social Work supervision which have been outlined over the
course of the last six articles in this blog.
Please leave a comment
and let us know your thoughts on this article. If you liked what you read
please like our blog, besupervised.blogspot.com, or follow us on Facebook (@LISWSupervision),
or on LinkedIn at Be Supervised.
Resources
National
Association of Social Workers (1996). The
Code of Ethics for the National Association of Social Workers.
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