Summary
All human service workers must posses certain values which are applicable to their profession despite the several branches. One of the greatest of the values is the respect of human life and worth. All the workers in this field have the mandate to respect and uphold this value. They have to respect the dignity of human life and worth irrespective of the client’s color, race, religion, political, religious or sexual orientation. (Rabin & Steinhauer, 1980, p. 48).
A human service worker must have skills of identification and selection of appropriate intervention programs that are likely to promote growth and those that are goal oriented. This can be achieved if the worker is skilled in problem analysis which will be important so that he identifies the appropriate measures to be taken. The measures include referrals, direct counseling, advocacy and assistance.
He should also be skilled in planning, program implementations and evaluation. This can be achieved through skills in problem analysis coupled up with decision analysis, all crowned with skills in designing work plans. Communication skills are very important essential for a human services worker. The worker has to be exemplary in oral and verbal communication skills well interspersed with good interpersonal relationships. (Tacoma community College, 2009).
A human service worker should posses the knowledge of the nature of human systems. These include the systems within the individual, within groups, the systems in an organization, within the community and finally as a society. The human service worker must understand how all these systems interact and how the interaction can be influenced. Within this knowledge, they should understand what human development is. Finally, government policies must be understood and also how problems are created through the interaction of these systems (NOHS, 2009).
Concrete responses
Human service is proving to be one essential discipline within the realms of human existence. With news of economic downturn affecting the world economy, its impetus is negatively implicating on the common man. As a result, the overall standards of living, both physical and psychological are being subjected to highly straining pressures which are eventually resulting into deterioration of social and economic service provision. Under such circumstances, the field of human services which engages in preventing and mediating of human problems and thus committing itself to the improvement of human life quality is becoming very essential.
This discipline aims at ensuring that the population gets service delivery systems that are improved and reliable. It also goes further to ensure that these services are accessible and that those responsible in the service providers are accountable and finally they ensure that there is a good coordination between service delivery by the professionals and other involved agencies. It is my insurance that it is important to scan values, attitudes, knowledge and skills that practitioners in this field need in order to come up with exemplary results and ensure that they meet their primary objective of improving the quality of life (NOHS, 2009).
Reflection
Considering the investigated information and coming out from my personal experience, it should be mentioned, that other values within this profession can be ranked depending on the class of the human service worker. Efficiency, orderliness and effectiveness may mark the main values of a manager of human service workers. On the other hand, front-line social workers are likely to prioritize independence, social adjustment, familial relations and clients’ self esteem. To further point out the difference in value prioritization, the example of a nurse and a social worker can be drawn.
While the nurse will focus with great priority on the physical wellbeing of the client, this will not be same interest of the manager or social worker. Despite the differences in prioritization, the values remain identical within the overall set up of the human service workers. (Rabin & Steinhauer, 1980, p. 48). I have understood that worker must posses the skills that will ensure that he has achieved the desire which is quality life for the client. He has to put aside his own values and attitude so as to ensure that the professional values and the client’s values are achieved. However, the values must be consistent with his values.
Application
Investigated information has given me the understanding of who human service worker is. As part of knowledge, the worker should also understand what impedes or promotes optimal functioning and what are the factors that cause humans to deviate from desired functioning.
I am strongly inclined that worker should be able to choose intervention programs that are consistent with his own values, the values of the client, the dictates of the employing body and the ethics of the profession of human services. It is easy to help workers to understand this by implementation into the workers the orientation of their own values, the values of the organization that is available in its goal statement and mandate, the ethics of human service and finally if the worker appreciates the values of the client, his style of life and the goals he has set (Tacoma Community College, 2009).
Reference List
Edgecombe Community College. (2009). “Human services workers.” Web.
National Organization for Human Services. (2009). “The human service worker.” Web.
Rabin, J. and Steinhauer, M. (Eds). (1980) Handbook on Human Service Administration. New York: Marcel Dekker.
Tacoma Community College. (2009). “The human services worker.” Web.