The profession of social work is dedicated to assisting people in making positive changes

in their lives that result in a higher quality of life. People face social, environmental, emotional,
and physical problems now and then. This essay is a personal reflect on how I see the field of
social work. According to International Federation of Social Workers and International
Association of Schools of Social Work in 2014, “Social Work is a practice-based profession and
an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the
empowerment and liberation of people. Principles of social justice, human rights, collective
responsibility and respect for diversities are central to social work. Underpinned by theories of
social work, social sciences, humanities and indigenous knowledge, social work engages people
and structures to address life challenges and enhance wellbeing.

Before I took my undergraduate in social work, I believed social work is not a profession. It is
simply about helping people out of good heart. It was later in life I realized there are other
multitude of professions which helps the people. (Heraud,1970) maintains that Social work isn't
the only job that helps people. . Now after all these years, my understanding has changed. I
don’t see it just as helping people in need. I see it as a profession where Social work
professional help individuals, groups, and communities repair or improve their social
functioning while also fostering societal conditions that support their objectives. Social work is
an art as well as science. While working in the field, I have used different tools and principles,
values, ethics, to meet the need of people irrespective of their colour, origin, class, caste,
ethnicity, sex etc. Social work is a profession, according to the global definition (IFSW, 2014). In
this profession as a social worker, I have tried to improve human well-being and assist
individuals in meeting their basic and complicated needs, with a special focus on those who are
vulnerable, oppressed, or living in poverty. I came to realize it is different from other profession
because I had to focus on both the person and their environment and assists clients not only in
expressing their feelings about a situation, but also in determining what they can do about it.
The realization of social work as a profession was my first step towards my journey of becoming
a social worker.

However, my motivation for becoming a social worker started long before when I was in my
tween years. During my tween years, I both witnessed and experienced the Nepalese civil war. I
have watched people being shot and bleed to death. This had a profound effect on me and
shaped me into a caring, generous, patient, and empathetic individual. I have therefore chosen
to be a social worker as I believe it is a career choice that will actively involve me in making a
positive difference in the lives of people who are socially marginalized, disadvantaged, and
excluded through helping to meet their basic human needs, promoting the realization of their
potential as well as helping them recognize and exercise their rights. I personally believe that
each individual has their own strength which can be used to improve quality of life. As
Zimmermann Wilson (2006) points out, finding and affirming strengths is critical to the social
work profession's value perspective. My key strengths would be empathy and active listening.
Active listening, according to Comstock stock (2015), is a communication method that needs
the listener to pay attention to and focus on the speaker or group in order to comprehend the
message. I have found its easy to draw out meaningful information, build trust and establish
rapport with active listening.(Konrath & Grynberg,2016) maintains that empathy is the ability to
put oneself in another's shoes and feel more connected to their predicament than one's own.
These two strengths helps me to create and improve relationships by giving me a better
comprehension of what's being said, both intellectually and emotionally. As a result, it elevates
active listening to a new level.

I think it is important to reconcile personal and professional value if we are to make ethical
decision. Personal value can shift and change as a person matures, owing to life experiences,
societal influences, political knowledge, and a growing understanding of others. Professional
values, on the other hand, are not unique to an individual, they are a set of guidelines that
social workers must follow in order to foster a professional culture. When I worked in the
community in Nepal, I identified respect for people as a core value, and the reason for this is
because you never know what someone's story is or what they've been through. Every day,
social workers fight for human rights and social justice, giving voice to the voiceless and
underprivileged. According to Barker (2003), social justice is "an ideal state in which all
members of a society have the same rights, protections, opportunities, obligations, and social
benefits." When I was a kid, I recall how the girls in my village were not permitted to attend to
school and had little freedom of expression. Many individuals were unfamiliar with the
concepts of human rights and social justice at the time. (Life,2010) maintains that “human
rights are the fundamental rights and freedoms that all humans are entitled to.T hey are
socially sanctioned entitlements to commodities and services that are required for human
development and well-being." The link between social justice and human rights, in my opinion,
should be strengthened because one cannot exist without the other. When a society is just,
everyone's human rights are protected and respected. Human rights are universally recognised,
therefore this relationship is critical.

Australian Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics (2022) highlights that one of the three
key principles that social workers are bounded by is professional integrity and further maintains
that, in all aspects of professional activity, we are guided by principles of honesty,
trustworthiness, and good character. I feel that social workers need to have a certain level of
integrity in their field of practise because it allows them to be true to themselves and set their
own boundaries. Integrity can reveal to a social worker which types of people they want to
work with and which professions they should avoid. Integrity allows social workers to focus
their efforts on cases that they are qualified to handle, reducing the risk of injuring the client in
any way. "Did I do the right thing?" I question myself in instances where I'm not sure if I've lost
my moral compass. I also give myself plenty of time to consider my options. If I'm unsure, I try a
different approach. In a prior job, I witnessed a coworker sign a work-related document without
authority. Despite our friendship, I knew I had to report it to our supervisor, even if it meant
losing our friendship. Our friendship was cut off by a coworker, as I expected, but it was the
correct thing to do. I didn't want to cover for him and hide a potentially damaging secret from
the organization.I have come to realise that integrity is a value that should be practised all of
the time, not just when it's convenient.
References

Higham. (2006). Social work introducing professional practice. SAGE.(

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/acap/reader.action?docID=334537&ppg=11)

De Jonge. (2019). DEVELOPING AN IDEAL-TYPICAL APPrOACH TO SOCIAL WORK AS A

PROFESSION. Journal of Social Intervention, 28(1), 3–19. https://doi.org/10.18352/jsi.580
(https://doaj.org/article/45a25458a7934211afcd46d569b4bea8)

Eggenberger. (2021). Active Listening Skills as Predictors of Success in Community College

Students. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 45(5), 324–333.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2019.1706667
(https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.navitas.com/doi/full/
10.1080/10668926.2019.1706667)

Blakemore, & Agllias, K. (2020). Social media, empathy and interpersonal skills: social work
students’ reflections in the digital era. Social Work Education, 39(2), 200–213.
https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2019.1619683
(https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.navitas.com/doi/full/
10.1080/02615479.2019.1619683)

Libal, Berthold, M., Thomas, R. L., & Healy, L. M. (2014). Advancing human rights in social work
education (Libal, M. Berthold, R. L. Thomas, & L. M. Healy, Eds.). Council on Social Work
Education. (https://search-alexanderstreet-com.ezproxy.navitas.com/view/work/
bibliographic_entity%7Cbibliographic_details%7C3566110#page/38/mode/1/chapter/
bibliographic_entity%7Cdocument%7C3566114)

Ife, J. (2010). Human rights and social justice. In M. Gray & S. Webb (Eds.), Ethics and value
perspectives in social work (pp. pp. 148–159).
Aasw principle reference halna baki xa pdf ko( Code of ethics. (2010). Australian Association of
Social Workers.)

Sad
Sd

References

Higham. (2006). Social work introducing professional practice. SAGE.(

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/acap/reader.action?docID=334537&ppg=11)
 De Jonge. (2019). DEVELOPING AN IDEAL-TYPICAL APPrOACH TO SOCIAL WORK

AS A PROFESSION. Journal of Social Intervention, 28(1), 3–19.

https://doi.org/10.18352/jsi.580

(https://doaj.org/article/45a25458a7934211afcd46d569b4bea8)

Eggenberger. (2021). Active Listening Skills as Predictors of Success in Community College

Students. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 45(5), 324–333.

https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2019.1706667

(https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.navitas.com/doi/full/10.1080/10668926.2019.1706667)

Blakemore, & Agllias, K. (2020). Social media, empathy and interpersonal skills: social work

students’ reflections in the digital era. Social Work Education, 39(2), 200–213.

https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2019.1619683

(https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.navitas.com/doi/full/10.1080/02615479.2019.1619683)
Libal, Berthold, M., Thomas, R. L., & Healy, L. M. (2014). Advancing human rights in social

work education (Libal, M. Berthold, R. L. Thomas, & L. M. Healy, Eds.). Council on Social

Work Education. (https://search-alexanderstreet-com.ezproxy.navitas.com/view/work/

bibliographic_entity%7Cbibliographic_details%7C3566110#page/38/mode/1/chapter/

bibliographic_entity%7Cdocument%7C3566114)

Ife, J. (2010). Human rights and social justice. In M. Gray & S. Webb (Eds.), Ethics and value

perspectives in social work (pp. pp. 148–159).

Aasw principle reference halna baki xa pdf ko( Code of ethics. (2010). Australian Association of

Social Workers.)

https://unilinc-acp.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?
docid=alma991012766162902363&context=L&vid=61UNI_ACP:ACP&lang=en&search_scope=e
verything&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=Everything&query=any,contains,justice
%20vs%20social%20justice&offset=10