Knowledge and Skills - Essay Example

and Section # of KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS The definition of knowledge has been ed to debate over the past centuries; however, Oxford Dictionary defines knowledge as the expertise and skills that are acquired by individuals over a period of time. A human being gains immense knowledge about the various aspects of this world as he/she resides in this world. Skills can be defined as the application of that knowledge. It is an ability that is learned and applied. The relationship between knowledge and skills clearly signifies that skills cannot exist without acquiring prior knowledge about it. The relationship between knowledge and display of this knowledge as skills has been developed in to a framework as well. This 'Knowledge and Skills Framework' is designed in the United Kingdom, to understand, and sustain personal and career development. It helps to identify the skills and knowledge individuals should apply to their jobs so that they are provided with equal opportunities of progress throughout their careers. 1. I have served many non profit and for-profit organizations over the past years of my life. These include fulfilling the duties of an administrator, director, operations manager and as a full time social worker at many organizations. This kind of massive exposure to the real world problems related to the management of these associations has led to the development of my psychosocial abilities and I have fully utilized these abilities to the best of my capabilities. I have served as a full time social worker at the Fresenius Medical Care formerly known as Renal Care Group, Inc, Wynnewood. This facility provides dialysis treatments to adults in 3 countries simultaneously. At the DaVita Dialysis also provides dialysis treatments to adults and Delware County and South Philadelphia area. Also, I have demonstrated my skills as a Director at 'Tressler Lutheran Services, West Chester' which provides clinical therapy to adolescents and families in the area. From 1995 to 1996, I was the 'Program Director' to a foster child care and adoption services facility called 'Children's Choice', in Philadelphia. I also have served as a 'Family Preservation Case Manager' at 'Family and Community Services of Delaware County'. A. During my experience as a social worker at Fresenius Medical Care, I managed a caseload of 160-180 patients. This management was in regard to psychosocial issues, insurance coverage and transportation concerns. At DaVita Dialysis facility, where I handled the case load of 140 Upland and 75 Upper Philadelphia from May 2002 to November 2002, similar challenges were faced. The psychosocial needs of the patients admitted in these facilities were tremendous. They ranged from information about their therapies to possible side effects, stress, depression and other mental and emotional conditions. Patients suffering from dialysis undergo extensive treatments and also seek assistance in the normal day routines they can't perform independently. All these issues were successfully taken care of. The psychodynamic theory was greatly applied in these situations where the patient-doctor emotional relationships were encouraged. Successful documentation of psychosocial assessment and needs was done at both the facilities, keeping in mind the Medicare guidelines and Federal regulations. Patients were made comfortable with their treatments, by thoroughly informing them about the medical procedures. B. While working at the Children's Choice, my range and scope of experience increased as I was subjected to handle special need groups. These groups call for special attention psychosocially and are to be handled with care and devotion. The application of psychosocial theory has been the basis of my efforts in all these situations. Special attention was given to offer increased level of care both physical and emotional. Also, it was indemnified that the Child Welfare Regulations were being effective followed as required by the Department of Human Services. Similarly, at the Family and Community Services of Delware County, I was able to work with families and adolescents who needed family preservation services and enhance my dispute resolution skills. The situations that were faced were highly volatile; little time was available before children had to be put into the child welfare systems. In an environment like this, I was able to consistently provide my estimations and decisions resulting in the solution of these problems. C. As mentioned earlier, I have demonstrated case management capabilities by handling a caseload of 160 to 180 patients at Fresenius Medical Care, a caseload of 215 patients at DaVita Dialysis and developed and implemented clinical therapy and consultation programs for the families at Tressler's Lutheran Services. D. In this every growing world with scarcity of resources, it is very important to understand the importance of efficient co-ordination of these valuable resources. This should be achieved in such a way so as to maximize the profits and results intended to achieve. Due to my extensive work experience, I had a vast knowledge of the Medicare guidelines and Federal Regulations concerning my fields. At the Fresenius Medical Care, careful evaluation of patient's insurance coverage was done under my strict observation. All the available community resources and state programs were incorporated to cover these insurances. At the Tresler Lutheran Services, I helped in the development and implementation of special training programs; provided service connections to innumerable community, educational and health related groups which were influential in the program's success. The result was that under my supervision, revenues went from zero to 26 thousand dollars to monthly bill outs to county agency and various vendors.At the Children's Choice foster care services, re-engineering of human resources was done by removing almost every employee with a better qualified one. E. For the accomplishment of organizational goals, it is extremely important to facilitate positive working relationships between employees and create an atmosphere where every individual can achieve job satisfaction. In a volatile environment, implementation of an open culture which fosters creativity and encouraged teamwork is what is needed the most. At the Children's Choice foster care, I was faced with numerous challenges where I had to completely re-organize the resources pertaining to that organization. This was done under enormous environmental pressure. However, against all odds, I devised morale raising, team building activities for my sub-ordinates and patients which helped us in achieving our financial and employee development goals. At the Family and Community Services of Delaware County, I was faced with charged emotions of individuals and families. These clients of mine had to be handled carefully and delicately. In an environment where there was usually very little time was available before children were put into the child welfare system, I was consistently providing quick evaluations, assessments and decisions. By providing preservation services to these families I was able to develop immense negotiation skills that will always help me in working with the colleagues as well as my clients. By supervising the Social Work Interns on Masters and Bachelors levels from Bryn Mawr College and West Chester at Tresler Lutheran Services, I gained the leadership qualities needed to enhance my administrating capabilities. I was exposed to working with people not belonging to my work group and this helped me in improving myself as a negotiator and a team member. 2. Effective communication of a person's thoughts and ideas to his/her subordinates is the key to success. Communication mediums are of great importance in this regard because they can alter the meaning of the communicated message. Effective communication takes place when the message reaches the receiver in the same context in which it was sent by the sender. In the field of Social Work and Services, you come across people with all kinds of ethnic, cultural, religious, political backgrounds and need to be handled separately with individual strategies for each of them. To communicate effectively to these different people, it is mandatory to have communication skills that pierce through the barriers of different thinking. At the Tresler Lutheran Services, I was able to successfully create and implement a marketing campaign. This included telephone calls, mailings, speaking engagements and consultations. As an administrator and director at so many non profit organizations, it was mandatory to maintain good working relationships with my subordinates. I have offered my services in numerable committees in the Tessler network. In these communities I have been able to successfully delegate my subordinates. I also demonstrated administrative abilities by managing a secretary, office manager, billing and accounting specialist and all other workers, including interns. Due to development of a fair set of job selection criteria I was able to motivate employees which resulted in the hiring of the best individual for a specific post that might have otherwise gone to a less qualified person. 3. Communication is vital for progress. Even in today's world, written communication is as important as oral communication. I have completed a lot of research work and have been awarded numerous degrees in which my written communication capabilities were tested. I have managed case loads in many of my organizations which required writing capabilities. I have shown proficiency in budgeting, planning, financial operations and control and helped extensively in developing many of my working places. All these accomplishments are illustrations of my effective communication skills: oral as well as written. Works Cited 1. Cooper, Pamela, Carolyn Calloway-Thomas, and Cheri Simonds. Intercultural Communication. 2. Edward, Bailey, Writing and Speaking at work, 4th. 3. Feldman, Knowledge and Reality, 4. Corcoran, jaqueline , Cognitive-Behavorial Methods. 5. Middleton, Kent, and William Lee. The Law of public communication. 6th. 6. Popple, Philip, and Leslei Leighninger, Social Work, Social Welfare and American Society. 6th Read More