【Social Work】You are not just a social worker

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photo by 陳欽明
Kelley is a beauty pageant titleholder from Windsor, CO, who was crowned Miss Colorado 2015. She started by sharing her relationship with her special patient, Joe, who reminds her of why she became a nurse in the first place (Kelley's monologue).

Joe was diagnosed with early stage of Alzheimer and hospitalized to receive treatment. Kelley was his nurse. During Joe’s hospitalization, Joe asked Kelley to change his medication or treatment because of his discomfort and Kelly replied: “No, I can’t. I am just a nurse.”

One night, Joe was crying and Kelley said to him: “You are not defined by this disease! You are not just Alzheimer. You are still Joe. He looked right back at Kelley and said: “Nurse Kelly, the same goes to you. You are not just a nurse. You are my nurse. You have changed my life because you care about me. Kelley is a life saver, not just a nurse.

The same thing goes to social workers too. Like nurses, social workers are the ones who make the most direct contract with people in need. Social workers are not just social workers. They devote their energy, time and compassion to make differences in people’s lives and to make the world better. 

After my years of working with social workers and doing social work, I want to say: “You are not just a social worker. You may feel you are small in your workplace, in the big system and in the society. A lot of times, you may feel frustrated by bureaucracy and feel vulnerable without support. But listen to your inner voice and think about your passion which brings you into this professional helping field. You will find yourself connect with people you help and find your strengths to advocate for them.

After all, you are not just a social worker. You devote yourself and love to this world.

Kelley's monologue: http://kelley.littlethings.com/miss-colorado-nurse-story/?utm_source=sungazing&utm_medium=Facebook&utm_campaign=tt

留言

  1. Morgan2015年9月19日 下午3:29

    I'm an American who adopted a Taiwanese son 3 years ago--he is a total joy to us! Our family lives in Taipei and we're trying to raise him in both cultures--American and Taiwanese . I've enjoyed reading your blog! Keep going! :)

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