Being a social worker

I began my new job two weeks ago- at times it has been exhilarating, at times overwhelming, at times frustrating and at others exhausting. I can honestly say that this fortnight has made the last two years worth the hard work, but it has made me reflect on the expectations that we place on ourselves and those that others can unconsciously impose too.

Based on the paperwork I was sent by the council, I’d (wrongly) expected a very structured induction period, spread over a four week period and including both formal and informal elements. In reality, my ‘induction’ took about half an hour- it consisted of a tour of the various teams on the social work floor of the building and being allocated a desk and laptop. Then it was straight into the week’s work, with a placements meeting at which the team was updated on all the current ongoing, available and needed foster placements dealt with by the service.

By the end of day two, I had been allocated a small caseload of carers to offer support and supervision, several assessments and some other small but equally important pieces of work. I went home with my head spinning, feeling like I should know everything immediately and had a total crisis of confidence.

While the first few phone calls I made and introduced myself as a ‘social worker’ (minus the previously required ‘student’ prefix) made me feel strangely euphoric, the rest of the week left me feeling quite lost and overwhelmed. The gap between being a student and a qualified social worker may be fairly narrow in calendar terms but in all others it feels like the equivalent of the Grand Canyon.  Instead of having to almost beg to be allocated work, once qualified it is quite the reverse! It’s not so much the issue of allocations though that is different though; it is the expectation that you will be able to just get on with it and deal with it.

Other staff simply see me as a social worker. They do not prefix that with ‘newly qualified’ in their minds as I do- when I remember that actually I’m no longer a student (which I frequently find myself almost introducing myself as). While some do remember that it takes time to learn new processes and procedures, others who have been in the job for many many years, appear to forget that it isn’t always obvious which form is required when and why, or even where it is kept.

By the end of my first week, I was quite simply stressed and overwhelmed. There had been some good times, usually involving service users, but a lot more frustration, usually involving the various IT systems!

My second week has been a more positive experience generally. I have got to grips with several of the processes and procedures, have met several of the carers who are on my caseload and have figured out the intricacies of two of the main computer systems, meaning I am no longer having to call a colleague or the IT desk several times each day when I say ‘please’ and the computer says ‘no!’

On Friday I had my first supervision, in which my manager gave me two booklets- one containing breakdowns of the various processes used by the team, such as the recruitment and assessment of new carers, and one containing various information for new staff, such as how to claim mileage and book annual leave, supervision arrangements and training requirements. It would have been useful to have been given these on my first day, but better late than never!

At the end of my second week, I now have a full caseload of both prospective foster carers for assessment and foster carers for supervision and support. I have monthly supervision sessions booked for the next year. I am provisionally booked to begin the first module of the Post Qualification training structure in October. My moments of feeling confident are starting to outweigh those of feeling terrified.

And I’m starting to enjoy being a social worker- at last!

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