Social Work Spotlight

In this episode, Dana and I discuss her experience working both in Australia and the USA in a variety of settings, but particularly her strong interest in rehabilitation medicine. We discuss her passion for supporting adjustment to disability and finding that new ‘normal’ with clients. We also touch on the role of case management in a hospital rehabilitation setting and the value and impact of social work in this context.

Links to resources and topics mentioned in this week’s episode: 

Guardian ad Litem - http://www.gal.justice.nsw.gov.au/Pages/Gal_what_is_gal.aspx 

icare - https://www.icare.nsw.gov.au/ 

National Disability Insurance Scheme - https://www.ndis.gov.au/ 

Centrelink and Medicare (Services Australia) - https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/contact-us 

Australian Association of Social Workers - https://www.aasw.asn.au/ 

National Association of Social Workers - https://www.socialworkers.org/ 

Podsocs - https://podsocs.com/ 

Agency for Clinical Innovation (rehabilitation resources) - https://www.aci.health.nsw.gov.au/resources/rehabilitation

Synapse, Australia’s Brain Injury Organisation - https://synapse.org.au/ 

International Network of Social Work Acquired Brain Injury - https://www.inswabi.org/

This episode's transcript can be viewed here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/13PXX_mOeA8xaXlQUJTGA44qAYwhpgvyh/view?usp=sharing

Thanks to Kevin Macleod of incompetech.com for our theme music.

In this episode, Damien and I talk about the importance of reflection in Social Work practice and his experience leading a multifunctional team to support people severely injured in motor vehicle accidents. We discuss clinical supervision and reflective practice and resources he draws on in the course of his work. We also touch on the positive moves within some government departments to bring new life, experience and enthusiasm to our roles and organisation culture, and how this can support him to develop creative solutions to address barriers for people with a disability.

Links to resources mentioned in this week’s episode:

NSW Department of Communities and Justice – made up of the former Departments of Family and Community Services (FACS) and Justice from July 2019. Until 2011 FACS was called the Department of Community Services (DoCS) - https://www.facs.nsw.gov.au/

icare - https://www.icare.nsw.gov.au/

National Disability Insurance Scheme - https://www.ndis.gov.au/

United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities.html

Australian Human Rights Commission and the UNCRPD - https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/disability-rights/united-nations-convention-rights-persons-disabilities-uncrpd

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child - https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx

Australian Human Rights Commission and the UNCRC - https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/education/what-are-childrens-rights

This episode's transcript can be viewed here:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1nr84l3UQBDL8DvjmeEcPeqUSyJw2pe2n

Thanks to Kevin Macleod of incompetech.com for our theme music.

Hi and welcome to Social Work Spotlight, a podcast created to showcase the wonderful and valuable work being done by Social Workers in Sydney, Australia.

I’m your host, Yasmine McKee-Wright, and each episode I will interview a local social worker to showcase diverse areas of the profession and what kinds of fields we specialise in. We will touch a little on social work education and foundations, although this podcast is aimed at non social workers who may just be interested in what we do, or for those who might be looking for a career change.

This is Episode 0 - the podcast introduction, with the first episode scheduled for release on April 18 2020. For each episode I will post a transcript as well as links and show notes in this description section, for you to continue reading on a particular topic if you wish.

My first three guests are at different stages in their careers, and come from diverse areas of motor vehicle accidents, traumatic brain injury rehabilitation, and inpatient hospital work and education.

You can continue the discussion and ask questions of myself or my guests by visiting the podcast website at anchor.fm/socialworkspotlight or find me on Facebook at Social Work Spotlight Podcast, on Twitter @SWSportlightPod, on Instagram at socialworkspotlight_podcast, or you can email [email protected]

I’d love to hear from you, especially if there is a particular topic you’d like discussed, or if you yourself are a social worker and would like to be featured on the show.

Subscribe to this podcast and check back for more episodes. I will aim to release a new episode every 2 weeks. Thanks for tuning in!

Thanks also to anchor.fm for hosting this podcast and to Kevin Macleod of incompetech.com for our theme music.