Practicum Reflection

Introduction In the Field: A Guide for the Social Work Practicum, helps students to make the leap from the theories they learned in the classroom to the real world they will encounter in their field placement. It addresses issues that students often struggle within their beginning practicum and reinforces that co-workers, supervisors, and the students ' own life experiences have much offer (Danowski, 2012).

Risk Taking

Throughout this book I learned that to get the most out of my field practicum, I will need to take risks. I will need to expose myself to new learning experiences and run the risk of failure. Failure can be one of the most valuable teaching tools when the failure is identified and the correct course of action is applied. I hope that my agency supervisor and faculty field advisor will assist me in identifying my shortfalls or failures so

I am now expected to move into a professional role. This will require me to demonstrate initiative and a desire for knowledge and new experience that I cannot get in the classroom environment. This professional role will also place special emphasis on Organizational and Time management skills. It will be imperative that I utilize my time wisely in order to gain the most from the field placement (Danowski, 2012).

The Importance of Open Ended Questions

The importance of open ended questions with someone who cannot express their own needs is imperative to being a good practitioner. It is much easier to ask open ended questions with your peers in class than it is once you have a client in front of you. Someone who doesn 't know how to express their own needs often has to be coached into understanding what it is they may possibly need. As stated by Danokowski (2012), " You need to feed them today so that you will be able to teach them to fish tomorrow to fend for themselves for much of their lives" ( p.51 )

Getting Comfortable with you