Tips to a Successful Placement
Going into placement, (especially for the first time), is going to be a little intimidating and nerve raking. Well, here are some useful tips to help you through your placement, so you can have the best placement experience you can:
1. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time in the morning so you aren’t rushed to get to your placement. This will help start your day off right.
2. Make sure to take time off and have some “me time”, even if it’s only for a half-hour. In this time you have just for yourself, you can do things that help you relax, these things could include; having a nice bubble bath to yourself, reading your favourite book, writing, drawing, painting, going for a walk, working out, or even just some down time to watch your favourite show and relax, or take a nice, well needed nap. All of these things are self-care. Taking care of yourself and your mental health is really important, don’t neglect it!
3. Do the best you can at the tasks given to you by your supervisor, ask for new tasks when you complete the ones given to you and go around and ask the workers if there is anything they need help on that you can do when you have nothing else to do. This will show that you are a hard, willing and reliable worker. It will show determination and the passion you have for your job.
4. Make sure you know your boundaries and the limits/rules in place for placement students such as yourself. If you are unsure of them, don’t be shy to ask for clarification. Your supervisor will be a lot more pleased with you and your outcome if you ask for clarification so you can complete the task exactly how it is being asked to get done. It also shows to your supervisor that you care about the work you are doing.
5. Try and be at least 10 minutes early each day. This will help ease stress in the morning, helping you be an all-around better worker. It will also show determination and good work ethic to your supervisor.
6. If you feel you are being treated poorly, don’t be scared to contact your Program Coordinator/School Supervisor and let them know what is going on so things can be fixed. Don’t think you have to just put up with being treated badly, being taken advantage of, overworked, being undervalued, etc.
7. Remember you are not a worker, so there are some tasks you are unable to do, and if they are asked of you, you are entitled to say no to them.
8. Try to complete the tasks/objectives/assignments given to you as soon as you can. This will help relieve stress, as, if you do the tasks right away, then you won’t have a bunch to do all at once, (unless you are being overworked) near the end, right before the “due date” of your task/objective/assignment.
9. Make sure you have a good support system. Especially with working in the field of Social Service Work, you will be witness to several heartbreaking, traumatic stories, meeting people in their lowest points can really drag your own mental health down. If you have a good support system, then you at least have some people you can speak to about these tough things (within confidentiality standards), which will really help out your mental health in the long run. Although it’s hard in this field, try your best not to bring anything home with you.
10. Don’t try and “fix” people. People don’t need “fixing” they need guidance, education and support. We cannot “fix” people, all we can do is give our clients the tools to “fix” their problems themselves. People need to be ready to change, you can’t force it onto someone. All the hard work is being done by them, we are just here to help guide them through it. Don’t forget that!
11. Don’t be judgmental or prejudice. Sometimes we can be judgmental without even realizing it. This is something everyone needs to work on, but especially Social Service Workers and any other kind of mental health professional. We grow up with our own morals, rights and wrongs, beliefs and traditions, and sometimes they can get in the way of providing the best care to your client. Try your best to be as open minded and excepting/non-judgmental as you can. Your clients are here seeking mental health support, being judgmental about their live style is only perpetuating the stigma causing these people to avoid seeking services in the first place.
12. You only have a set time to be at your placement for, so if you don’t enjoy it, just focus on that. Focus on getting things done, and over time you will find yourself overall less stressed out because you’re thinking about the end goal, and making yourself determined to get through this and complete your program you worked so hard to get through, so you can start your future career and life.