Discussion question 1:
After reading about Trends and Challenges that human services leader face, use the list from the chapter to extract a list of the trends and challenges and construct a brief questionnaire to use in interviewing the CEO or another top manager of a human service agency with which you are familiar.
Ask the interviewee to comment on each of the following questions:
Does he/she agree or disagree that these trends are and will continue to be the central challenges for managers in the field?
Are there are other issues/challenges that are likely to shape management practice in the future?
What can those who aspire to become managers do to best prepare themselves to practice effectively in the next 10-15 years?
1. REPLY TO EMMA:
Questionnaires
Company name:
Telephone number:
Name of Contact:
Date:
Describe your company’s structure? How large is it? Please include the number of employees.
What are the common management challenges, and what is the best way to manage them?
How do you maintain communication with your employees?
What do you like about the world of human services?
As a CEO, what is your view on job elimination?
Working as a CEO of a human service agency, what are two NOHS standards that can help guide the ethical work of a human service worker (Wark & Kerewsky, 2013)?
What are your thoughts on the Saint Leo core values in your line of work (Prewitt & Weil, 2014?
How are you managing the funding pressure of your agency because agencies are increasing in number?
N/B Kindly comment on each.
Do you think the worry of a business expenses overtaking the business revenue will continue to be one of the challenges for CEO’s?
Apart from shaping company culture, are there other challenges that can control management practice in the future?
What can you tell aspiring managers to prepare themselves in the next 10-15 years?
References
Prewitt, J. E., & Weil, R. (2014). Organizational opportunities endemic in crisis leadership. Journal of Management Policy and Practice, 15(2), 72.
Wark, L., & Kerewsky, S. D. (2013). Revising the Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals: A Discussion. In 2012 NOHS National Conference Proceedings (p. 20).
2. REPLY TO PRISCILLA:
One of current trends in human services is development of partnership instead of past practices for delivery functions to be isolated even within a single agency. New financing models are introduced, social financing being one of them, when providers are paid when outcomes are met.
Low pay – especially in behavioral health or when serving the underserved, organizations still piece together budgets and depend on grants and other funding sources that aren’t as stable year over year. Staff aren’t paid what they are worth (teachers know what we’re talking about here) and organizations struggle with salaries (most expensive budget item). It’s not for lack of trying, but being forced to close one’s doors isn’t the way to pay staff more.
Compassion fatigue/burnout/emotionally draining work – especially when working in child welfare, with the high cost/complex population with multiple chronic conditions, and working in a more “trauma-informed” methodology. Professionals in the helping profession can experience and hear things day after day that are challenging, painful and difficult.
Workload – caseloads get higher, we have to do more than we used to, staff numbers go down but work stays constant. The message is often to “do more with less”. See “low pay” item above; when we talk about budget challenges, this is impacted as well.
Scope of practice – professionals are responsible for more than ever; this field isn’t specialty-focused anymore and refer or outsource. The shift to integrated care and whole health management means you have to know much more in terms of assessment and screening, interventions, best practices and coordination of care with other providers.
Technology – we have seen an increasing use of technology in every-day tasks. This extends beyond EHRs, as we start using health apps, telemedicine and other risk management tools to help us better monitor client status, provide services, and predict crises or health challenges. While these tools are exciting, helpful and often elevate the quality of care provided, it’s a bit intimidating and scary at times to adopt new methods of doing your job.
Well-informed patient/client – most people do research online before coming in for an appointment, often bringing others with them to advocate, ask questions and help. Today’s healthcare consumer knows more about medications, treatment options and best practices. Often they and/or family members are demanding of specific types of interventions.
I’m sure there are many more challenges, but theses some I chose.
Personal Development
Saint Leo University stresses the development of every person’s mind, spirit, and body for a balanced life. All members of the Saint Leo University community must demonstrate their commitment to personal development to help strengthen the character of our community.
STATEMENT 19: Human service professionals are aware of their own cultural backgrounds, beliefs, and values, recognizing the potential for impact on their relationships with others.
Discussion question 2:In keeping with the theme of the conclusion of the course, I’d like you to list the top three things you’ve learned in this course. In addition, I’d like you to explain why it was that they were so important to you.
3. REPLY TO TRENIA:
The three things I learned in this course are diagnosis, the features of the diagnosis, and how to add specifiers. Overall, I am pleased with the knowledge in this course.
This information is important to me because I work with families that are diagnosed with mental illness. It helps me to understand why things happen with them. I cannot say I like one diagnosis more than another one. I always wonder how the psychologist determined a person was bipolar I, II, or manic. Referring to the DSM-5 has been a great tool to use. I also help to me examine myself and other family members.
(Bridley & Daffin, 2020)
REPLY TO DESTINEE:
hree things I learned in this course were better definitions of different disorders, the prevalence, and how close disorders can be.
For better definitions of disorders, I learned the actual meaning of disorders like social anxiety disorder and bipolar disorder. They are disorders that are often showcased in social media as being disorders that “everyone” has. I am glad I was able to learn the needed symptoms to classify a specific disorder. Disorders are more than just being sad, being socially awkward, being super organized, or having mood swings.
I was glad to be able to learn how common or uncommon each disorder was. Disorders like depression are very common and a lot of disorders are more common in women than they are in men (Bridley & Daffin, 2020). As a woman that intrigued me because I feel like I stress more than normal people and the fact that my gender is one of the reasons was surprising. Prevalence is an important part of any disorder because it lets individuals know much common a disorder is. Any disorder could be biologically or environmentally influenced and that has to do with its prevalence.
Another thing that I am glad I learned during this class is how close disorders can be. Some disorders are only a symptom of being another disorder. Things like hypomanic episodes and manic episodes would determine the type of disorder a person is dealing with (Bridley & Daffin, 2020). It is very important that an individual is diagnosed with the right disorder for the proper treatment. For this reason, it is good to ask the patient a lot of questions that deal with their symptoms. I want to be a therapist so the knowledge that I received in class will carry on as I work towards that career.
References
Bridley, A., & Daffin, L. W. (2020). Discovering Psychology Series Abnormal Psychology 2nd edition. Retrieved from website: https://opentext.wsu.edu/abnormal-psych/wp-content/uploads/sites/41/2018/05/Abnormal-Psychology-2nd-Edition.pdf
