For this assignment, you will examine how roles and prior experiences impact the perception of medication use and implications for social work practice. You will need to interview two people for this assignment (a social worker and a non-social work professional). Begin scheduling these conversations as early in the semester as possible so you have enough time to reflect and write your reaction paper, following these guidelines:
Schedule a structured interview with one social worker, and one non-social work professional who works with mental health services consumers (e.g., a lawyer, teacher, nurse) regarding their beliefs, values, and attitudes toward psychotropic medications and ascertain what each believes to be the appropriate role of the client, social worker, and psychiatrist. During the interviews, you are to take notes (by hand) which will be submitted as an appendix to your final paper (do not record your interviews). To maintain confidentiality, de-identify the people and agencies in both the notes and the paper. Include the following in your interviews:
What are the interviewee’s job and role within the job? Do they have a role in relation to consumer medication?
What are the interviewee’s beliefs, values, and attitudes toward psychotropic medication?
Explore the interviewee’s knowledge of ethical/legal dimensions of medication compliance/refusal.
What does the interviewee believe to be the best techniques for medication monitoring? How useful do they believe the applications of problem-solving and social skills training are to medication-related issues?
What do each of the interviewees believe to be the role of the social worker, psychiatrist, and consumer in regard to psychotropic medication?
Write up each interview separately. Do not combine the interviews, (e.g., Ms. X believes… but Mr. Y believes…).
Begin scheduling these conversations as early in the semester as possible so you have enough time to reflect and write your reaction paper.
In a five-page (maximum) double-spaced paper, write your summary and reactions to the interviewees’ experiences in light of your own experiences and what you have learned in this course (the page count does not apply to your interview notes, abstract or reference pages). As you reflect on your reactions to the interviewees’ experiences, use the literature and research to support your analysis of their beliefs. Be sure to reference and properly cite any sources referenced in your paper (these comprise the course materials and other scholarly sources). There should be a minimum of five citations. This paper and the interview notes will be submitted to your instructor at the end of Module 7. In order to receive a grade for this paper, you must submit notes. This paper must follow all APA guidelines. Be sure to check your APA manual before submitting.
As this paper involves working with other people, please review the guidelines and conduct the interviews appropriately.