FROM SOCIAL WORKER TO ADVOCATE

"What would you do if one of our girls turned your chair over?" the interviewer asked me. I was interviewing for a position at a psychiatric facility. I would have been working in the adolescent and teen girls' wing.

My mouth fell open. I am sure I looked like an idiot. "Um, I think we're done here," I replied. (How professional of me.) 

I steered my power chair out of the interviewer's office. I never looked back.  The dream I'd had of becoming a medical social worker died. on that Friday in the '80s 

If I am completely honest with myself, that dream bit the dust long before that fateful interview. That dream ended before I finished grad school. 

I got good grades on my coursework I understood the concepts of empathetic understanding and active listening.

What I had trouble doing was advising or counseling someone about how to find a solution to their problems. When we roll-played counseling sessions in class I froze I had no clue what the appropriate response should be.  I aced my final video counseling assignment only because it was filmed on the last day of class. The professor brought us wine and cheese to celebrate. I had a glass of wine before my video was filmed. Everyone laughed as they congratulated me on how well I had done.

On the day of graduation, I was happy, but on the inside, I was terrified. How long would it take me to find a job?  Would I find one?  Would everyone realize that academics aside, I really did not know what I was doing?

I took classes on how to answer job interview questions, I sent out resumes, and I spent countless Saturdays taking exams to qualify for social work positions with the State of Missouri. I was offered night positions in psychiatric facilities. Nothing else.

I know that I would have been an asset to the hospital where I had been a patient in 1968. My internship there was the best part of grad school for me. I like to think I made a difference while I was there. The group I'd led with the teen and adolescent patients was very rewarding. The hospital would not consider hiring me. I did not have two years of work experience. 

 I am an advocate for the elderly and disabled  I am focused on helping the residents of long-term care communities. I know what it's like to live in a nursing home. My goal, before my time on Earth, is done, is to make a positive difference in that community no matter how small. I am still figuring out, how to make that happen.

 To all of the staff of long-term care communities, The job you've chosen is an important one. You assist residents in living the best lives they possibly can. Not everyone could do the job you do. I know you must be stressed. I am sure your residents see it as well. I just want to remind you to always treat the residents you care for like the person they are. They are not just bodies or tasks to be completed.  If you get a phone please wait until you finished caring for someone to take the call. Treat your residents, the way that you would want to be treated.

To the families of residents do not forget your loved one. With Covid, lockdowns, and inclement weather residents of nursing homes may feel isolated and depressed  Send them a little love. After all, it is almost Valentine's Day. I can guarantee that they never forget you.