Read the case study below and answer the following questions.
Case study
Mary O’Brien is an Aboriginal woman. She recently left the respite care centre without notice and was missing for almost a week, taking no medication with her. The police were notified, but were unable to locate her. When she returned, she said that she had gone to a relative’s funeral in the country.
Mary is in her early 60’s. She grew up in Redfern, a suburb of Sydney, and attended school up to Year 8. She is married to an English born truck driver and has 6 children between the ages of 38 and 45 years. Mary has Emphysema and Diabetes, which is not well controlled, and she insists on eating cakes and biscuits, which her family bring in.
9. Outline three (3) key issues with this scenario
10. Provide strategies on how the organisation and its staff can best support Mary’s needs and preferences and identify an organisation that could provide support.
Mary’s Need Support strategy External Organisation that could assist with this need
Spiritual
e.g. religion 1
2
Cultural
e.g. aboriginality 1
2
Emotional
e.g. loss and grief 1
2
Physical
e.g. health and wellbeing 1
2
Social
e.g. inclusive practice, friends/family 1
2
Communication 1
2
11. Self-Awareness can help with: (tick five (5) correct answers)
¨ Identifying and reflecting on your own perspectives and biases
¨ Manipulating other people
¨ Being aware of your self and social limitations
¨ Being more inclusive in the workplace
¨ Identifying ways to improve working relationships
¨ Getting a promotion at work
¨ Understanding how your culture and attitudes impacts on others
12. Explain why self-awareness and reflection are important when interacting or communicating with people in your work environment.
Read the case study and answer questions following.
Case study
Jane has been working in a family support service for the past five years, and works with clients from a similar cultural background to her. Jane works closely with clients and their families, to address their needs and discusses their options with them. She is a well-respected and liked staff member.
Over the last week Jane has been allocated a new temporary client, Mei Lin; whilst the regular worker is on family leave.
Mei Lin and her family emigrated from China and only speak Cantonese. Mei Lin’s daughter is at school learning English, and shares what she is learning with her family. Other staff have found using simple English words and gestures it makes it possible to enable basic communication.
Food is an important part of Mei Lin’s culture and she takes pride pride in cooking and providing traditional Chinese food using traditional herbs and spices. Jane usually finds Mei Lin in the kitchen. The aroma from the spices and herbs linger within the home, mainly in the kitchen and also on Mei Lin’s clothing.
These aromas are not familiar to Jane and she is finding the cooking smells to be unpleasant and they make her feel sick. She finds she has to cover her mouth mouth and nose whenever she enters the house. She is worried this will impact on her general health. Jane has considered wearing a mask for each visit, has sprayed extra perfume before entering the house, and has brought her own air freshener to spray around the kitchen area during visits. She and has attempted to speak to Mei Lin about changing visits or cooking times but Mei Lin doesn’t want to change her routines. After trying to discuss this issue with Mei Lin’s husband, Jane believes she can no longer provide quality care to Mei Lin and she feels they would be better off having a Chinese worker.
13. Provide an example of self-awareness that Jane demonstrated
14. Provide two (2) examples where Jane demonstrates a lack of self-awareness
15. Explain how Jane’s behaviours and actions could affect Mei Lin and her family. Provide a minimum of three (3) examples
16. If you were providing support to Mei Lin and her family, what assistance could you ask for to help with communication needs
17. Provide three (3) strategies that could have provided a better experience for both Mei Lin and Jane
18. Which of the following are useful for effective communication (tick the five (5) correct answers)
¨ Passive communication
¨ Asking open ended questions
¨ Pronouncing words and using terminology correctly
¨ Open body language
¨ Active listening
¨ Not showing emotions
¨ Confirming understanding
19. There are different methods of communication. Read each statement and match it to the correct mode of communication
Statements:
? Graphs and charts maps and logos
? Face to face, telephone, radio and television
? Body language, gestures, how we dress and act
? Letters, emails, books and magazines
Mode of communication Statement
Non-verbal Communication
Written Communication
Verbal Communication
Visualisation
20. Provide an example of how each factor (heading listed below) can influence the way we communicate
Factor Examples of how it influences communication
Language
Culture
Religion
Emotional State
Disability
Health
Age
21. Match the Communication Technique with the provided Example and/or Definition.
Examples:
? Working together to complete tasks or achieve a goal
? This is a beautiful painting. You are a talented artist
? Use various techniques to create a conversation around change, without actually suggesting to the person they should change
? Betty, I need to talk to you NOW.
? Did you enjoy lunch?
? Give a brief statement of the main points
? Seeking to understand speaker by repeating back key points
? What would you like to do today?
? Forcing another person to do something they don’t want to do
Communication technique Example or Definition
Closed Question
Open Question
Affirmation
Reflective Listening
Summarise
Motivational Interviewing
Coercive approach
Collaboration
Confrontation
22. List three (3) ways you can demonstrate respect when communicating with the person you are providing support to, their family and/or work colleagues
23. Compete the table by listing four (4) different barriers to effective communication; and providing two (2) strategies to reduce each barrier.
Barriers to communication Strategies to reduce impact
1. 1.
2.
2. 1.
2.
3. 1.
2.
4. 1.
2.
24. Community service workers need to be aware of a number of legal and ethical issues when communicating.
Read the statements below and choose an ‘issue’ that matches.
Issue Answer Statements
Duty of Care A. The unfair or unjust treatment of a person on the basis of a personal attribute, including age, race or gender
Informed Choice B. Legislative requirement placed on some people to report signs of suspected abuse or neglect of vulnerable people including frail aged and children
Privacy and Confidentiality C. Professional used to change written text or spoken words from one language to another
Job Description D. Making a decision to agree to a service/process after you have been provided with all the relevant information and had sufficient time to form an understanding.
Child protection E. Outlines the tasks you are to perform, rules you are to abide and responsibilities you have in the workplace
Mandatory Reporting F. Occurs when workplace decisions or actions are influenced by, or perceived to be influenced by personal gain
Conflict of Interest G. Standards by which you are to act and behave in the workplace
Discrimination H. Employers and employees in a workplace have a responsibility to take reasonable care not to cause harm to other people or property
Disclosure I. Protection of personal information. Not repeating conversations. Ensuring that client files are locked in office.
Scope of Practice J. Sharing of personal information or key information relevant to a specific purpose
Translators and Interpreters K. Legislated process for protecting children from harm, abuse or neglect
Ethics L. What you are qualified to do, what you are competent to do and what you are authorised to do
25. When you first meet a person receiving a service, what points should you clearly discuss to promote understanding of the professional boundaries of the relationship? (tick five (5) correct answers)
¨ the function of the service
¨ support workers annual wage
¨ your role in the service
¨ responsibilities of person seeking services
¨ size and structure of your family
¨ person’s rights to privacy and confidentiality
¨ your health conditions
¨ what the person can expect from the service
¨ all of the above
26. Complete the table by providing three (3) types of digital media regularly used in a community service setting and an example of how each one is used
Digital media regularly used An example of how it is used
27. As a staff member in the community services sector you are obliged to abide by legislation pertaining to the sector and the ethical guidelines as established by your organisation.
In the below situations, tick whether this is UNETHICAL or a LEGAL situation and state a reason why.
Situation Unethical or Legal concern Reason
Joan is an older worker and has applied for a position as an activities coordinator in the same organisation where she currently works. She is told she was not successful as the position is suited to a much younger person ¨ Unethical
¨ Legal
John is a personal carer but doesn’t like showering residents with dementia. On the early shift today, John manipulates another worker into doing his showers for him ¨ Unethical
¨ Legal
Mary Jane is crying and upset. She tells you the doctor is really cross at her as she is not following the treatment plan he has devised for her. She tells you the doctor never asked for her input and she doesn’t like being told what to do ¨ Unethical
¨ Legal
Joe shares some of his past with you during a home visit. This was about terrible events he witnessed and participated in when he was in the war. You can’t wait to get back to the office so you can share with the other staff ¨ Unethical
¨ Legal
A day outing is being organised for the residents. The staff exclude Abdul as they think it is too difficult to work around his prayer times and he probably wouldn’t want to go anyway ¨ Unethical
¨ Legal
Sara feels sorry for Mrs Gordon as she lives on her own. She offers to come around on the weekends to help her out and keep her company ¨ Unethical
¨ Legal
Read the case study below and answer the following questions.
Case study
Mrs Anna Collins (DOB – 13/3/19) lives in her own home and receives services from your organisation 3 days a week. When you arrive at her home at 11am on the 22.10.2020 Mrs Collins does not come to the door to greet you as usual. You call out and hear her calling back to you from inside the house. You enter, using the key she keeps in a secret location, and you find Mrs Collins on the bathroom floor.
When you ask Mrs Collins what happened, she states “I got up at 11pm to go to the bathroom and slipped off the toilet seat when I went to sit down. That jolly light blew when I tried to switch it on and I couldn’t see a thing. I guessed I misjudged where the toilet was. *sigh* I’ve been lying here ever since”
You ask her where it hurts/what injuries she knows of, as you start to do a quick assessment. She says “horrid pain in the top of my right leg” and you notice a large bruise to that region and that the leg is turned outward.
You make Mrs Collins comfortable with a pillow and blankets; and provide her with reassurance that you will get some help. You call 000 for an ambulance, and then your Supervisor to report the incident. While you sit with Mrs Collins waiting for the ambulance, you call Sally Collins (daughter – next of kin) to inform her of what has happened.
Mrs Collins is now in hospital receiving the medical attention she requires and you have returned to the office to complete the paperwork.
28. Complete the following Incident Report for the scenario listed above
Remember to use objective writing (language) as this is a legal document.
<p>The post Case study Mary O’Brien is an Aboriginal woman. She recently left the respite care centre without notice and was missing for almost a week, taking no medication with her. The police were notified, but were unable to locate her. When she returned, she said that she had gone to a relative’s funeral in the country. Mary is in her early 60’s. She grew up in Redfern, a suburb of Sydney, and attended school up to Year 8. She is married to an English born truck driver and has 6 children between the ages of 38 and 45 years. Mary has Emphysema and Diabetes, which is not well controlled, and she insists on eating cakes and biscuits, which her family bring in. 9. Outline three (3) first appeared on For academic Help.</p>
