Week 5

Week 5 –

The Code of Conduct and Standards of Practice was a lot to digest this week. I have never been part of any organization with a formal, written Standard of Practice and so I found this to be very interesting. I have been blessed to run a daycare out of my home, and in doing so, have been accountable to the families that I provide care for, as well as protection of my reputation in the community, but have not had a governing body that looks after me. It will be such a great environment to be in, surrounded by like minded individuals, with common goals and standards, as well as a standard level of education and training. All of us will graduate from Stenberg with the same expectations placed on us, the same amount of clinical hours, theory and practice. We will be equals in the field that we chose to work in. While some of us may excel at certain aspects of the job, others will learn from this. Our outcome should be the same – effective therapeutic relationships that we build within our clients, co-workers, and team members. When someone is acting outside of the Standards of Practice, there are concrete, written disciplinary measures that can be made.

This is different from any job that I have had. I have been in a job with a boss, that at any time can be transferred, and another boss comes in to replace them. The interpretation of my job changes with who is in charge, not with any written conduct and standard that is being followed. So in turn, there becomes grey area, areas that are expected to be achieved, but with no guideline of how to accomplish this, nor any time frame in which the job needs to be completed by. I believe this is the number one reason for job dissatisfaction. The lack of communication that is evident in the work force.

Now, I may be looking at the Standards of Practice with rose coloured glasses, and it may be more complex and diverse than that first glace, but that is not taking away my excitement of having a body of like minded individuals working alongside of me.