Summary Assessment of Motivation, Readiness, and Suitability for the Profession of Social Work.

A. Career Plans: setting, nature of issues, kinds of people you would prefer to work with. Identify and describe the personal qualities and attributes that you think will be required of you so you can practice social work effectively in such a context.

B. Client and Setting Preference: Identify those settings, issues and people with whom you would prefer NOT to work with. Discuss the reasons for these preferences. What are the implications of those reasons for your personal and professional development?

C. Critical Events: Identify three major factors or incidents in your personal, familial, or situational experiences that contributed to your choice of social work as a career. How do these three affect your current readiness for professional Social Work practice?

D. Satisfying and Challenging Aspects: What do you anticipate will be the most rewarding or satisfying part of being a professional social worker? What will be the most difficult?

E. Readiness for Social Work: Consider your family genogram, eco-map, timeline, the results of questionnaires and ask yourself "Do I possess or can I develop the personal capacities necessary to function effectively as a professional social worker?" If your answer is "No," check out your conclusion by meeting with an adviser, professor, or counselor. If your answer is "Yes," identify the personal areas requiring further exploration and indicate those capacities you need to strengthen. Outline a specific plan to do so.

F. Based on your current level of self-awareness, outline three issues most significant to you that you would want to explore with an experienced social worker.