Thisassignment is designed to be a brainstorming and reflective thinking exercise in preparing you for your final paper.It is perfectly acceptable to use bullet points or short phrases to convey your points.Address the prompts as completely as possible, noting that not every prompt will be applicable to every setting.Students are to answer each prompt (#1, #2, #3, #4).Should you have insights or observations that you would like to include in your final paper, you may include them here.
It will be helpful to your final paper construction if you cite/reference any outside sources in this assignment so you might quickly refer to them later.You will be required to cite your references in Assignment #11.
Prompt #1:
§Original pre-internship project:describe your volunteer setting, services provided, client population(s) being served and any other information useful in portraying the nature of this organization.
§Alternate video pre-internship project:describe 1-3 videos or video segments that will inform your final paper.Describe the setting, types of services or issued being explored, and the client/patient population.Describe any other relevant information describing the nature of the video topic, issue, or challenge.
Prompt #2:describe the types/classifications/dimensions/frames of suffering you observe or are addressing in this volunteer setting.What cultural and religious considerations need to be included in the helping of this population?BE CERTAIN TO LINK YOUR DISCUSSION TO SPECIFIC COURSE CONTENT.
§Original and alternate video pre-internship students:here, you are to review course materials and align types of suffering, religious, and cultural observations with what you are seeing or inferring from your volunteer setting and/or video field work.
Prompt # 3:Original and video pre-internship students:here, you need to substantiate your paper by conducting research to find data speaking to the importance of this issue, topic, type(s) of suffering, etc.Just because there is a volunteer organization or a video is not, in and of itself, sufficient to demonstrate the importance of the suffering phenomena.Your job is to provide evidence as to why we, as helping professionals or as a society at-large, should care about this topic/issue/suffering.
Part A.Research your organization/topic/setting for statistics, data or information that reflects their goals, objectives and progress in serving their population.You may obtain this information from any reputable source(s) including their website, through an interview with your mentor/supervisor, etc.Some small organizations won’t have published data.
Part B.Do internet research to obtain ‘big data’ at the local, regional, state, national, or international level.For example, if you volunteered at a local Special Olympics event, then you’d search for “Special Olympics statistics”.Essentially, find a larger source of published data from which you can make logical deductions.Your setting may not necessarily have statistics readily available.For example, if you are volunteering at a small local foodbank, you might search for “food insecurity Tucson” or “food bank statistics Arizona” and link your topic accordingly. Alternatively, if your video option centers on healthcare disparity for persons affected by mental health alterations, you would then locate statistics pertaining to mental health disparities.
It is imperative to support this part of your paper with data, ensuring your discussion is both scholarly and supported by the literature.
FAQ:I’m still confused – what should I look for using online scholarly resources?
There isn’t a ‘right answer’ to your question, as each student is having a different volunteer experience at a volunteer setting. The objective is to connect your volunteer setting to the ‘bigger picture’ and locate data, statistics, demographic information, etc. to give context. Why should anyone care about this organization? How are they connected or supported in the big picture (which could be at the county, state, local, or international level). Are they effective in meeting the needs for those they serve?
For example:
You have volunteered/watched videos about homelessness. The local organization through which you volunteered might be very small, with no statistics on their website.
In this case you would then look to see how they connect to a ‘bigger picture’ in the social context. You could perform an internet search using the following search terms:
“homeless statistics, Arizona”, “homeless statistics, United States”, “homelessness statistics”, “how to end homelessness”, etc.
From such an internet search, you can find plenty of information from which to respond to the prompt, and which you will think about and revisit for assignment 11 pre-internship paper synthesis when you will start outlining your final paper.
Part C.What are the objectives of this organization/topic/challenge/setting?In your opinion, is this organization/society/healthcare meeting objectives in addressing the suffering?Why or why not (use Part A and Part B to substantiate your assessment)?As a future helping professional, what recommendations would you make to this organization to better meet their objectives/goals?
Prompt #4:Identify and describe members of the IPT (interprofessional team, also referred to IDT – interdisciplinary team) that are involved in providing service to this population.Don’t just say “I volunteered with Jason and he was a super cool dude”.Who else is working with this organization – either internally or externally?Discuss other agencies or organizations that collaborate or contribute to this non-profit organization’s service and how the IPT functions, in your opinion; are they effective? Are there areas that could be improved?