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I learned that:
* I never tired of seeing the miracle of life in newborn babies (God shows up no matter what)
* my therapeutic techniques and brief counseling showed up without me being intentional about it - it came naturally
* my love ethic towards the mothers was present in most all scenarios
* you really could write a book regarding the situations that are occurring within families or one woman's life
* I learned how to make accurate, brief, (albeit sometimes humorous) referrals to Children's Services
* my discernment skills became sharper
* I learned a better understanding of children's services and what really needs to be known or suspected in order to make a valid report
* being firm and kind is the best appropriate
* not everyone will like you - in fact they may detest the site of your face & what you represent to them in their life (i.e. not taking a baby home with them - or being involved in the system again due to their life choices)
* documenting was quite fun with moms and the conversations I had
* by checking how to correctly pronounce a mom's name or baby's name built rapport and showed respect
* assuming that the guy next to the mom is the father is a bad assumption or that the woman beside the mom is her mother.....it might be her sister and the guy might be her brother.....a.k.a. DON'T ASSUME
* a genuine smile and slowing my questions down, calms a room much quicker than me speeding through my assessment
* talking in a British accent to particular nurses on the floor when appropriate is way fun
* once you are on a unit for a while you begin to know the other staff's stories and their names and work isn't really "work" anymore...it's part of you and part of your passion
* I would love to say thank you to: (Cheryl, Patty, Gloria, Karen P., Karen F., Claire, Erin, Suzanne...the Case managers)
* I could really have blast and enjoy the difficult scenarios when working with a staff that is so fun and so supportive.
* Lastly, I learned that there's a reason that I'm a social worker and not a nurse, and that I get why the nurses say to me, "there's a reason that you're the social worker and I am not." We get each other and our gifts.
* Lastly, lastly, I'm gonna miss the conversations with my coworker Caroline. It's a beautiful thing when you allow yourself to be vulnerable with a trusted person and experience life together as you do when dealing with moms involved with heroin/meth/cocaine abuse, prescription drug abuse, potential abuse or neglect, homelessness, postpartum depression and anxiety and domestic violence amongst other things. I could see God's Spirit in our friendship and I'm gonna miss that time. Thank you Caroline.
