Describe the roles in gerontological social work. Provide examples of each role and denote each level of practice for each example.

What will be an ideal response?


Gerontological social workers' roles involve all levels of practice: micro, mezzo, and macro. Social workers go to older adults' homes to do assessments and provide clinical counseling to individuals and families (micro). They also work within institutions such as hospitals and rehabilitation or residential settings, and throughout communities (mezzo). Their primary role is to provide education and training about aging and older adulthood, conduct support groups, make sense of medical diagnoses and prescriptions, deliver counseling and case-management services (micro), and advocate for environmental and legislative changes (macro). They might also design and facilitate intergenerational programs, such as an adopt-a-grandparent program (mezzo).

Social Work & Human Services

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In the Historians Survey of Presidential Leadership, one of the top 10 attributes of leadership includes:

a. Friendliness b. Crisis Leadership c. Flexibility d. Intelligence

Social Work & Human Services

Historical policy analysis cannot provide:

a) Neat formulas for avoiding past mistakes with clear descriptions of what caused certain events. b) Suggestions from past failures and successes of what might work today. c) An awareness of the importance of social, political, and economic factors in policy issues. d) An understanding of where we've been in order to understand where we are today.

Social Work & Human Services

When systems interact during the engagement step, there is an energy exchange which can create ______.

A. synergy B. balance C. counterintuitive results D. poise

Social Work & Human Services

When dealing with a crisis, a supervisor may need to become a ______________able to implement intrepid decisions.

A) advocate B) competitor C) coach/counselor D) public relations ambassador

Social Work & Human Services