Suchergebnisse

This article uses role theory as a lens to explain the experiences of social workers working within healthcare multidisciplinary teams, which are characterised by interprofessional dominance and subordination. A qualitative case study design was used to explore and describe the experiences of social workers in working with other healthcare practitioners in multidisciplinary teams. A purposeful sampling technique was used to select sixteen participants from a particular health district. Data were collected through interviews and analysed using thematic analysis. Professional power dynamics, a sense of agency with a need for collaborative contribution, and a lack of understanding of the social work profession are three themes that summarise the findings. The article concludes that the ineffective management of multidisciplinary themes creates a barrier to different professionals' ability to communicate, work and learn together. The article recommends preparatory training for multidisciplinary team members and the need for a structured framework for interprofessional engagement. Keywords: collaboration, healthcare, healthcare practitioner, multidisciplinary team, social worker, teamwork

The blurring of the boundaries and interconnectedness between learning and work are features worth exploring in the contemporary supervision landscape. Grounded on transition-experiential learning theories, the study analysed a social service organisation as a context for learning and examined how this context facilitated or inhibited supervision learning experiences for first-time supervisors. It draws on the qualitative findings of thirteen in-depth interviews whose data were analysed using the thematic analysis. This study found that the transitioning of first-time supervisors into the new role took place through their active participation in an organisational context. It concludes with the notion that workplace learning is a context-specific and interactive process. The social service organisation, with its unique features, serves the purpose of providing an environment for learning, with first-time supervisors afforded the opportunity to learn within the context and through interaction with other role-players. In summary, the study recommends a need for fostering of communities of practice, designing and management of workplace learning programmes, and ensuring the creation of sustainable and healthy workplaces. Keywords: social service organisation, organisational context, supervision practice, workplace learning, social service professions

The historical development of social service supervision reveals that the professional and organisational demands do not co-exist without challenges. The tension that often manifests between professional and managerial supervision is explained using the analogy of "polity dualism", a concept widely used in political science to describe the co-existence of democratic and traditional rulership. The study adopted a qualitative exploratory-descriptive design underpinned by an interpretive paradigm. Seventeen social workers and supervisors were purposively sampled at the Department of Social Development, King Cetshwayo District, KwaZulu-Natal. The findings were presented in terms of two main themes and two related subthemes. These included participants' understanding of supervision and relating their understanding of supervision with experience. The recommendations could be summarised to involve the need to limit supervisors' responsibilities to providing supervision only and to address the challenges posed by polity dualism by relying on professional supervision that offers more support and guidance and encourages collaboration between supervisors and supervisees. Keywords: managerial supervision, neoliberalism, polity dualism, professional supervision, social worker, social work supervisor