Personal Work Plan

Michelle A Hill
Wayne State University










Self-assessment of beginning cultural competence
Cultural competence is observed by the National Association of Social Workers Code of
Ethics as being an ethical characteristic of the social work profession (Appleby, Colon &
Hamilton, 2011). Coming into this course, I had a general knowledge about cultural competency
because of my current job. It is mandatory for myself and my coworkers to take a Cultural
Competency and Limited English Proficiency training course each year in order to provide the
best services possible to the people we serve. Through these trainings, we learned about different
beliefs, values, traditions and holidays. I was also taught to be careful with the way I approach
someone or word certain things, in order to be respectful and not offend anyone who may be
from another culture or background. Taking these training courses was extremely helpful to me
because I hadnt been too familiar with cultures outside of my own. I grew up in a small,
predominately white, country town where I wasnt exposed to much diversity. Although I am
aware of differences and how to accommodate others in several different ways from these
courses, there was still a lot that I needed to learn.
What have you learned in this course?
Our text reads that each culture is unique to its context and that the norms and values of
no culture can be used as judging any other (Appleby et al., 2011). This has been and always
will be something that I need to always keep in mind. As I previously mentioned, I was sheltered
in my small hometown and wasnt able to see, firsthand, many cultural differences or the values
and norms of individual cultures. From this course and the different readings and videos that Ive
dissected, I have been able to learn about the norms of Native American families and how
spiritual they are. Ive also learned about the value Chinese individuals place on their elderly
population and several different characteristics and risk factors of Latino families. Each of these
different oppressed groups that I was able to learn about was new information and really sparked
interest in me. I think to understand a person, you must understand their past and where they
come from; so to learn about different cultures was truly intriguing and meaningful, to say the
least. While studying about Native Americans and The Trail of Tears, I was especially touched
and challenged. I hadnt known as much information as I thought I did and it fed my desire to
want to know more history of so many different cultures and subcultures.
What does this mean for your practice?
I dont necessarily think that any one group would be hard to work with in regards to my
background or values. I try to be a free spirit and understand a lot of differences between people.
For that reason, I think that any one group would be as challenging as the next, I would just need
to try to acquire as much cultural competence as possible in order to serve someone in the best
way possible.
I think that it would be particularly challenging, and stimulating and beneficial to work
with Native Americans. Challenging because they dont particularly trust others, especially
Caucasians, because of their history. Challenges stimulate me, though, and make me want to
strive to learn and help even more. I really do believe that I am a kind person that can usually
build trust somewhat easily and if I was able to work and help members of this group, it would
feel extremely heartfelt to me.
What more do you need to know?
A society as complex as our own is composed of many different groups; not everyone in
a society shares every element of the larger culture (Appleby et al., 26, 2011). I think the most
important thing is to learn how extremely diverse our society is. I want to learn more about the
values, norms and history of as many cultures as I can. Going to different cultural centers, or
reading up on information from different books or scholarly articles are a great way to learn but I
think that if I am given the opportunity, I would love to learn from people of these groups
firsthand.
Action Steps
In order to increase my cultural competence, I think its reasonable for me to continue
researching history and trends of different cultures, learn about differences in customs, values
and what is considered acceptable within different cultures, and try to gain as much personal
feedback and experience from members of these groups so that I can be aware and helpful, rather
than hurtful.
















References
Appleby, G.G., Colon, E., Hamilton, J. (2011). Diversity, oppression, and social functioning:
Person-in-environment assessment and intervention. Boston, MA: Pearson Education