Professional Applications in Service Learning Journal Reflection
My volunteer experience was quite challenging and required specific skills and abilities. Applying the information that I learned during the studying helped me to communicate with colleagues and patients. As I volunteered in the juvenile rehab center, I had to be very attentive, observant and focused all the time. Critical thinking, decision-making skills, and dexterity assisted me to provide the successful outcomes of my work. My responsibilities included safety, welfare, and comfort of the patients and residents. My experience also involved the interaction with aggressive and sometimes even dangerous juveniles.
As a part of a working team, I participated in a gang mediation. This activity required my knowledge in sociology, psychology, criminal justice, and social work. It was a testing case to implement my potential and capability to be strong, cold minded, and unbiased. I took part in a crisis de-escalation between two aggressive youths and prevented the severe consequences. This activity taught me to be alert all the time and to be courteous in any circumstances. Also, I observed the Juvenile sex offender unit training managed by a supervision team. The information provided the integrated and comprehensive approach, that resulted in improvement of the communication among residents. This experience contributed to my understanding of the communication with the problematic patients. I learned how to cooperate with such individuals using proper language and manner. This experience has combined with my knowledge of the psychological issues of those patients. One of my activities was the extension of the patients' life skills and priorities, so it helped them to concentrate on what is good and important to them. My responsibility also was to keep a record of the processes and activities.
During my volunteering, I participated in every staff meeting. It provided the awareness on what is going on, what issues are important to discuss, and what solutions to concentrate on. I improved my communication skills and developed the deep understanding of the environment and how to operate in it. I learned how to apply my knowledge to …
