Cardiovascular System COPD Asthma

Case Study Ms. Joyce Albert

Vocational Profile for Ms. Albert

Name: Ms. Joyce Albert

Age: 52 years of age- Close to Retirement Age

Education: Master of Social Work and self-training Photography skills- High School Education, Bachelor Degree, and above.

Work History: Ms. Albert started as an assistant photographer in various studios, which contributed to developing her photographic skills. However, Ms. Albert did not work for more than a year in each job. According to Joyce, the management in all the photographic studios was not satisfied with her work. Joyce’s claims were not valid because the studios’ managers noted satisfaction with her work. Later, Ms. Albert worked as a self-employed photographer for nine years before enrolling in graduate school. Such an occupation was physically draining as she was required to lift the photography equipment, which weighed approximately 40 pounds. Due to the work’s nature, Ms. Albert also traveled from one place to another to capture clients’ life events. Upon completing her Master’s degree in Social work, Joyce got a job as a children’s social worker. Ms. Albert left the occupation within two years, claiming that her contribution did not satisfy the clients. Ms. Albert later became an eligibility worker, but she left the job after one year due to the client’s complaint. Ms. Albert’s work was good, and the supervisor told her that it was common for clients to make complaints.

Occupational Characteristics: Based on the work history above, Ms. Albert was involved in three different occupations, photography, social work, and eligibility worker. All these occupations depend on the following characteristics; capacity to interact and work with other people, varying work-related duties, emotional stress, manual activities, and visual perception. Based on O*Net (Summary Report 21-1021-00), Ms. Albert’s social work requires clerical tasks. For instance, she is required to keep case history reports and also make reports.

Transferable Skills: O*Net (Summary Report for 21-1021.00- Children Social Worker, n.d) requires both technology and social skills, as illustrated below. The technologies skills include electronic mail software, word processing, medical software, database interface user, and presentation software. In social skills, the social worker should know the customer and personal service (Summary Report for 21-1021.00- Children Social Worker, n.d). In this case, social work clients need assessment and evaluation of their problems. Also, knowledge of human behavior, therapy, and counseling are essential for related psychological issues, diagnosis of mental dysfunctions, rehabilitation, and treatment procedures.

O*Net shows photographers’ tools include both traditional and digital cameras. Thus, graphics software skills and imaging are crucial for better task performance (21-1021.00 - Child, Family, and School Social Workers, n.d). Besides, the photographer should possess editing, web page, and video creation skills to produce photos. Photographing is a competitive occupation, especially in the current digital error. For this reason, the photographer should possess proper marketing strategy, product demonstrations, sales control systems, and creative arts with regards to O*Net (Summary Report for 27-4021.00- Photographers, n.d).

Counseling

Although I would accept to offer counseling services to Ms. Albert as advised by the supervisor, this would be against Mr. Albert’s wish. As a non-Korean male working with a Korean American woman, cultural and social barriers would be inevitable. The client-counselor relationship is essential throughout the counseling process. In this case, the cross-cultural barriers are likely to adversely affect the counselor’s relationship with the client in various ways. First, the counselor lacks cultural knowledge about Korea, including norms, beliefs, people’s attitudes, and behaviors, determining counseling factors. For instance, a counselor should know Ms. Albert’s cultural preferences concerning her work history issues, health, and interaction with people. Such a factor influences clinical decisions for this client. The fact that Mr. Albert asks for a Korean counselor implies that this family’s beliefs and norms are based on Korean culture. The counselor may lack knowledge on handling a female Korean, hence making the situation worse. Moreover, a language may be a barrier, although it is not mentioned if Ms. Albert fluently speaks English or not. Therefore, the counselor and Ms. Albert’s interaction may not create a proper counseling environment due to the mentioned limitations.

Functional Limitations

Functional limitations depend on the severity of the client’s disorder. Ms. Albert is dealing with multiple disabilities, including hypertension, diabetes, and coronary artery disease. Based on her medical health history, Ms. Albert’s conditions are mild, and she successfully had a heart bypass surgery. Ms. Albert may continue with everyday work but with minimal modifications while seeking rehabilitation services. Ms. Albert has cardiovascular issues (coronary artery disease); hence, she may be limited from lifting heavy equipment. People with her condition are discouraged from excessive physical activities (Brodwin, Parker, & DeLaGarza, 2010). Such a situation may limit Ms. Albert from engaging in photographing career since it involves lifting equipment. The emotional limitations include emotional stress, depression, and fear. Ms. Albert, as a children social worker, is likely to experience emotional situations from her clients, which negatively affect her health conditions. Ms. Albert may be limited from engaging with emotional cases as this may worsen her hypertension condition.

Rehabilitation Plans

Appropriate rehabilitation programs for Ms. Albert should focus primarily on increasing stability and endurance during work, improve physical and emotional functioning and social capabilities. The first plan ideal for Ms. Albert is a multidisciplinary treatment approach, which focuses on helping a client increase awareness of the underlying issue. Ms. Albert leaves work within a year while blaming herself, an indication that she has an underlying problem that she should know. The treatment approach will increase endurance, strength, psychological function and improve overall life (Alpern, 1996). Ms. Albert seems to be in denial that she has a problem and instead quits employment. Ms. Albert also needs Therapeutic Classes A and B plan. The two programs are for people who require slight restrictions in work-related matters and overall life (Brodwin, Parker, & DeLaGarza, 2010). Ms. Albert does not necessarily need many rehabilitation services, but just an approach that can alter her work attitudes. Lack of endurance and self-doubt are the main issues in Ms. Albert’s life. Her work is excellent but often feels unappreciated and not satisfying the clients’ needs. Besides, Ms. Albert should go through a cardiac rehabilitation program and vocational rehabilitation services. The two plans will enhance Ms. Albert’s ability to establish new objectives in life, including occupation.