SOCW 6520 WK 3 peer responses  Respond to the blog post of three colleagues ( They have to be responded to separately) in one or more of the following ways:  Make a suggestion to your colleague's post. Expand on your colleague's posting. Intext citation and full references for each peer response after the response of each Pe er 1:  Amber Hopf  A description of your personal safety plan for your field education experience Approximately 85 percent of social workers experience aggression during their career and 30 percent experience assault (National Association of Social Workers Massachusetts Chapter, n.d.). Often times these individuals engage on the negative thoughts or beliefs regarding their social worker (Regehr & Glancy, 2010). For example, some clients may stalk social workers due to the relationship they developed inside their mind. While most cases the client does not wish to cause harm, it is still important for social workers to develop a safety plan. In this case the first step would be to set boundaries with clients to reduce these negative tendencies. This may consist of making sure clients do not have any personal information. However, setting boundaries may not always be a barrier to these behaviors. Therefore, social workers should also be aware of their surroundings. This would consist of being aware when leaving work to make sure no one is following. In addition, to prevent this from happening social workers should never walk alone after dark when leaving work. This is important as many mental health professionals are at a higher risk for stalking (Regehr & Glancy, 2010). Thus, social workers should have a set safety plan when working in the field. In my field agency, my plan is to set boundaries with clients to keep the relationship professional. Another plan is to make sure that I do not leave the agency alone or without telling someone that I am leaving. I will also be keeping an eye on my surrounding area rather than looking down at my phone. On the other hand, creating and sticking to a safety plan helps professionals with decreasing the risk of burnout (National Association of Social Workers Massachusetts Chapter, n.d.). In fact, the risk of burnout can negatively impact a clinician’s mental health. In order to reduce my risk of burnout my personal safety plan is to make sure that I am not bringing my work home with me. In doing so, I am working on self-care so that I may return the following day in a better mindset to better provide services to clients. There are many ways that not taking care of oneself can negative influence a client seeking services. Thus, it is important that social workers engage in developing a safety plan to ensure not only themselves but their clients are safe and being taken care of. An explanation of how your personal safety plan might differ from your agency safety plan during your field education experience After looking over my agencies safety plan there are not many difference.

1. SOCW 6520 WK 3 peer responses
Respond to the blog post of three colleagues ( They have to be
responded to separately) in one or more of the following ways:
Make a suggestion to your colleague's post.
Expand on your colleague's posting.
Intext citation and full references for each peer response after
the response of each
Pe
er 1: Amber Hopf
A description of your personal safety plan for your field
education experience
Approximately 85 percent of social workers experience
aggression during their career and 30 percent experience assault
(National Association of Social Workers Massachusetts
Chapter, n.d.). Often times these individuals engage on the
negative thoughts or beliefs regarding their social worker
(Regehr & Glancy, 2010). For example, some clients may stalk
social workers due to the relationship they developed inside
their mind. While most cases the client does not wish to cause
harm, it is still important for social workers to develop a safety
plan. In this case the first step would be to set boundaries with
clients to reduce these negative tendencies. This may consist of
making sure clients do not have any personal information.
However, setting boundaries may not always be a barrier to

2. these behaviors. Therefore, social workers should also be aware
of their surroundings. This would consist of being aware when
leaving work to make sure no one is following. In addition, to
prevent this from happening social workers should never walk
alone after dark when leaving work. This is important as many
mental health professionals are at a higher risk for stalking
(Regehr & Glancy, 2010). Thus, social workers should have a
set safety plan when working in the field. In my field agency,
my plan is to set boundaries with clients to keep the
relationship professional. Another plan is to make sure that I do
not leave the agency alone or without telling someone that I am
leaving. I will also be keeping an eye on my surrounding area
rather than looking down at my phone.
On the other hand, creating and sticking to a safety plan helps
professionals with decreasing the risk of burnout (National
Association of Social Workers Massachusetts Chapter, n.d.). In
fact, the risk of burnout can negatively impact a clinician’s
mental health. In order to reduce my risk of burnout my
personal safety plan is to make sure that I am not bringing my
work home with me. In doing so, I am working on self-care so
that I may return the following day in a better mindset to better
provide services to clients. There are many ways that not taking
care of oneself can negative influence a client seeking services.
Thus, it is important that social workers engage in developing a
safety plan to ensure not only themselves but their clients are
safe and being taken care of.
An explanation of how your personal safety plan might differ
from your agency safety plan during your field education
experience
After looking over my agencies safety plan there are not many
differences on the safety plans. For instance, my agency expects
all professionals to message in our teams’ email chat when we
are leaving for the night. In addition, all employees are given

3. keys to be able to lock all the doors to ensure that everyone is
safe. However, one difference from my agencies safety plan to
mine is that the agency insists that each employee is aware of
the emergency exits and protocols. In doing so, clinicians are
able to have an understanding of where to go during
emergencies or if they need to make a quick exit. One reason I
decided to complete my internship at this field site was due to
the similarities of safety plans. In other words, I knew that the
supervisors and other employees cared about the safety of not
only the client but their coworkers as well!
References
National Association of Social Workers, Massachusetts Chapter.
(n.d.). Creating a climate of safety. Retrieved from:
https://www.naswma.org/page/_Test_SafetyLanding?&hhsearcht
erms=%22creating+and+climate+and+safety%22.
Regehr, C., & Glancy, G. D. (2011). When social workers are
stalked: Risks, strategies, and legal protections. Clinical Social
Work Journal, 39(3), 232-242.
Peer 2: David Jones New
A description of your personal safety plan for your field
education experience
Safety skill training is a critical part of orientation with the
agency. Staff members are trained to know how to recognize
signs of an impending violent outburst and what they should do
about it. To further prepare staff, the field placement agency
has a “violence plan,” and rehearse their reactions, just like a
fire drill. During this rehearsal, we practice techniques,
responses and learn what needs to be done not only before and

4. during a violent episode, but afterwards, to support the victim
and everyone else. The agency points out that safety begins
before people enter the building. The agency has a “zero
tolerance” policy regarding carrying weapons or using drugs or
alcohol prior to visiting the agency. Special attention is focused
on the waiting room, making sure it is pleasant and comfortable
while keeping waiting time to a minimum. The agency monitors
temperature, crowding, and noise. We use color coding, alarms,
and signals so that others can be alerted when trouble starts.
The agency limits access to staff work areas using keys and
coded locks. Also, the field placement agency considers the
arrangement of furniture in the office. Ideally, the agency
expresses how both you and the client should have easy access
to the door and how I should not have to go around my desk or
past the client to get out. We look to eliminate “weapons of
opportunity,” such as paperweights, scissors, and staplers from
areas client's access ( Birkenmaier, J., 2018 ). Some of my
personal safety guides that I take, or follow are to always make
sure doors are locked and secure before I enter a unit, and as I
am leaving a unit. I also make sure that I am not being followed
by a patient.
An explanation of how your personal safety plan might differ
from your agency safety plan during your field education
experience.
My personal safety plan would not differ from my current
agency directives, but I would develop a policy for follow-up to
victimization and trauma suffered by staff. Serious incidents,
such as a personal threat, assault, or a staff fatality are
significant emotional events. These have the power, because of
the circumstances in which they occur, to cause unusual
psychological distress in a healthy, normal individual. These
types of events also point out the necessity of providing for an
agency-wide support system to assist victims and staff in the
recovery process.

5. Reference
Birkenmaier, J., & Berg-Weger, M. (2018). The practicum
companion for social work: Integrating class and fieldwork (4th
ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.Chapter 3, “Safety in Social Work
Settings” (pp. 63-77)
Peer 3: WK3 Blog - Audri Kaufman
New
A description of your personal safety plan for your field
education experience
Workplace safety is an important part of any profession. Social
workers however, often work in challenging situations, late or
long hours, and with challenging populations and therefore are
at an increased risk of harm and/or violence (Birkenmaier &
Berg-Weger, 2018). In order to ensure social workers are safe
while on the job, many agencies have protocols in place to
ensure staff are safe while either in the office or out in the
field.
For my internship at Valley's Best Hospice, field safety is of
high priority. Webinar training videos and quizzes were
assigned to me for completion during week one. According to
their manual, staff are to assess for risk factors before and
during home visits with patients and report any threat or risk of
harm to the main office immediately as well as calling 9-1-1 in
case of an emergency (NHPCO, 1996).
Hospice home healthcare services often pose several risks for
staff including work in dangerous neighborhoods, midnight calls
for urgent care, and high strung friends and family members of

6. the ailing patient. For this reason, it is critical that workers
(and volunteers) take necessary precautions to ensure safety.
Birkenmaier and Berg-Weger (2018) recommend reading
through patient casenotes when assigned a new or unfamiliar
case to assess for any potential concerns for violence or safety,
also, know where you are going; update work calendar to reflect
address information for field appointments and notify the office
if any changes come up. Social work interns need to be vigilant
at all times.
An explanation of how your personal safety plan might differ
from your agency safety plan during your field education
experience
Often times when our work as social workers is heart driven and
we can lose sight of the potential safety concerns around us. I
know for me, I am guilty of often thinking, I am a good person
out here to help others and so is everyone else! Oliver et al.
(2013) calls this false consensus bias and emphasizes the need
to stay vigilant while working with challenging populations in
unsafe settings.
Refernce
Birkenmaier, J., & Berg-Weger, M. (2018).
The practicum companion for social work: Integrating class and
fieldwork
(4th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.

7. National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO).
(1996). Hospice code of Ethics: Volunteer training manual. The
Hospice Journal, Vol 11(2), 1996.
Oliver, D. P., Demiris, G., Wittenberg-Lyles, E., Gage, A.,
Dewsnap-Dreisinger, M. L., & Luetkemeyer, J. (2013). Patient
safety incidents in hospice care: observations from
interdisciplinary case conferences.
Journal of palliative medicine
,
16
(12), 1561–1567. https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2013.0104