Real-Life Communication
As a rehabilitation counselor, you are meeting with a new client,
Brian, who has been injured, and is now unable to return to his work as an
oil well laborer.
It's important that you gather as much information
as you can from Brian while speaking to him, and by conducting some research
into his past experience.
"A rehabilitation counselor's job can be quite
diverse from setting to setting," says Margaret Glenn. She is a professor
of rehabilitation counseling. "Good writing skills, critical thinking skills,
communication and interpersonal skills are necessary."
These are some
of the answers Brian gives you when you ask him questions about his previous
line of work:
Answer: "I'm 50 years old. Working on the oil patch is
all I've ever done. All I've ever known. I've been working at that same job
for 30-some years. And now, with this bad leg I just can't lift what I could
before. I mean I used to think nothing of lifting 80 pounds -- in fact, that
was required. Now, I'd be lucky to be able to lift anything more than 20 pounds.
Not much around there I can do now."
Answer: "I know I'm not going back
to the patch, but I need to find something that'll get me earning what I did
before. I took home $58,000 a year. It was a good wage, and I'd really like
to find something that compares with that."
Answer: "I know more schooling
is probably what I'll need to do. You probably saw the aptitude tests that
show that I read and write at a Grade 9 level. I'm going to have to go back
to school if I'm going to find a different job that pays OK. It's just that
I don't like the idea of going back to school full time now, at my age. But
I'd be interested in shorter courses -- ones that are part time and maybe
for a few months at a time."
You want to condense this information and
present it in a concise report for your notes. Answer the questions below
to help you summarize the information you just received from Brian:
- How much weight is Brian currently capable of lifting? How does this compare
to what he could lift in his previous job?
- What was Brian earning at his previous job?
- What is Brian's view about returning to school?