Malcolm Payne: You have to make the method to create the change

Do rubriky Fakultní ruchy napsala Kristýna Turečková (Neděle, 8. duben 2012)

Malcolm Payne, one of the first social work theorists in Britain, visited our university few weeks ago. He spoke on lecture called Social work's changing identities about his opinions and work experiences. These have been obtained from practice at St Christopher's Hospice where Payne has been working as policy development adviser for many years.

For how long are you going to stay in Czech Republic?

This time just for five days. I am here due to Erasmus programme which finances my visit. I'm going to have a lecture at the Masaryk university and than I'm going to visit Olomouc Caritas college, visit some hospice and I also want to do little bit tourism. But I don't have any special plans.

What is your current job?

My job title currently is the policy development adviser at St Christopher's Hospice. It is the first hospice in the world and it is unusually big. Thus that's why it became a place to where people come for education and for researching to hospice work. I also teach social work at one local university in Kingston. The hospice also has relationship with University of London and there we join to teach imperative care.

What exactly are you doing at the hospice?

First I invent the projects and get the money for them. Finally, I set them up. My job is mainly social and psychological kind of work. I am concerned about child abuse and their protection. Then domestic violence or violence to older people. I also do strange things as looking after representing of the patients and their rights, having access to their records or having information about treatment and discussing it. Or I help relatives of people who died. I tell them what happened to them through the process.

How does your typical day look like?

I usually work for five days, not at the weekends. My day starts with nurses, doctors and social workers. They come to see me and want advices about the patients and their families if they have problems with them. Then I might to be working on some project. For example there are four social workers who are doing project. They have the idea about what they want to research so I write the application for the grant for the project. I am often quite busy with the invention of the projects or I am doing research projects which mostly involve analysing the questioners and their responses.

Do you have any free time?

Yes I have, but my wife usually says that it's not enough. Except of working at the hospice and teaching I write books about social work theory and also articles to the magazines if somebody asks me. But sometimes I just go out or enjoy being grandparent.

Are you writing a book currently?

Currently, I am rewriting for a fourth time a book which is called Modern Social Work Theory. It will come up next year. I also write a chapter to American book Soical Justice.

Who do you think is a suitable social worker?

I see that people always want to go to social work because they want to do things better, make the diference and improve many things. Actually most social workers work with individual people and it gets more personal than they could imagine. So if you want to be good social worker, better way is to compromise between these two things – social changes and individual work and practice. So my message for social workers is – if there is something you think is important to do and it is possible to do, do it. But you have to make the method to create the change.