Kiara M. Sims

Kristen Smith is the Director of Clinical Operations at Gryphon Place. Abby is the new Event Resource Manager, and Olivia is a crisis worker. The purpose of Gryphon Place is to be a leader in integrated health care, inspiring hope, and wellness in partnership with individuals, families, and the community. Their vision is to build a healthier and inclusive community by providing information through innovation and collaboration within individuals and families of the community.

The following is a question and answer interview for Kristen, Abby, and Olivia. The interview was conducted by Kiara Sims, a Western Michigan University student:

Job Shadow

• Question: What is your name?

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• Answer: Kristen. Abby. Olivia.

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• Question: Where do you work?

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• Answer: Gryphon Place

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• Question: What is your mission statement?

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• Answer: To be a leader in integrated health care, inspiring hope and wellness in partnership with individuals, families, and the community.

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• Question: In difficult work settings, such as the ones today including (non-disclosed clients name), how do you decide what to do regarding ethics?

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• Answer:

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Kristen: Ultimately, it is up to the professional to decide was is best suited for the individual. Today, for example, “person” is a very OCD individual that suffers from multiple disorders, one them being attachment. Based off his disorders, it is my job to utilize the necessary information needed to assist the individual and contact their case manager.

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Olivia: My job is to assist “person” with the necessary resources needed such as food placement, clothing assistance, and things of that nature.

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• Question: Being an intern here at Gryphon Place, I notice for myself that it does get difficult to balance out my own moral and beliefs while still trying to abide by the code of ethics. Do you guys struggle with this same situation as well, and if so, how do you balance it?

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• Answer:

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       Kristen: It varies from each profession. So, for each profession there is a different form of professionalism needed to be implemented throughout each job title. Also, there are government standards “Codes of Practice,” set in place that everyone must follow.

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       Abby: For me, being a former crisis worker, I did find it difficult sometimes to balance out my beliefs with the beliefs and needs of the caller. I mean you do have callers that want to curse you out for not aiding when we do not have it in our database. You do have callers that want you to pray with them and due to the nature of the job you cannot. So, for me, it was beneficial for me to figure out that balance and my answer would be that it just takes time.

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• Question: Are you familiar to your profession’s code and the governments “Codes of Practice,”?

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• Answer:

      (All) Yea, we are all aware. We get tested every year, if not every other year.

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• Question: Have you ever used it to guide your behavior and in what type of situation?

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• Answer:

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      Olivia: The thing about this profession is that sometimes what we may see as right, others may not necessarily agree with. Sometimes what others see as right, I may not necessarily agree with. However, we are still humans at the end of the day and although we may not agree always, we can agree that we are trying to figure out what is best for the person in need. For example, my main job is Food Link. Food Link is a resource database that lists possible options for obtaining food and resources for those in need. It is not my judgement to determine if the individual needs or not. Sometimes I do get callers that just want food because they do not get paid until tomorrow. Some callers call because they haven’t eaten in a week. Now, both are in “need” but it is not up to me to decide which need is more of a priority or not. I just provide the resources.

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• Question: Do you have an employee handbook? Does it have information to help guide you in decision-making in difficult situations?

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• Answer:

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      Abby: I would not necessarily say we have a handbook, but I will say that as stated above, each profession has their form of professionalism within their field.

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Kristen: Crisis work requires professionalism and steps, however sometimes those steps may not always be followed based off the caller.

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• Question: Have you used your form of professionalism to guide your behavior and in what type of situation?

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• Answer:

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     (All): Yes, I have. If not, I would not have job.

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     Kristen: Ultimately, you as a crisis worker needs to know that the way you want a call to go may not be the way the call may go. Just simply do what you go to do “professionally.”