A Course on Substance Abuse - Essay Example

Past, Present, and Future Paper Past Currently I am pursuing on substance abuse. Prior to involving in this I was in my personal and professional life when I began at the university. I was an administrative assistance for a non-profit and a home health aide. Then I started working in a half-way-house. I believe that this course of substance abuse will help me to gain the required skills for guiding and counseling the people suffering from the drug abuse problems (University of the Pacific, 2014). I had chosen this particular course of substance abuse as I was highly interested in counseling the people possessing the habit of drug abuse as well as I have inner desire to work for the social welfare. In general, my major motive behind learning of this particular course of drug abuse was to develop my career as a licensed substance abuse counselor and to serve community to promote healthy living habits among the people. I feel that learning is extremely important and must be continued in order to keep our skill sharp and inculcate creativity and innovation in ourselves. Before involving in pursing course in substance abuse, my professional competencies regarding various skills such as written and oral communication, problem solving, and cooperation with the other members were moderate. Notably, I had moderate communication skills both in written as well as oral forms. In my professional life I used to involve in evaluating technical data and apply my logical and analytical problem skills in resolving work related issues. At the same time, I enjoyed taking challenges, I believed that challenges encountered in life not only test our level of competency but it also prepares me to deal with challenges that might emanate in later life. Moreover, I had fair competency with respect to the information retrieval and utilization, I often used to read of books and journals on diverse subjects that had offered me with valuable knowledge regarding information retrieval and utilization. I firmly believe that goal setting is a crucial part of my career as well as personnel development planning. Considering my strengths and weaknesses my career goal is to become a license substance abuse counselor so that I can help the drug abuse victims and their family overcomes their sufferings. I always viewed drug abuse as one of the major problems faced by the societies across the world. Thus, it made me motivated to opt for the course and develop career that would not only benefit me but also the community. When I was working with a non-profit health organization as an administrative assistance, I had come through various drug addict patients suffering from severe problems which further strengthen my desire to develop may career as license substance abuse counselor. Although setting career goal may seem to be quite easy but at the same time achieving the goal is quite a challenging task but I am determined towards accomplishing my goal of becoming a license substance abuse counselor. Present As I started with the learning of substance abuse course, I observed that my knowledge regarding how to deal with the people involved in drug addiction augmented to a considerable extent. Besides, the experience that I have complied while working in the health organization contributed towards the development of skills related with communication, problem solving, cooperation and reclamation of information and its utilization which I feel are extremely necessary for developing my career as substance abuse counselor. Acting as administrative assistance for a non-profit and a home health aide further offered me with opportunities to interact with the many people and listen to their problems which has undoubtedly facilitated in enhancing my communication skills. While working, I communicated with the people regarding their problems of drug addiction and also tried to solve those problems to the utmost importance. This process has contributed towards increasing my problem solving skills. Recently, I have been working as both the residential manager which has facilitated me with developing leadership quality and ability to work within a team. During the course of my learning, one of the general education courses that had the greatest effect on my present employment was GEN/480 Interdisciplinary Capstone Course. Apart from this, the other two of the core courses affecting my present employment were BSHS/312 Models of Effective Helping and MGT/330 Management Theory, Practice, & Application. Interdisciplinary Capstone Course taught me to apply my learning experiences in accordance to the ethical point and also enhance my skill of critical thinking. In the similar manner, Models of Effective Helping helped me to put my theory based knowledge into practical applications, especially in the field of human health service (University of Phoenix, 2014). Management theories were also of great effect during my course as it taught me to develop a leadership skill along with the managerial skills required for administering the drug abuse. All these subjects had created a positive impact in developing my skills to a great extent. These subjects taught me to render proper care to the person seeking health services. I believe that both general education courses and core courses will have much positive impact on my potential employment particularly while serving as substance abuse counselor. During my program of study, I had gone through lots of exciting experiences and gained immense knowledge of the substance abuse and other aspects necessary for improving my competency level. At my University, I observed that much of the learning processes were based on the theoretical perspective rather than the practical studies. It is recommended that practical knowledge always enhances one’s skill of leadership along with managerial capabilities. Thus, the application of practical knowledge and studies in the course duration will enhance learning practice and provide better education system to the future students. The students getting enrolled in the future will get the ample opportunity for learning better and also develop their personal as well as professional skills. Future Lifelong learning is a regular supportive process which motivates and empowers individuals to gain knowledge, skills and understanding that they will need throughout their life and to apply these skills and knowledge with confidence and creativity in all roles, situation and environment. I firmly believe that on completion of the bachelors program will have significant impact on my current and future professional goals (Laal & Salamati, 2012). Accordingly, I believe that knowledge and skills gained through this program will help me in meeting my both personal and professional goals as well as becoming a good citizen of the nation. The program will also foster creativity and logical thinking in me (Laal & Salamati, 2012). I believe that knowledge and understanding acquired on completion of the program was unique experience which I feel will have lifelong impact. My personal, professional, and educational goal for the next 5 years is to become license addiction counselor and have my master’s degree. I am quiet determined regarding the goal of becoming addiction counselor for the next five years. Apart from this, I also seek forward to pursue my master’s degree course in the similar subject of substance abuse. For the attainment of my set goal and objectives, I will attend various courses and training in order to further develop necessary skills for serving as license addiction counselor. I will strive to develop my communication skill along with other necessary abilities. I will also involve in various kinds of grooming classes such as communication classes wherein, I can improve my communication and problem solving skills and other convincing qualities, much important for substance abuse counselor. Apart from the aforesaid programs, I will also enhance my skills and competencies such as working in a group with and enhancing my skill related with retrieval of information and its proper utilization. In order to develop these competencies and skills, I have already joined two of the professional organizations such as Association for Addiction Professionals and National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers. Associating myself with these organizations, will concentrate towards increasing and enhancing my skills and techniques of understanding the problems of drug addicted people and advise them accordingly. In the Association for Addiction Professionals, I can grow the required managerial and leadership abilities for becoming an efficient license addiction counselor. I have also planned to attend seminars, workshops and conferences on substance abuse and its treatment. Attending all these events will help me to shape my knowledge in a comprehensive manner and also impact my knowledge into the practical fields. Alongside, I believe that it will enable me to understand and learn about the handling and treating of people suffering from drug abuse in different situations. Along with all these planning of attending the conferences and workshops and getting engaged with the professional organization, I have also set an objective of pursuing my master degree course so that I can further develop my skills and competency and realize my goal of becoming competent and able license substance abuse counselor. This additional degree will also help me to get involve with a better professional organization and treat the drug addicted people to the best. References Laal, M., & Salamati, P. (2012). Lifelong learning; why do we need it? Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 31, 399-403. University of Phoenix. (2014). Models of effective helping. Retrieved from http://www.phoenix.edu/courses/bshs312.html University of the Pacific. (2014). Substance abuse counselor certificate program. Retrieved from http://www.pacific.edu/Academics/Professional-and-Continuing-Education/Programs/Certificate-Programs/Substance-Abuse-Counselor-Certificate-Program.html Read More