Case Study

Your experiences, attitudes and beliefs are part of what makes you who you are. They affect how you think, what you do and how you do it. Your background, upbringing, education, experiences and relationships will all have played a part in the way you see things. These attitudes and beliefs may have led you to choose to work in health or social care, but sometimes they could lead you to assume things about people that are not right. Melanie, a home care worker, provides care and support for Alexis – a learning disabled man. Alexis tells Melanie that he met a nice man at a local support group who mentioned he was a Christian and regularly attends mass. The man said it had helped him come to terms with his disability and asked Alexis if he would like to join him next Sunday. Melanie comes to speak to you, her manager, as she is an atheist and is very sceptical of whether this will help Alexis. She wants to know if you think she should tell Alexis how she feels about religion? She tells you she thinks this man he met might be trying to ‘indoctrinate’ him and she’s concerned.

1. How will you respond to Melanie?
2. What do you think would happen if Melanie told Alexis he shouldn’t go to mass next Sunday?
3. How can our beliefs affect the individuals we support as well as the people we work with?

It is rare that there is just one way to respond to a scenario or situation, so do not consider that the responses you have to the above scenario will be judged as right or wrong. Share your scenario with a work colleague or friend and ask them to tell you whether they think you have responded appropriately. Ask them to challenge your response if necessary. You do not need to submit this task for assessment unless asked to do so by your assessor.