Sally Social Worker: You Know You’re a Social Worker If

To a non-social worker this sounds ridiculous: You work your buns off in school, do an internship for free, get ready to save the world, and then find yourself having repetitive conversations with angry clients about budgeting and drug use. You work late because a client had a crisis and then seamlessly switch gears into your “normal” life. You frequently have to explain what social workers do, even to other professionals. After all this you still love what you do and do it for very little money. For over 10 years, I have referred to us hopeful yet realistic, compassionate yet aware, patient yet frank professionals as Sally Social Workers. This helps me see the humor in situations, brings a shared smile between us social workers, and maybe helps us show others what we do. I’ve used the Sally cartoon in talks to illustrate compassion fatigue, limit setting, flexibility, and self care.