Khaled Mohammed Bakalka, Executive Director for health affairs at the Ministry of the National Guard in the Western Region, has inaugurated the annual Social Service Conference titled, “Techniques of Professional Practice in Social Service” at Crowne Plaza on Wednesday.

The two-day conference involved two workshops with the aim of spreading awareness, opportunities and the general development of social service work. The event was organized by the King Abdulaziz Medical City in Jeddah, in collaboration with the Graduate Studies and Academic Affairs department at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences.

Mohammed Bakalka said that the social service workshop has focused on research-based evidence of known ways to assist social workers in the field of health. The event seeks to better train and enable social service workers to work with their heart in helping others, and to help them understand individual differences, and to respect the traditions, customs and beliefs of the community in which they are working.

The topics discussed during the conference included the future of this profession at the academic level, the quality of education, practical level training and areas of work, intervention skills and community awareness for better social outcomes.

The first day of the workshop was led by Dr. Haifa Al-Kandari, who is a professor of social work at the University of Kuwait, and who specializes in Social Work among persons with identity problems and disorders.

Dr. Nasreen Jacob faculty member of King Abdulaziz University led the second day of the workshop, which focussed on Rational Emotive Therapy through art.

Abdulaziz Harazi, Chairman of the organizing committee, said that the objectives of the Social Service Conference are to emphasize the importance of education, to support the development and professionalism of the social work industry, to share knowledge and experience between the many professionals and institutions working in the field, to identify obstacles, and to suggest recommendations for the development the industry.

Harazi noted that it is very important that the social worker in the field have desire to help others, understand individual differences, and respect their traditions. He further said that a social worker is responsible to the medical team for clarification of the social status of the patient, and should work in conjunction with the team to overcome any obstacles or difficulties in order to reach the goals of their treatment.

He said that, through this conference, he hopes to produce sincere key pillars to achieve social work aspirations, and to overcome any lingering difficulties.