PREPARING THE FUTURE SOCIAL WORKERS FOR USING TECHNOLOGIES OF MEDICAL AND SOCIAL WORK IN THE PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY WITH CHILDREN AT RISK

This article deals with the problem of social workers' preparation for using technologies of medical and social work in the professional activity. It is shown that different categories of people need social workers' help, including those who suffer aggravated medical and social problems. It is found that the work with the following categories of people separately is difficult and inefficient for both medical and social workers, because the workers are faced to the problems that are beyond their professional competence and hinder the successful realization of professional functions. It is proved that in these conditions increases the objective need of complex character – medical and social work. Within it the social workers implement special prevention and rehabilitation programs for specific categories of people – alcohol and drug addicts, mentally ill, HIV-infected and incurable. Such work is very important with special category of children – children at risk. In Ukraine, the number of children at risk is increasing. Therefore, training to work with such children is an extremely important issue. Among the experts who are called to work with such children, an important place is occupied by social workers. While studying in higher educational establishments they acquire various methods and forms of preventive social work with children at risk. They have to be ready to do this work. We define readiness as a property of the individual, as a combination of specialized knowledge and skills that contribute to the ability to perform certain activities at a high level. The readiness of future social workers to carry out preventive social work with children at risk is a professional necessity, because the success of their professional activity and satisfaction with the results of their own work largely depends on it. It is established that professional training of social workers for using technologies of medical and social work in the professional activity can be successful in certain pedagogical conditions such as: organization of practice for students in the medical and social institutions and services, using the potential of professionally-oriented disciplines in extra-curricular activities, students' career guidance for medical and social work, providing interdisciplinary connections, the future social workers' involving into the volunteer activities.