STUDY TIP · QUESTION STRATEGY

How to Answer FIRST, NEXT and BEST Questions

When several answers are things a good social worker would do, the question is which one comes first.

Use an order of operations

  1. Safety first. Is anyone at risk of harm? Address that before anything else.
  2. Then assessment. Do you have enough information? If not, gathering it usually comes before acting.
  3. Then intervention.
  4. Then evaluation.

A common trap: jumping to an intervention, a referral, or a recommendation before you've assessed. If the stem doesn't give you enough information to act, the answer is often to assess or clarify first.

Read for the key word

Underline FIRST, NEXT, BEST, MOST or "except" in your head. "First" and "next" ask about sequence; "best" and "most" ask you to rank options that may all be reasonable. Restate the question in your own words before you look at the options: "They want to know what I do first with a client who just disclosed..."

Check who and where

Who is the client, what setting are you in, and what is your role? The right "first" step for a hospital social worker can differ from the right step in private practice.

Learn from the wrong options

When you review practice questions, ask why each wrong option is wrong; often it's a good action in the wrong order.

Try it with real practice questions

The free sample lesson has 20 original practice questions with full rationales, so you can practice these skills right now. No sign-up needed.

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Sea Change Social Work Prep is an independent course and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB). Always check current exam details at aswb.org.

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