• Archive through March 04, 2004 March 04 2004 - 02:05 pm [2]

Wow, Linda. That was very generous of you. Thank you.

I guess my biggest fear is getting assigned mundane tasks that noone wants to deal with. I will certainly check out the book you recommended. Being a gentleman that ambulates in a wheelchair, I would hope that the program would match me with a spinal-cord injury facility of some kind.

Dano

Dano,

You will find that your field placement will exactly match how you perceive it to be. If you go into it thinking it will be mundane and not condusive to learning than it probably will be. Conversly if you go into ready to do whatever is expected of you then odds are it will be one of the most influential experiences of your life.

Do you have any experience in social work? It doesnt sound like your bachelors was in social work. The internship is much the same as the field practicum at the end of our bachelor's program, just more demanding and on a deeper level. The reason, is by then we are expected to be able to put into practice more efficiently the principles of social work.

All in all, field placements are difficult and demmanding, especially if you have to work on top of each. My advice remember it is temporary, and a means to an end. If you find yourself doing mundane task and you dont feel like you are being professionaly challenged do not rest on your laurels and sit back and hope for things to change. Speak with your supervisor and/or the field coordinator to make sure you get all you deserve from your field practicum.

Additionally, i have seen a lot of students get hung up on the idea that they are "paying to work for free." We cannot afford to confuse ourselves FPs are reciprocal relationships between student and the field site. They provide us an environment to hone our skills, offer guidance and supervision and extend our knowledge. We in turn help them to meet the demands of their clients based on what they have freely given to us, so in turn we must freely give of ourselves. Hope you the best!!!

Neil

Neil,

Thank you for your response. I usually am pretty lucky with these types of situations. I'm sure I will get an excellent placement.

BTW my B.A. is in Psychology. Not a BSW, but good for analytical analysis of research, statistics, experience writing research papers, etc.

Dano

Dano, I would also think about what the goal of your field experience is. When I start with first year students, I think the goal is to develop skills in relationship building, engagement, assessment, and interviewing. I try to assign pretty "basic" clients to first year students, although you never know what will happen when they walk through the door! I'm of the school that students need to start with a caseload immediately!

Think outside the box about your field placement. This is an opportunity to try out places you would not necessarily want long term. I always recommend that at least one of the two placements be in a mental health or substance abuse setting. Those two clientele show up in every social work setting, and the training you get at either place is invaluable. (I have never chosen to work with either such population as a primary population...and I have never escaped either population in any setting!)

Good luck

Pandora

Pandora,

Thank you. I just sent in my placement questionaire. I guess for the sake of experience they are assigning placements just the opposite of student's interests. No matter where I end up, I'll just have to make the best of it.

Dano