Has anyone applied for social work schools for Fall 2003?? I'm anxiously waiting so was hoping to be able to commiserate with others!

I have applied to three different MSW programs. I am stressing because one school wants me to commit now without having heard from the other two. With that said, I feel your pain. If you want to chat further my email address is writcom202@aol.com

I have just applied (final date was January 31) to the local University for admission to the MSW program. I am just finishing up the BSW program there. People are already asking me when I am going to hear. How on earth am I supposed to know?

Hello everyone! I will be graduating in Fall 2003, so I still have a little time before I begin the application process. I am still in the research stage of the process. I am interested in becoming a public health social worker, but I am unsure whether to pursue a MSW/MPH or just a MSW with a concentration in health. I begun to email random professors at different universities who have MSW/MPH. Hopefully they will reply.

Ealy: some schools have dual degree programs and you can do both! I've often wished I had done both (I have an MSW) and am currently thinking about pursuing an MPH. The program that I'm thinking of right now is at UNC-Chapel Hill in North Carolina. Check out the program description at http://ssw.unc.edu/masters/dual-degree/index.html.

Good luck!

Hello my name is Mary and i am doing a Senior Project. I am trying to prove in the State of Alabama that we need a medical terminology continuing education class for Social Workers and Public Service agencies. Does anyone have any comments about that. Do you believe social workers need the class? Do you know any states that have a similar class? Do you as a social worker have any medical terminology and has it helped you? Thank you for your time
Mary

Hi Mary, I'm in Alabama as well and I absolutely agree with you. The exposure to medical terminology I was given in school was very limited and my concentration was health! I found my own medical terminology glossary and I am constantly looking up the abbreviations I see in charts. I would love a practical class that offered me some real life, hands on experience and teaching!
Good Luck with your project!

Does anyone have any information about the program at UW-Madison? I have been accepted there as well as Smith. I am leaning toward Madison (mostly due to their later start-date) but some people have said that their program is not very good/challenging. Any insight or information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!

I heard that Smith has a very rigorous, clinical program.

HELP WANTED: I need guidance. I've been a social worker for about 25 years. I have a great deal of work experience in a wide variety of social work settings. I have also been very out-spoken and critical of "academic types" and of how social work is often (poorly) taught.
Well, I've just been offered the opportunity to be in on the ground floor of developing and teaching in a totally new (undergraduate) social work program in a small university. I am thrilled and I am terrified. ( I've been offered the job but haven't officially accepted it yet.) I don't want to be one of those academics I despise. So help me. PLEASE!

Tell me the really neat things you've seen your faculty & field instructors do. What were the best learning experiences? Tell me about your very best teachers, and what made them the best.

I want this new program to be a model that other schools look at as creative, inovative and successful in preparing outstanding new professionals.
I want the folks that graduate from this program to find jobs and to honestly be able to think, "Wow, I know what I am doing." And supervisors to say, "Wow, You are the best prepared new social worker We've ever had." And consumers to walk away believing, "Wow, I think I can do it now..." And I want faculty at MSW programs to gossip about graduates of this program instilling excitement, enthusiasm, integrety, and energy in their classmates ( and profession) and thus raising the standard of masters level teaching.

It seems that this university is very supportive of doing exactly that. Help me make it happen.
Thankyou
Gary Bachman
gebandlb@everestkc.net

I wish you well with your goals to make a difference in the lives of our developing professionals. Some recommendations that I would make, Gary, teach to the whole person (physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually)and don't lecture--discuss, raise questions, challenge, encourage interaction, and create a learning environment that is attractive, dialogic, and enjoyable.

Finally, introduce 'mindfulness' early on so that everyone is attending to the learning process and conscious of their 'use-of-self.' Design a professional 'self-care plan' for yourself and invite students to join with you in becoming the best that you can be.

Maintain an 'open door' policy and don't give up on anyone who wishes to be a social worker. Best wishes, Gary. If this message area is any indication of how you will be as a teacher, you will be terrific. Enjoy!!!

Gary:

This is great news. From reading your (many) posts on this message board over the years, I know you will do a fine job.

When I was in SW school, the best instructors that I had were ones that were models and teachers of core SW values and principles. Things like self determination, strengths based perspective, ethical behavior, self awareness, continuing professional development, person in/and environment, etc. These instructors had a way of intergrating all of the above into their teaching/being with students. They also welcomed contributions from students like me who had a number of years in human services careers prior to begining their "formal" SW educations.

I had a brief tour of duty as a clinical instructor for a well established School of SW a couple of years ago. Like you, I have been in the field for many years. The prospect of teaching MSW students was challenging and a bit daunting. Like you, I wanted my teaching to be grounded in best practices, but not so academic in nature that it ignored the world that students faced in field and their subsequent careers.

I remembered the effect some of my instructors had on me and how and why that took place. What were the ingredients? I worked to incorporate these into my work as an instructor. I sought out and luckily found a teaching mentor on the faculty who could serve as my "clinical" supervisor. Someone to run ideas by, be a sounding board, help me to be sure that my classroom ideas were educationally sound and reflected appropriate "technology".

My mentor expressed consistent support for me as a SWer and as an instructor. One thing that she validated among many ideas was to bring my current professional work experience into the classroom whenever/wherever it fit. The anecdotal vignettes that I used to amplify or illustrate classroom material really helped to drive stuff home with students. Evaluations from students always made mention of how helpful this was, sometimes in contrast to other instructors much further removed from practice. I also actively sought such anecdotal stuff from students with experience in field or their careers.

I also seized every opportunity to integrate ethics into my instruction. Teaching these future SWers how to ethically think, assess and be in their careers was a responsibility that I took seriously. This was reflection of my years in the field, sometimes with folks who did not think, assess and be in ethical terms. Among the many somewhat abstract areas of SW education, I found and find ethics to be at or near the top of the list. Any efforts here should be welcomed by students and ultimately by their clients.

Applications to schools of SW are down nationwide. I hope that does not result in lower admission and other standards at your school or elsewhere. Schools and the profession are not served well by this, at all. I believe that setting the bar high ensures better outcomes for students once they begin their careers. This reflects much better on their alma maters. "Dumbing" down on standards is bad business for all concerned. Keep your standards high. Schools of SW are one of several gatekeepers to the profession. It is a responsibility that they should take seriously.

I hope these random ramblings help. I say go for it, Gary. Keep us posted on how all of this goes and obviously bring us any questions or concerns that you may have.

May the dialogue continue.

Jaybee

Thankyou Jerry, Thankyou Jaybee. You are both very kind. I signed the contract today and gave notice where I currently work. This is going to be quite a transition. I've been part of a large university medical school for 17 years. My department had 17 faculty. Now I'm going to be in a small university with a new social work program with only 2 faculty. A couple of my current faculty have salarys in excess of my new departments entire budget!
I'm leaving a position I've loved and still have a very strong professional identity with. This is gonna be hard. My chairman was very understanding, asked, "I suppose offering you more money would only make the leaving here more difficult right?" (In otherwords, "You've made up your mind.Right?") "Right.... How much more money? "-smile-)
The university I'm going to has a very strong history of social responsibility. As example, during WW II, The president of the university, on a trip to the west coast in 1942 witnessed the forced relocation of "Japanese Americans" from their homes. He decided then to recruit out of the internment camps, college age students and faculty, offering scholarships, housing, and employment. Public sentiment was strongly opposed but the school persisted throughout the war.

This will be very interesting...

Congratulations, Gary, on your job offer and decision to accept! From your posts, it is clear that you want to do this for the right reasons. Keep us posted!

Gary,

For all of the above reasons, your new employer has picked the right person for the job. You will be making a difference for generations to come as you and the faculty prepare and welcome many new social workers to this rewarding profession.

There is little to be added to the above suggestions, but I would like to stress then following:

Listen to, repect the opinions of, and try to always put the students first. This is difficult in times of tight budgets, political and institutional agendas, and other competing needs.

When teaching, make as many connections as possible between theoretical concepts and real world cases through the use of personal stories and vignettes. You have a wealth of experience from which to draw - a gift to all your students (and colleagues).

Remain approachable and down-to-earth. Not all of the students will need your individual time and attention, but just knowing that it is available can make a big difference in the life of a student.

When possible, please keep making wise and insightful posts on this discussion board.

Good luck,

Tom

Hi Gary. Thought I posted this message on the board yesterday, but I must have missed a step.

As someone who has just graduated with her BSW and is about to start the MSW process...

Make sure that there are lots of real life examples to support what you are teaching your students.

In the practicums, make sure that the supervisors (at the placements) really have enough time to supervise properly and are not simply using the student as free labour.

An open door policy is never a bad thing (especially if the actions follow the talk).

Discussions in class are always a good thing, even if they get off topic a bit.

Listen to what the students are saying, in the classrooms, in the hallways, in your office...

Congratulations and best of luck in your new endeavours.

Thank you Carolyn. I think one of the real advantages I had over the other candidates for this job is my breadth of experience (and thus the opportunity to have many many real life examples to share with students. I'm leaving a position that was a wonderful foundation. I was basically a 1 person social service agency dealing with just about everything and anything a social worker might ever have to deal with. And I did that for 17 years.

I'm a strong believer that interns should always be considered as learners while being given ample opportunity to practice their skills. I think (hope) that in a small program like the one I'm joining, and in the part of a large and growing metropolitan area with NO other BSW programs, I will be able to closely select and monitor practice sites. I'm also a strong believer that one function of a school of social work is to mentor /foster and offer learning opportunities to professionals in the field who desire to be field instructors. Its the least we can do. It offers to keep practicing swers up to date with the current practices, it demonstrates appreciation and value for their profession, and it keeps them interested in teaching, not just working their interns.
As far as the open door policy, the director of the program and I have already been discussion our office suite layout to encourage student access, and my wife and I have already been out looking for comfortable chairs for my office. ( and I don't start for two months!)

I really appreciate your comments. Good luck to you as well! Gary Bachman

Hey guys!My name is Anderson from Kenya and would wish to share much more with you on social work in Kenya. My mailer address is sonyjer03@yahoo.co.uk
Take care guys, there is nothing as enjoyable as social work.

does anyone have info on MSW programs in California?

Hi. I wanted to know if anyone has any thoughts on Widener University, West Chester, Pitt, and Temple's MSW programs. Thank you.

Anyone in Indiana, student or otherwise, interested in getting an email group started? I am just beginning my studies to get into the social work field.

Hello everyone! I am having a really hard time deciding what to do. My entire life I wanted to be a nurse and once I was accepted into a nursing program and got started I HATED it! I love the bookwork and am interested in the medical field but it is not something I want to wake up eveyday and do. So I then started leaning toward human services and social work. My college has an associates degree in human services but the sequence of classes prevented me from entering it. I then learned I only needed 2 classes to get my Associates in Arts which will transfer to a Bachelors in Social Work or a Bachelors in Human Services. There are currently two colleges in my area offering both and I was wondering if anyone can tell me the difference. What kinds of jobs are available to those with Bachelors degrees in Human Services and how are they different than the social work degrees? Also they are starting a Master's degree program in education and mental health conseling to those who finish the human services degree. I'm just really confused. I know this is the general field I want to work in and have been in college for what seems like forever. I have to choose a route this semester and was hoping for some input. I would really like to work with the elderly but am also interested in working with children/teens. Thanks in advance!

Just a quick answer here. The bachelors degree is social work is generally much more marketable than the degree in human services. I've known of students with very good education & training with degrees in HS who don't even get to interview for jobs because the BSW is required by so many employers. (I teach in a program that is phasing out our human services degree and building a social work degree program instead.)

With the BSW you are eligible to apply to an advance standing MSW progam where you can earn your masters in 12 months.

I worked in hospitals for 20 years. I have much respect for the nursing staff. It's funny though, I would be doing my job working with a grieving family or an angry beligerent patient and the nurses would say to me, "I wouldn't have your job for anything." And I watch them with their rubber gloves, splattered gowns, tubes of blood, bottles of urine, or handiwipes cleaning up an incontinent patient, wiping vomit from a wiskered chin or disimpacting a bowel, or brushing teeth that haven't been cleaned in a month, and I just shake my head and think, "And I wouldn't have your job either!" We all have something we're best at. The challenge is finding it.

Ok it wasn't brief. I"m never brief!

Thanks so much!I will probably go with the BSW but was wondering about the advance standing MSW program. I'm guessing that there aren't any programs like that near me. I would probably have to travel and that is not ideal considering I have a 2 year old and my husband is getting ready to go back to school also. If you know of any such programs in KY please let me know.

Kimberly,

There are advanced standing MSW programs offered at UK, UofL, Spalding, and Western. (There may be one more but I can't think of it right now.) Most of them offer online classes, distance learning, and other ways to make it easier. I understand, though - I'm married with a 5-year old.

Right now I drive an hour one way to go to school, and will drive even farther for my MSW. It can be a pain sometimes, but since we can't relocate, it's the only option I have. Visit those schools' websites for more info on distance learning and such. What is the nearest city to you? I'm trying to figure out which schools are closest.

Anyway, hope this helps.

Andrea

Thanks a lot Andrea. UK would be the closest for me. I'm about 2 hrs southeast of there. I am going tomorrow to talk with the representative for the Human Services program and the other school with the BSW program and go from there. Since I am fairly new to the field I would like to gather more info instead of jumping into a decision. Like I said I have studied the science fields and was really focused on nursing and then one day everything turned upside down. I am very interested in being a social worker and hope this semester to try and get a better idea of what I really want to do in the field. I have done a workstudy program for 2 semesters in a nursing home and work closely with the social worker there and with the activities department. Thats one of the reasons I looked into the field. I love working with the elderly. That's why I'm leaning toward my BSW but I want to further explore and see what I find. I'm just stressing a bit because I don't have too much time to make a decision but don't want to postpone entry into a program any longer since I have been in school so long already. Well you guys have been helpful and I didn't realize how long I had been typing so I'll leave you with a "Thank You!"

Im a canadian student in first year university at mcmaster.
i was just wondering, would it be possible for me to go straight to teachers college after my bsw?
id like to go in teaching special education.
if so, how long would i be in teachers college for?

thank you

Hi tabitha,

My understanding is that to get in to teacher's college in Ontario, you need a bachelor's degree in a subject that you can teach in elementary or high school, such as history, science, english, etc. After you complete teacher's college and the required practicums, you can work on certification in special education, which is a post-grad specialty.

Most BEd programs in Ontario are 2 years, but there are some schools that offer it in one. I think there are two levels of special education certification and I am guessing that they could be completed with an extra year of study.

Perhaps you should talk to someone at one of the teacher's colleges.

Good luck,

Tom from Canada

Hello everyone. Thanks again for the help on my previous questions. Now I have a few more. =) I spoke with my advisor about the differences between the BSW degree and the Bachelor's in Human Services and she tells me that they are exactly the same thing and that I will be able to qualify for the same jobs with either degree. She also told me she teaches for the college that offers the degree in Human Services. It sounded desirable especially since classes were only on the weekends and I would be able to work full time while going to school. Then I stopped by the university that offers the BSW and they told me that the degrees were quite different but they were very vague and didn't really answer my questions. I'm just stuck at this point trying to decide what I'd be more satisfied with. Does anyone know if I can later get my MSW with a Bachelors in Human Services? Also does anyone know what differences there are in job duties and pay rates between the human services degree and the BSW? And one last question... How likely is it that I can find a job in the human services field with an Associate of Arts degree while I'm working toward my Bachelors? Thanks again guys! I got more answers here last time so I wanted to see what you all thought instead of relying on what little info I got from the schools.

Just applied to Fordham University for my MSW and was wondering how competitive they are. I graduted with my BA in psychology and sociology, with a 3.0. I have some volunteer experience but since I graduated have worked in corporate America. Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks!!

Hello all, I am a first semester student studying Human services with the concentration in social services. I have decided to make this a double major and plan to recieve an Associate Degree in both fields of study. As a part of the curriculm, we are asked to complete an interview with a social worker or an experienced student to help gain an understanding of the field in countries other than the U.S. and Canada. If anyone is interested in completing this 9 question interview, I welcome your responses to be directed to caramel8098@yahoo.com this can either be handled via email or discussion board. If you dont want to participate but know someone that would, please forward the information, it would be appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Shelley

Hi, I was looking for someone in the social services field (preferably child abuse) to talk to. I am looking into the career and for my english class I have to interview someone in a field i am interested in. If anyone would like to help me out and conduct an interview (I would need your name, it can't be annonymous) I would greatly appreciate it. Please e-mail me at AgentLauren007@cs.com Thank you so much.