The New Social Worker Top 6 Articles for 2017, Editor's Picks, and More!

by Linda May Grobman, MSW, LSW, ACSW

     As the new year approaches, it is now that time of year when we look at what we have accomplished this year and look forward to see what 2018 will bring. What have social workers been reading over the past year? Let's look at The New Social Worker's most popular articles from 2017 to get some ideas.

Top 6 Articles Published in 2017

     First, let's look at the top six articles (based on number of page views) of those we published in 2017. They are:

#1

Ethics Alive! The 2017 NASW Code of Ethics: What's New? by Allan Barsky, from our Fall 2017 issue. This article outlines changes to the NASW Code of Ethics going into effect January 1, 2018. This may be the most important article you read this year.

#2

3 Must-See Movies for Social Workers in 2017, by Addison Cooper, from our Winter 2017 issue. Addison reviewed three movies that social workers may not have otherwise heard about, Queen of Katwe, Father Unknown, and Inner Workings.

#3

10 Essentials Social Workers Must Know About Hope, by Elizabeth J. Clark, from our Winter 2017 issue. I personally found this article to be profound. It brought a different perspective to an issue we sometimes take for granted.

#4

Social Work Career Connect: Changing Areas of Practice: The Transferability of Social Work Skills, by Valerie Arendt, from our Spring 2017 issue. What I really like about this article is the listing of soft and hard skills that social workers have and can transfer from one setting to another.

#5

The Stages of Change: A Model for Social Work Students in Field Placement, by Maria Zuluaga, from our Winter 2017 issue. Students and social work practitioners will find this model useful with clients in any setting.

#6

7 Job Search Mistakes Social Workers Make and How To Avoid Them, by Valerie Arendt, from our Summer 2017 issue. These 7 mistakes are crucial to know but can be so easy to overlook.

Editor's Picks

     I have chosen one additional article from each issue in 2017 to share with you. These are articles that I especially like and think you will, too.

Other Top Articles

     The following articles from our archives are the top overall articles for 2017, meaning they received the top number of page views. These were published prior to 2017 and continue to be highly relevant to our readers.

Thank You, Valerie!

     Two of our Top 6 articles published in 2017 and two of our top overall articles are from the Social Work Career Connect column, written by Valerie Arendt. Valerie has been writing this column since 2014, and her column is always one of the most popular in every issue. Valerie's last column will be in our Winter 2018 issue. Be sure to look for it, as it is a follow-up to her very popular article, "10 Essential Tips for Your Amazing Social Work Résumé."

     I want to thank Valerie for her enormous contribution to The New Social Worker and to all of our readers who are searching for new social work jobs. She has shared such a wealth of information with us, based on her work on the staff of the NASW-North Carolina chapter office, where she reviews hundreds of members' résumés.

     Valerie, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I wish you well in all your endeavors. You have set the stage for future career development writers in The New Social Worker!

What Was New in 2017?

     In 2017, The New Social Worker Press published a new book, On Clinical Social Work: Meditations and Truths From the Field, by Danna Bodenheimer. This is Dr. Bodenheimer's second book with The New Social Worker Press, following her popular Real World Clinical Social Work: Find Your Voice and Find Your Way. On Clinical Social Work is a beautiful, full-color collection of essays and photographs depicting everyday life and social work. It is our first full-color book, as well as our first hardcover book (it's available in paperback, too). Jonathan Singer, Ph.D., of the Social Work Podcast, wrote the foreword to the book, and I love what he said in this quote: "Danna pays attention to life’s details with a psychotherapist’s insight and writes about them with the passion of a slam poet. She speaks to the soul of social work and inspires us to think about more than just social work."

What's New in 2018?

     As we begin 2018, we are planning our awesome month-long celebration of social work during March - Social Work Month! One aspect of this is our Reverse Poetry Contest - please read the guidelines and enter by the January 16, 2018, deadline.

     In addition, we are kicking off a series of webinars in March. Stay tuned for details.

     In our Winter 2018 issue (coming soon), we are introducing our new columnists. I am so excited!

     I am pleased to announce that Stephen P. Cummings will be writing the Social Work Tech Notes column, beginning Winter 2018. Stephen is a leader in the social work technology community. He is on the faculty at the University of Iowa School of Social Work, where he is the administrator for distance education. Through this column, Stephen will continue The New Social Worker's long tradition of covering technology topics, while bringing a new and cutting-edge perspective to the subject.

     I am also pleased to announce that Elizabeth J. (Betsy) Clark and Becky S. Corbett are joining The New Social Worker to write a new column, Social Work Leadership. Elizabeth and Becky are especially qualified to write such a column, having served as CEO and COO of the national office of NASW, respectively, and now each serving as President of her own company. We are very fortunate that these two experts will be sharing their expertise with us on how you can be a leader.

     Allan Barsky will continue to write Ethics Alive!, and Addison Cooper will still share his movie insights in Social Work Goes to the Movies. We will continue to publish career development articles by social work career experts, and we'll continue to collaborate as a media partner with the #MacroSW Twitter chat group.

     We look forward to connecting with you on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Who knows what else is in store? Follow us and subscribe to stay up to date!

     THANK YOU to our readers and to our writers, who share their experience and expertise with our readership!

     I look forward to seeing many of you around the web, on social media, and face-to-face at social work conferences in the coming year. I look forward to hearing from you and hearing about the innovative work you are doing. If you would like to share something with our readers, let me know.

     Peace and a good year to you,

              Linda