COVID-19 and Your Social Work Placement: 19 Ideas for Overworked, Anxious, Yet Determined Field Students and Supervisors

by Ebony N. Perez, PhD, MSW, Christina Cazanave, MSW, Khalilah Louis-Caines, LCSW, Michael Campbell, PhD, LCSW, and Courtney Wiest, MSW, EdD

To our overworked and anxious, yet determined field students and supervisors during the COVID-19 pandemic:

    Are you unsure of what you are supposed to do during this time of uncertainty? Are you questioning your role as a social worker? Are you concerned that you are unable to cultivate or develop professional skills in a world that is rapidly changing? Are you worried if you are even making a difference anymore? Are you wondering if you’ll be able to graduate?

    From a team of seasoned social work educators, we hear you. Today is an unprecedented time without clear answers or solutions. We see our students trying to manage the same challenges as their field supervisors, such as loss of jobs, expanded home care responsibilities, and anxiety regarding the personal health risks versus their professional obligation. However, our students also shoulder an academic burden related to displaced classes and lack of access to completing required field hours.

    Overnight, social distancing policies have changed the face of field education, requiring students and supervisors to find solutions for direct service and supervision with little guidance on how to do this and continue to meet field requirements effectively. Services traditionally offered in face-to-face settings have changed to virtual platforms just as universities have converted their classroom settings. Learning plans have changed to incorporate remote activities for supervisors to evaluate and students to demonstrate a satisfactory level of practice. So much change.

    The one thing that has remained the same is the mission of the social work profession. As social workers, we still embrace the values of service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence. Now, more than ever, it is time to go back to the foundation of the profession, which is enhancing human well-being and helping to meet the basic needs of all people.  

    We want you to know there are options. There are ways you can make a difference. There are opportunities to cultivate professional skills during this unprecedented time.  Utilizing a micro, mezzo, and macro approach, we offer the following activities that will help restore your confidence and lead you on a path to personal and professional success.

    Here are a few ideas for alternative activities to help both undergraduate and graduate social work students meet their field requirements while continuing to practice “social (physical) distancing” guidelines.

Micro

1. Partner with local school districts and social service organizations to make phone calls to families to educate on available COVID-19 community resources.
2. Create 4-minute educational/informational videos to help parents manage children at home.
3. Use social networking apps (e.g., What’s App) to create social activities such as paint-by-numbers, book club, health and wellness education for adolescent and geriatric populations.
4. Partner with field agency to create a COVID-19 emergency response plan.
5. Complete virtual or telephone check-ins for older adults in assisted living facilities and nursing homes with limited social contact.

Mezzo

1. Facilitate virtual peer support groups for displaced students and/or community members.
2. Research and compile a list of COVID-19 community resources for digital and other social media content for information-sharing and education.
3. Design a group curriculum for virtual or future face-to-face sessions (e.g., managing anxiety, employability and job skill development, navigating online classrooms).
4. Develop agency trainings on various topics (e.g., ethical decision-making, cultural competency).
5. Volunteer at food banks and/or community food distribution sites.
6. Participate on a community chat line to provide emotional support and coping skills to individuals.

Macro

1. Research potential grant opportunities and prepare aspects of the grant in response to the pandemic.
2. Review local, state, and federal policies on emergency preparedness and create a COVID-19 policy for the field agency.
3. Prepare advocacy materials such as infographics, talking points, and letters of action for COVID-19 response to local, state, and federal officials.
4. Participate in resource mapping for the agency.
5. Organize or support community drives for needed goods and services.
6. Initiate a social marketing campaign on social distancing, self-care, and so forth.
7. Write an opinion piece on ethics and telehealth for publication in social work magazines and/or local newspapers.
8. Engage in social work community platforms to stay connected with the professional community and brainstorm additional opportunities (such as #MacroSW Twitter Chat, ACES Connection Blog, and others).

    By no means do these ideas solve the many problems and challenges we are facing during this pandemic. However, as social work educators, we felt compelled to write this letter to help ease some of your stress and offer you hope.  Like you, we are also trying to navigate unchartered territory. We have not forgotten the need to respond in times of crisis.

    This public health crisis has opened a call to action for all social workers from field sites to academic institutions to collaborate to meet the needs of students and clients. Doing so has demonstrated the hope and possibility of the profession of social work to benefit both the local and global community.

Sincerely,

Concerned but Optimistic Social Work Faculty

Ebony N. Perez, PhD, MSW, is the Department Chair of Undergraduate Social Work at Saint Leo University. She earned her doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction: Higher Education Administration at the University of South Florida. Prior to becoming a faculty member, she worked as a social work practitioner for 13 years, primarily with children and teens on the autism spectrum and with developmental disabilities.

Christina Cazanave, MSW, is the Director of Field Education for Undergraduate Social Work at Saint Leo University. Before becoming a faculty member, she worked as a social work practitioner for eight years, primarily with at-risk teens within the educational system.

Khalilah Caines, LCSW, is the Director of Field Education for the Graduate Social Work Program at Saint Leo University.

Michael Campbell, PhD, LCSW, has a Doctorate in Public Affairs from the University of Central Florida, an MSW and BSW from Florida State University, and has been a licensed clinical social worker in the state of Florida for more than two decades. He is currently full-time Associate Professor and Associate Director of the Graduate Social Work program at Saint Leo University, where he teaches and maintains an active research agenda.

Courtney Wiest, MSW, EdD, has a doctorate degree in Post Secondary Education Leadership and an MSW. She is currently full-time Assistant Professor in the MSW program at Saint Leo University in Dade City, Florida. Along with her teaching duties, she is Field Director for the MSW program. Before she was a full-time instructor at Saint Leo, she was a behavior specialist at the local high school in Dade City, Florida.