Social Work Field Education: Harnessing Technology to Connect Social Work Education and Practice During COVID-19

Singh, Melissa Indera; Doyle, Kerry; Wobbe-Veit, Lisa

doi:10.20533/ijds.2040.2570.2021.0211

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…The findings of this scoping review are a starting place for evaluation and adjustment of current practices using technology for CSWs (Merrill et al, 2021 ; Singh et al, 2021 ). Clinicians can build a therapeutic alliance via video, but this required additional skill, effort and monitoring to contend with challenges.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To ensure ongoing ethical and effective practice using telemental health (TMH), it is important for CSWs to assess and, as necessary, develop competencies in technology use for practice (Abramson et al, 1991 ; Merrill et al, 2021 ). The COVID-19 pandemic propelled telehealth and telemental health (TMH) into millions of workplaces and homes, sparking enduring consumer, client, and organizational interest (Alston et al, 2022 ; Hilty et al, 2020 ; McCoyd et al, 2023 ; Pew Research Center, 2021 ; Singh et al, 2021 ). Response to the pandemic was limited by lack of intra-agency guidance, communication and connecting with others, as well of inadequate technological infrastructure and blurred work and therapeutic boundaries related to remote workflow with technology (Ashcroft et al, 2022 ; Daley et al, 2023 ; McCoyd et al, 2023 ).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Best Practices for Technology in Clinical Social Work and Mental Health Professions to Promote Well-being and Prevent Fatigue

et al. 2023

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The shift to communication technologies during the pandemic has had positive and negative effects on clinical social worker practice. Best practices are identified for clinical social workers to maintain emotional well-being, prevent fatigue, and avoid burnout when using technology. A scoping review from 2000 to 21 of 15 databases focused on communication technologies for mental health care within four areas: (1) behavioral, cognitive, emotional, and physical impact; (2) individual, clinic, hospital, and system/organizational levels; (3) well-being, burnout, and stress; and (4) clinician technology perceptions. Out of 4795 potential literature references, full text review of 201 papers revealed 37 were related to technology impact on engagement, therapeutic alliance, fatigue and well-being. Studies assessed behavioral (67.5%), emotional (43.2%), cognitive (57.8%), and physical (10.8%) impact at the individual (78.4%), clinic (54.1%), hospital (37.8%) and system/organizational (45.9%) levels. Participants were clinicians, social workers, psychologists, and other providers. Clinicians can build a therapeutic alliance via video, but this requires additional skill, effort, and monitoring. Use of video and electronic health records were associated with clinician physical and emotional problems due to barriers, effort, cognitive demands, and additional workflow steps. Studies also found high user ratings on data quality, accuracy, and processing, but low satisfaction with clerical tasks, effort required and interruptions. Studies have overlooked the impact of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion related to technology, fatigue and well-being, for the populations served and the clinicians providing care. Clinical social workers and health care systems must evaluate the impact of technology in order to support well-being and prevent workload burden, fatigue, and burnout. Multi-level evaluation and clinical, human factor, training/professional development and administrative best practices are suggested.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

Best Practices for Technology in Clinical Social Work and Mental Health Professions to Promote Well-being and Prevent Fatigue

et al. 2023

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“…However, challenges with safely completing the field education components of the SUDC certificate during COVID-19 were likely profound. 24 Further research is needed to understand the potential impact of disruptions to field education on the practice competency and self-efficacy of paraprofessional SUDCs entering the workforce. Finally, pretests and posttests for each workshop were yet to be validated as measures of knowledge or self-efficacy in each modality.…”

Section: Smentioning

confidence: 99%

Effectiveness of Brief In-person and Virtual Substance Use Disorder Counselor Trainings, 2019-2021

2023

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Objectives: Paraprofessional substance use disorder counselors (SUDCs) are an important component of expanding access to substance use disorder treatment, but little research on SUDC training currently exists. We evaluated knowledge and self-efficacy gain from brief in-person and virtual workshops for paraprofessional SUDC student-trainees. Methods: Student-trainees (N = 100) enrolled in an undergraduate SUDC training program completed 6 brief workshops from April 2019 to April 2021. Three in-person workshops during 2019 covered clinical assessment, suicide risk and evaluation, and motivational interviewing, and 3 virtual workshops during 2020-2021 covered family engagement and mindfulness-oriented recovery enhancement, as well as screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment for expectant mothers. Pretest and posttest online surveys measured student-trainee knowledge gain related to all 6 SUDC modalities. Results of paired sample t tests evaluated changes in knowledge and self-efficacy from pretest to posttest. Results: All 6 workshops showed a significant gain in knowledge from pretest to posttest. Four workshops showed a significant gain in self-efficacy from pretest to posttest. Hedges g ranged from 0.70 to 1.95 for knowledge gain and from 0.61 to 1.73 for self-efficacy gain across workshops. Common language effect sizes indicating the probability that a participant increased one’s score from pretest to posttest ranged from 76% to 93% for knowledge gain and from 73% to 97% for self-efficacy gain across workshops. Conclusions: Results of this study add to the limited research base on training for paraprofessional SUDCs and suggest that in-person learning and virtual learning are both viable brief training tools for students.

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“…The experiences of practice educators and students of flexible and creative blended placements within the Leeds and Wakefield Social Work Teaching Partnership were discussed and acknowledged within both workshops. The first identifiable change was that, prior to the pandemic, the practice of students working at home had been frowned upon by many practice educators and placement providers, as they felt that students learnt more from being in the office and observing team practice, which reflects the findings of Singh et al (2021). However, the proof that students could develop social work knowledge and skills whilst working remotely during the pandemic had altered this perception and all conference participants agreed that some element of home-based placement was now considered acceptable.…”

Section: Flexible and Creative Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whilst not relating directly to social work placements, the importance of team support can also be seen in the importance of connectivity for both practice educator and student. Singh et al (2021), in their discussion paper, reflected that, prior to the pandemic, virtual or blended social work placements were not considered appropriate by social work educators. Nevertheless, they reflected that the necessity to create virtual placement provision highlighted the role that technology can play in social work placements, recommending that creative and flexible use of technology can enhance learning for social work students on placement, as well as increase placement capacity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Blended Social Work Placements: New Opportunities

Beesley,

Taplin

2023

JPTS

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Social work student placements were significantly impacted over the past two years as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, but a ‘new normal’ of placement provision has started to emerge. This conference paper provides reflections on the experiences of social work education providers, placement providers and practice educators on the new opportunities that have been created as a result of flexible responses to the changing landscape of blended placement provision necessitated by the pandemic, which were gathered at two international workshops held virtually at academic conferences in 2021. The workshops identified common responses from higher education institutes (Higher Education Institutions) and practice educators, where loss and change created the need for connectivity and flexible and creative solutions. This article will present the themes identified within the teaching partnership as well as findings from the two workshops to enhance understanding of the sustainability of blended social work placement provision.

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Social Work Field Education: Harnessing Technology to Connect Social Work Education and Practice During COVID-19

Cited by 7 publications

References 0 publications

Best Practices for Technology in Clinical Social Work and Mental Health Professions to Promote Well-being and Prevent Fatigue

Best Practices for Technology in Clinical Social Work and Mental Health Professions to Promote Well-being and Prevent Fatigue

Effectiveness of Brief In-person and Virtual Substance Use Disorder Counselor Trainings, 2019-2021

Blended Social Work Placements: New Opportunities

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