Supervision of Social Work Interns as Members of a Multidisciplinary Team

Abstract

Social work students placed on a multidisciplinary team will be exposed to diverse ways of interpreting a case, which is an invaluable experience. Placement in a multidisciplinary setting can be an excellent way to engage students in teamwork. Supervisors need to adequately address various aspects in working on a team with students. A survey of 44 bachelor of social work students placed in an internship designed to help them learn about community organizing, program development, or fundraising revealed that 41 students wanted to better understand the roles of different disciplines in service provision. Although 33 students reported participating in multidisciplinary team meetings and 23 reported discussing working on a team in supervision, less than half (21) reported that they discussed how different disciplines work together to assist clients. This article will discuss the importance of learning to work with other disciplines during training to prepare students for future work in social services.

Trauma-informed interprofessional education: Preliminary evaluation of building student capacity for system-wide collaboration.

“…Integrated behavioral health (IBH) is an emerging field yet training and education in IBH is limited. BH training programs must adapt so students graduate competent to work in IP clinical settings, promoting optimal patient outcomes (Addy et al, 2015; Johnson & Freeman, 2014; Klein, 2015).…”

Integrated care competencies: Self-assessment by graduate counseling students

“…The prevalence and complexities associated with the co-existence of mental and physical health conditions remain a serious concern that warrants integrated care (IC)-a collaborative multi-disciplinary system of care delivery incorporating primary care with behavioral health that ensures consumer access to continuous and appropriate care (Aguirre and Carrion 2013). Graduate counseling students enrolled in counselor training programs are among the range of practitioners expected to be employed within the context of the IC teams (Addy et al 2015;Johnson and Freeman 2014;Klein 2015;Reeves and Hean 2013). The ultimate goal for professionals working in IC settings is to help consumers live a meaningful and holistic life addressing the mind-body connection.…”