ABSTRACT

Recent policy shifts in health care have created opportunities for social workers to provide services in integrated primary care and behavioral health settings. However, traditionally prepared social workers may not have the skill set necessary to meet practice demands. This article describes a behavioral health workforce initiative that trains master’s of social work students for work in integrated primary care settings with children, adolescents, and transition-age youths. The training model includes field placements in integrated care settings, co-curricular seminars, and advanced clinical electives. This article identifies challenges of creating new field placements and developing new curricula to support students’ acquisition of knowledge and skills required in integrated care settings. Additionally, it presents data on changes in students’ knowledge and confidence.

Funding

This project is supported by a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (G02HP27962).

Notes

1 The RPT questionnaire is prepared similar to other pre- and posttest questionnaires but modified to include an opportunity for the respondent to provide a rating (using his or her memory) for each question before participation in the training and after participation, thereby reflecting on conditions before and after on a single questionnaire. The RPT is sometimes used when there is no opportunity to pretest a group prior to training or when a response shift is anticipated (Lamb, Citation2005)

Additional information

Funding

This project is supported by a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (G02HP27962).

Notes on contributors

Jennifer M. Putney

Jennifer M. Putney is Assistant Professor, Suzanne Sankar is Associate Dean, Kim K. Harriman is Director of Field Education, Kimberly H. McManama O’Brien is Assistant Professor, David Stanton Robinson is Director, Center for Applied and Community Research, and Suzanne Hecker is Associate Professor of Practice at Simmons College.

Suzanne Sankar

Jennifer M. Putney is Assistant Professor, Suzanne Sankar is Associate Dean, Kim K. Harriman is Director of Field Education, Kimberly H. McManama O’Brien is Assistant Professor, David Stanton Robinson is Director, Center for Applied and Community Research, and Suzanne Hecker is Associate Professor of Practice at Simmons College.

Kim K. Harriman

Jennifer M. Putney is Assistant Professor, Suzanne Sankar is Associate Dean, Kim K. Harriman is Director of Field Education, Kimberly H. McManama O’Brien is Assistant Professor, David Stanton Robinson is Director, Center for Applied and Community Research, and Suzanne Hecker is Associate Professor of Practice at Simmons College.

Kimberly H. McManama O’Brien

Jennifer M. Putney is Assistant Professor, Suzanne Sankar is Associate Dean, Kim K. Harriman is Director of Field Education, Kimberly H. McManama O’Brien is Assistant Professor, David Stanton Robinson is Director, Center for Applied and Community Research, and Suzanne Hecker is Associate Professor of Practice at Simmons College.

David Stanton Robinson

Jennifer M. Putney is Assistant Professor, Suzanne Sankar is Associate Dean, Kim K. Harriman is Director of Field Education, Kimberly H. McManama O’Brien is Assistant Professor, David Stanton Robinson is Director, Center for Applied and Community Research, and Suzanne Hecker is Associate Professor of Practice at Simmons College.

Suzanne Hecker

Jennifer M. Putney is Assistant Professor, Suzanne Sankar is Associate Dean, Kim K. Harriman is Director of Field Education, Kimberly H. McManama O’Brien is Assistant Professor, David Stanton Robinson is Director, Center for Applied and Community Research, and Suzanne Hecker is Associate Professor of Practice at Simmons College.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.