Examining Social Workers’ Experiences With Offering a Social Work Field Placement: A Program Evaluation

ABSTRACT

Providing field education for social work students requires intensive support from field instructors. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the effects of an educational program developed to better support social workers providing a student placement in a community-based hospital. This study examined the attitudes, beliefs, needs, and perceptions of social workers around offering a field placement, and the potential changes in these after implementing the increased educational supports. Thematic analysis of preintervention and postintervention data resulted in four themes, with subthemes: (1) Facilitators to be a field instructor; (2) Barriers to be a field instructor; (3) Implications of increased supports; and (4) Suggestions for creating a more supportive atmosphere for field instructors. The clinical implications are discussed.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research study was funded by the Bertha Rosenstadt Grant, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto.

Notes on contributors

Rusan Lateef

Rusan Lateef is a PhD candidate in the School of Social Work at McGill University. Jennifer Burt-Yanoff is the clinical director at Shift Collab and adjunct lecturer at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto.Laurie De Oliveira is a social worker with the Social Work Consulting Group.