Career Outcomes and Past Trauma Exposure of MSW Graduates of a Trauma Treatment Certificate Program

ABSTRACT

There is an established need for evidence-based trauma treatment education in MSW programs. This quantitative, cross-sectional study explores the experiences and post-graduation career outcomes of graduates from an evidence-based trauma treatment certificate program offered to MSW students at a midwestern university (N = 59), including the role of past trauma exposure. Participants rated their certificate experiences as overwhelmingly helpful and perceived themselves to be prepared for trauma treatment practice. Most (86%) reported obtaining trauma treatment-related employment after graduation, of which 67% reported continuing to use the evidence-based model from the Certificate Program. Logistic regression demonstrated that the odds of continuing to use the model increased 69% for every client with whom the participants reported having the opportunity to use the model during their field placements. Most participants (85%) reported past trauma exposure, with 71% citing more than one exposure. Implications for education include continued support for a trauma-informed curriculum, ensuring quality field placements, and adequate preparation for managing exposure to secondary trauma. Future research should further explain the impact of the certificate components as well as the personal context regarding student learning and career outcomes.

KEYWORDS:

• Trauma
• trauma education
• problem-based learning
• evidence-based practice
• clinical training
• field instruction

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Gary Anderson, Katelynn Mack, Lexie Rea, Elizabeth Smith, and Kelsey Lantis for their help with design, analysis, and editing.

Disclosure statement

The authors of this study are a graduate of the Certificate and the Coordinator of the Certificate. Participation was anonymous. All participants had completed their MSW degrees when they participated in the study.

Data availability

Due to the nature of this research, participants of this study did not agree for their data to be shared publicly, so supporting data is not available.