Strengthening Geriatric Social Work Through a Doctoral Fellowship Program

Summary

Doctoral training is a key juncture for addressing the severe shortage of aging-savvy social workers. Today's doctoral students in social work are tomorrow's faculty who, in turn, will train the next generation of practitioners and who will undertake research critical to improving practice. Increasing the number of geriatric social work doctoral students entering the pipeline can solve the shortage of properly trained social workers. The Hartford Doctoral Fellows program provides dissertation support, mentorship and leadership development to attract and cultivate the next generation of geriatric social work faculty who will become teachers, role models, and mentors for future generations ofsocial workers caring for older persons and their families.

Key Words:

• Geriatric social work
• doctoral training
• fellowship program
• faculty development