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MSW Supervision (outside of the practicum agency)

  • 1.  MSW Supervision (outside of the practicum agency)

    Posted Jul 22, 2022 15:07
    Hi all,

    Here at the University of Montana (Missoula), we offer "outside" MSW supervision to students who don't have an MSW at their practicum agency. (This person is in addition to their on-site supervisor, i cases where the on-site supervisor does not have an MSW.) This outside MSW supervisor is a School of Social Work staff member who meets with these students every other week. Is anyone else providing this outside MSW supervision to students? If so, who at your University provides this MSW supervision? For example, do you use adjuncts, Field Education staff, or instructors that are teaching the corresponding practicum seminar class? We just launched our online MSW program, so we have a lot of online students needing this outside MSW supervision. Which means that we will probably have to provide this supervision in a group setting. For those of you that do this, how many students per group seems to work well? We want to ensure that they have time to share and are receiving adequate support.

    Thank you, in advance, for support with this question!

    ------------------------------
    Jen Barile, MSW (she/her)
    Assistant Director of Field Education / Assistant Clinical Professor
    School of Social Work
    University of Montana
    Missoula MT
    Email: jen1.barile@umontana.edu
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: MSW Supervision (outside of the practicum agency)

    Posted Jul 24, 2022 19:54

    Hi @Jen Barile,

    We use Off-Site Field Instructors regularly.  They are typically community practitioners that we pay to provide this external MSW supervision.  We are on the quarter system, and this job description has a lot more information including expectations, hour requirements, pay per quarter, and qualifications.  We typically assign no more than 5 students per OSFI, but many of our OSFI's choose to commit a fewer number of students. 

    On rare occasion, if a student has a particular obscure practice interest area or is a very high need student, we may ask (beg) a field faculty/staff or liaison to provide the off-site supervision, and if they do, we compensate them at the same rate in the job description.  ​
    Hope this helps,

    Aneesha



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    Aneesha Bharwani
    Assistant Dean for Field Education, Associate Professor of the Practice
    University of Denver
    Denver CO
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: MSW Supervision (outside of the practicum agency)

    Posted Jul 25, 2022 08:57
    We have also seen an increasing need for outside field instruction, which has allowed us to utilize some really unique field placements. Sometimes our field office staff take on a student and we have occasionally asked other faculty. We typically send out a request to our listserv (alumni, past and current field instructors, etc) with details about the placements we are in need of supervision for. We do not generally have funds to pay for this so it is usually taken on voluntarily. In this case volunteers usually just take one student. There have been semesters when we had a greater need and couldn't come up with enough volunteers so we were able to pay someone at our adjunct instructor rate to take on 5 students. We stated that they could utilize group supervision 3 out of 4 weeks of a month with individual supervision once a month. This has worked out well enough but we are continuing to look at additional guidelines and supports we can provide.

    I will also say that our online program is finishing out its third year and I have talked a lot to all of my current students about considering serving as field instructors once they have 2 years experience post graduation. I fully intend to begin sending out specific requests to these students once we hit that time mark!

    ------------------------------
    Lindsey Rinehart
    Field Education Director & Clinical Instructor
    West Virginia University
    Morgantown WV
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: MSW Supervision (outside of the practicum agency)

    Posted Aug 01, 2022 07:45

    Hi,

    We have used off site field instructors who have been a combination of field faculty, adjuncts and some adjuncts who have taught in the past.  We are moving away from this model as we found that it really didn't make for a consistent learning experience.  Off site faculty did not have the understanding of the agency that onsite faculty did.

     

    Sent from Mail for Windows

     




    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: MSW Supervision (outside of the practicum agency)

    Posted Aug 01, 2022 13:12
    Thank you!

    ------------------------------
    Jen Barile
    Assistant Director of Field Education
    University of Montana
    Missoula MT
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: MSW Supervision (outside of the practicum agency)

    Posted Aug 01, 2022 13:51
    I have been a Field Director for 21 years and have always had to use off site Field Instructors. I am fortunate though as I have Field Faculty who are adjunct that are Liaisons and can serve as off FI , not for their Liaison students though. I have a very stable, long standing group and they do the same agencies year after year and have built relationships . When it is a new agency or setting the off site FI works to collaborate with the agency task supervisor. It has been a good model. In order to comply with 2015 EPAS they meet for 1 hour weekly with each student they are off site FI for. I have also had a student unit model if there are 3 or more students in a setting where we do the FI also. Field requires creative and innovative thinking.

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    Deirdre Spelman
    Director of Field Education
    School of Social Work, Marywood University
    Scranton PA
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    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: MSW Supervision (outside of the practicum agency)

    Posted Aug 01, 2022 13:58
    Thank you for this info! Much appreciated!

    ------------------------------
    Jen Barile
    Assistant Director of Field Education
    University of Montana
    Missoula MT
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: MSW Supervision (outside of the practicum agency)

    Posted Oct 04, 2023 10:44

    Hi, Jen! I just posted a similar question yesterday. I'm curious as to how it's going for your program now. We are a relatively new online MSW program in New York, and the MSW shortage is causing some problems for our student interns. NYSED requires our field supervisors to be licensed, so that's an additional issue. I also feel strongly that outside field instructors should be paid a decent wage, so we're trying to figure out a good rate.  

    I'd appreciate anyone's additional input on this. Thanks much!

    Leigh Ann 



    ------------------------------
    Leigh Hewes
    Utica University
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    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: MSW Supervision (outside of the practicum agency)

    Posted Oct 04, 2023 18:23

    Hi Leigh!

    We are working mostly with MSWs in our local community in Missoula, MT to provide outside MSW supervision to students who do not have a practicum supervisor with an MSW degree at their agency/site. We also have an online MSW program in addition to an in-person MSW program, so we also work with MSWs who do not reside in Montana, to provide supervision. At times, both in-person and online MSW students are in the same supervision group. Most of our supervision meetings are held via Zoom with one MSW supervisor and approximately 4-6 students, and they meet every-other week for 1.5 hours. We do pay folks an hourly wage for this role. I think my colleague, Kat Werner, also responded to your post, and she was able to offer a little more information. :) Thanks!



    ------------------------------
    Jen Barile
    Assistant Director of Field Education
    University of Montana
    Missoula MT
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: MSW Supervision (outside of the practicum agency)

    Posted Oct 05, 2023 15:23

    Thanks so much, Jen! This sounds like a good plan. 

    Leigh Ann



    ------------------------------
    Leigh Ann Hewes
    Director of Field Education
    Utica University
    Utica, NY
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 11.  RE: MSW Supervision (outside of the practicum agency)

    Posted Oct 05, 2023 15:29
    Barile, Jen reacted to your message:



    Original Message


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