Practicum - BSW
Practicum with professional social work supervision is an integral part of social work education. Students are expected to demonstrate a sense of responsibility, good judgment, responsiveness to the supervision of their work, and to demonstrate sensitivity and good interpersonal skills in professional interactions. Substandard performance in any of these areas is considered grounds for probation, suspension, or dismissal from the practicum.
Junior practicum (SW 391) is required of all students in the second semester of their junior year while concurrently enrolled in SW 303. The junior practicum experience requires 8 hours per week for 12 weeks (total of 96 hours) at a social work agency in the community, as well as attendance at regularly scheduled meetings with the BSW Coordinator who is responsible for all placements. The primary objectives of SW 391 are to introduce and prepare students for their role as a social work student in an agency setting. To enhance these objectives, students will remain at their assigned practicum sites for their junior and senior practicum experiences.
Senior practicum (SW 490–491), required of all students in their final year of the BSW program, is to be completed concurrently with SW 402–403. Each student must spend 16 hours per week for 14 weeks for a total of 225 hours per semester and 450 hours per academic year, at the assigned agency for the academic year. Additionally, students are required to attend scheduled meetings with the Practicum Office staff to enhance their practicum experience.
Goals
The goals for competence training in BSW practicum instruction include:
- Technical proficiency in beginning level social work practice.
- Application and testing of theory and knowledge in natural social work settings.
- Incorporation of knowledge and skills necessary for understanding and utilizing social work ethics, values, and goals in day-to-day practice and refinement of professional awareness, judgment, and decision-making abilities.
- Engagement in practice with diverse cultural and racial groups and with groups who have consistently been affected by social, economic, and legal bias and oppression.
Student’s Agreement with the Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work
All students, prior to entering the practicum, shall agree to the following:
- Will follow the administrative policies, standards and practices of the practicum agency.
- Will conform to the policies, standards and practices established by the School while enrolled in the BSW Program.
- Will obtain written approval of the practicum agency and the practicum office before publishing any material(s) relating to their practicum agency or the BSW program.
- Will be an active participant in the learning process; an “adult learner.”
- Will be responsible for submitting the original learning agreement and evaluation to the Practicum Office.
- Will provide the School with a written evaluation of her practicum agency and Practicum Instructor using the student evaluation forms at the end of the practicum year.
Professional Ethics
A student’s failure to adhere to the expected standards for professional, ethical conduct will be considered grounds for termination of the practicum and a failing grade in the practicum course.
It is understood that students will adhere to the expected standards for professional, ethical conduct and to the agency’s policies and procedures as long as these are not in conflict with the NASW Code of Ethics. A salient issue for students during the practicum is that of confidentiality of case records and recordings.
Under no circumstances will students remove client information, interview recordings (written, audio tape or videotape), evaluation summaries, etc., from the agency without the explicit permission of the Practicum Instructor.
Go to Practicum BSW Forms
