Post-Qualifying Education for Social Workers: A Continuing Problem or a New Opportunity?

Between 1990 and 2012 there was a national system for regulating post-qualifying social work education in England. Since then social work has been expected to take a more flexible approach to continuing professional development (CPD) which recognises the contribution played by work-based and self-directed learning alongside higher education awards. While universities can continue to offer post-qualifying courses, it is envisaged that they will work more closely with employers in deciding what should be taught and how. This article is based on a scoping review of post-qualifying social work education in England which highlights the paucity of knowledge about the topic. Although achieving a post-qualifying award is associated with improved knowledge and confidence, little is known about the long-term effects on individuals, organisations and service users. There appears to be a complete absence of evidence on cost effectiveness. As yet, we know very little about the extent of self-directed CPD among social workers and current funding constraints are likely to limit the resources that organisations invest in CPD for their workforce. In a rapidly changing context, the article seeks to provide a baseline from which an agenda for future research into CPD among social workers can be shaped.     

All-In-One Motion

Abstract

In this essay, I recall a moment in my development as a clinician that serves as a marker, transforming my understanding of psychoanalytically informed clinical work from that of an intellectual encounter to one filled with the unconscious momentum, uncertainty, and rich symbolism that are intrinsic to therapeutic work.     

大学生角色多元化与职业心理变迁

大学生社会角色随着社会的发展和时代的变迁不断被赋予新的内涵,体现出与社会期待相适应的特征。当代大学生社会角色具有过渡性、多重性与多变性特征,急剧的社会变革导致社会角色的多元化,加剧了角色冲突,增加了大学生在未来职业道路选择上的不确定性。大学生对社会角色的适应与转变深刻影响着他们的职业价值取向,使其职业心理体现出鲜明的时代特征。     

Finding the sweet spot: Developing,implementing and evaluating a burn out and compassion fatigue intervention for third year medical trainees

Medical trainees are at high risk for developing burnout. Introducing trainees to the risks of burnout and supporting identification and proactive responses to their ‘warning’ signs of compassion fatigue (CF) is critical in building resiliency. The authors developed and evaluated a burnout and CF program for third year trainees at a Canadian Medical School. Of 165 medical trainees who participated in the burnout and CF program, 59 (36%) provided evaluation and feedback of the program and its impact throughout their year. Participation included self-utilization of a validated CF and burnout tool (ProQOL) across three time-points, workshop feedback, and focus group participation. Results highlighted the importance of 1) Recognizing Individual Signs & Symptoms of Stress, CF and Burnout; 2) Normalizing Stress, CF and Burnout for Students and Physicians; 3) Learning to Manage One’s Own Stress. A decrease in compassion satisfaction and increase in burnout between beginning and end of third year were found. Further outcomes highlighted the importance of learning, living and surviving CF and burnout in clerkship. Emergent theory reveals the important responsibility educators have to integrate CF and burnout programs into ‘the sweet spot’ that third year offers, as trainees shift from theoretical to experiential practice as future clinicians.     

Forging an Identity as a Newly Qualified Worker in the Non-government Community Services Sector

Forging a professional identity is commonly assumed to be a key objective for new graduates transitioning to work. However, the extant literature on professional identity development gives minimal consideration to the role of contemporary work conditions such as increased contract-based employment and occupational instability in carving out a work identity. These workforce trends are particularly pronounced in the non-government community services sector, where worker mobility is high and workers often occupy roles that are not profession-specific. In light of these trends, this article seeks to broaden existing understandings of professional identity development. Focus groups were conducted with 24 newly qualified workers with degree-level qualifications in social work and the human services employed in the community services sector in Queensland. The findings suggest that these workers held a variety of allegiances, which were not necessarily aligned with a profession but instead shaped by the interplay of personal, professional, and organisational factors.     

Serving two masters: Commitment profiles of employees in the German military reserve

Research on commitment has highlighted the importance of understanding multiple commitments to similar objects, and there is a desire to clarify the attendant complex interactions by applying a person-centred approach to commitment. Although there is a rich body of knowledge on commitment, questions regarding possible conflicts among the various types of commitment remain unanswered. Specifically, we know little about the effects of commitment to objects with similar characteristics (e.g. organizations) across domains (e.g. civil vs military). We draw on a sample of individuals in the German military reserve (N = 303) who serve voluntarily as soldiers in the armed forces and parallel work in civil organizations. We test hypotheses regarding the presence of different commitment profiles. We identified five commitment profiles and evidence for both within- and cross-domain effects of the antecedents and outcomes of commitment.     

Educational guidance for functional visual diversity in Nicaragua. Design and evaluation of a teacher-training program

The article exposes the process of design and implementation of a training program for teachers that teach people with Visual Functional Diversity (VFD), taking into account their needs both in training and in the provision of resources in Nicaragua. To verify the effectiveness of the program, a quasi-experimental design was carried out with a non-equivalent pretest and posttest control group. The experimental group received training while the control group did not receive training. The evaluation of the results obtained after the application of the program was carried out through two instruments: an efficacy questionnaire and a satisfaction questionnaire. The results showed significant differences between the experimental and control group after the application of the program (Z = −4,383; p = 0.000) in favor of the experimental group. It is confirmed that the program is effective in training teachers on inclusive education for the visually impaired as the teachers who took part in the training program significantly increased their knowledge in that issue.     

The U.S. capability framework for public relations and communication management: Results of a national three-stage study

Using a novel-capability approach to explore the full potential of the profession, this study utilized a three-stage, mixed-methods design to develop the first U.S. capability framework for public relations. This research also investigated which newly defined capabilities public relations academics and practitioners perceived as the most important for the profession as a whole and for them as professionals. Finally, the research investigated what impediments professionals in the USA face to achieve these capabilities.     

Intentions to leave and actual turnover of community midwives in the Netherlands: A mixed method study exploring the reasons why

BackgroundIn the Netherlands, the turnover of midwives of relatively young age is high. This is concerning since a lack of midwifery experience can negatively affect the quality of maternity care.AimTo study the rate and the reasons for intending to leave, and to explore the reasons for leaving midwifery jobs in the Netherlands.MethodsWe used a mixed-methods design including a quantitative survey (N = 726) followed by qualitative interviews (N = 17) with community midwives.FindingsAlmost one third of the respondents considered leaving the profession. The decision to actually leave the job was the result of a process in which midwives first tried to adapt to their working conditions, followed by feelings of frustration and finally feelings of decreased engagement with the work. The reasons for leaving midwifery practice are an accumulation of job demands, lack of social resources and family responsibilities.DiscussionCompared to international figures, we found a lower rate of midwives who considered leaving the profession. This could be explained by the differences in the organisation of midwifery care and the relatively high job autonomy of midwives in the Netherlands. Nevertheless, changes must be made in terms of decreasing the demands of the job and creating more job resources.ConclusionInnovations in the organisational structure that focus on continuity of care for pregnant individuals, job satisfaction for midwives and building a sustainable workforce may result in an increase in the retention of midwives. These innovations would ensure that women and their babies receive the best care possible.