Thread by @colleendamerell

If anyone on #SocialWorkTwitter has a moment to help me, I would be so appreciative. #SocialWork #MSW (thread)

I have an issue that’s been bugging me for a while, but I recently contacted a professor to express my concerns related to a specific assignment. Now I have a meeting with the program director tomorrow (eep!)

It seems to be very common in my MSW classes to have an assignment that requires me to find either 1) a professional to interview 2) a person or group of people who are experiencing a problem to interview or observe or 3) a friend to pretend to be a client

I understand that this is REALLY common in social work programs. I also understand and respect how important real-world experience and hands-on practice are.

But my concern is that this practice could have some unintended harmful consequences. For one, I know other professionals (thanks to @NonprofitAF) sometimes find these inquiries from students to be frustrating—they demand the time/energy of providers with no value added.

Another concern I have is that having students come to an organization or group (without any prior vetting or relationship—these are one-off things, not field work!) could make clients feel exploited or used for the student’s benefit.

Finally, it frustrates me that I’m constantly asked to use my own network to get experience, whether it’s interviewing another professional about their work or asking a friend to be a pretend client. Those people don’t gain anything, only I do.

(And what about students who don’t have those networks? What about students who themselves have lived experiences with these issues? Last semester I was asked to do a “SNAP Challenge”...I’ve been on SNAP for real.)

I am struggling to say, concisely, why this rubs me the wrong way. While I don’t think I can call it unethical, it does strike me as counter to relationship-building, equity, reciprocity, compensating people fairly for their work. It seems invasive.

I tweeted yesterday about a response I got from the prof that made me feel dismissed. But I’m in a problem-solving space today. I’m looking to see if anyone has ideas or research about best practices in social work education. I want to come to this meeting prepared.