Social Work Program Assigns First Field Placement

Susan Smith, a Manchester resident and Union College senior, will begin a social work field placement this spring.

Union College’s recently added social work program has placed its first student in a field education experience.

Susan Smith, a senior social work major from Manchester, Ky., will complete a field placement with Baptist Regional Medical Center (BRMC) in Corbin.

Smith will work in BRMC’s rehabilitation unit under the guidance of Kyle Mitchell, a master’s-level social worker. She will start and complete her placement in spring 2011.

Students in Union College’s social work program are required to complete 450 hours of field education with a social service agency. The field placement gives students real-life, hands-on experiences working with clients under the supervision of a social worker. Students complete the placement in their senior year, giving them the opportunity to put into practice what they have learned in the classroom, increase their professional skills and strengthen their professional identity.

Smith will work with the BRMC rehabilitation unit four days per week and return to the Union campus once each week for a field seminar class. Students in field placements receive credit hours for their work. A field experience is required of all social work students at schools accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.

Smith will be the first graduate of Union’s social work program since it was reintroduced as a major in 2008. She is also scheduled to be inducted into Union’s chapter of Phi Alpha, a national social work honor society. To be eligible, students must have a grade point average of 3.25 or higher. Bethany Outland, also a senior social work major, will be inducted into Phi Alpha along with Smith.
   

October 12, 2010

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