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Professor Marion Bogo contributed substantial work in theorizing and conducting research to strengthen the landscape of social work field education. As a tribute, this article updates her 2022 scoping review synthesizing the literature on social work field instruction (i.e., published between 2017 and 2019). We synthesized the current empirical literature as it relates to COVID-19 and field education adjustments and innovations. Using Arksey and O'Malley's scoping review framework, we mapped 14 articles published during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., published between 2020 and 2021). The state and nature of the empirical literature are outlined, and promising adjustments, adaptations, and innovations for social work field instruction during and postpandemic are discussed.

There have been longstanding debates about Master of Social Work (MSW) Advanced Standing programs. Many schools of social work offer Advanced Standing status to students with a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) that allows students to enter directly into a concentrated and specialized second year of the MSW program. There are arguments that BSW programs are not equivalent to the foundational year of the MSW and do not adequately prepare students for entry into specialized programs and direct social work practice. This teaching note describes a bridging Advanced Standing Practice Seminar developed to prepare Advanced Standing students for competent direct social work practice using innovative teaching methods, such as simulation-based learning. Implications for social work education and practice are presented.

Social workers have an important role in the field of mental health, and social work programs have a responsibility to prepare students for practice in the field. This scoping review mapped and synthesized the literature on mental health, addictions, and suicide in social work education and training. We found 51 articles that examined social work education in addictions (n=23), suicide (n=17), and mental health (n=7), and some articles (n=4) focused on more than one area. Most articles were empirical studies that used quantitative methods, and only one article did not examine social work education in the United States. The studies showed variability in teaching methods, format of training programs, extent to which theory and practice were linked, and the integration of culture and diversity in the programs. The articles contained recommendations to increase teaching students about mental health, addictions, and suicide in all social work programs. Studies also recommended training for faculty and field instructors, using simulation-based learning methods, including competencies in training programs that target knowledge, skills, values, and beliefs; identifying a theoretical framework; integrating culture and diversity; and evaluating training programs. The article discusses implications for best practices in social work education in mental health, addictions, and suicide.

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted an abrupt shift in the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in practice. The pre-pandemic use of informal ICT was already ubiquitous in social work practice. The purpose of this teaching note is to highlight that social work education must prepare students for practice using ICT during COVID-19 and beyond. Incorporated are findings from an international study on informal ICT use before COVID-19, which confirmed its ubiquity in social work, underscoring the need to educate and prepare social workers to use ICTs. Six knowledge areas important for social work education related to ICT use are discussed: integrating theoretical foundations; ethical considerations; confidentially and documentation; access and equity; risk assessment and management; and supervision and policy.

This commentary on the Li et al. (2024) scoping review provides our perspectives on the strengths of this scoping review, challenges to scoping reviews in supervision research, future areas to build on this work, and suggests additional supervision measurement evaluation criteria. We hope our comments will spur further work building on this review to improve the feasibility and validity of supervision measures, to build an evidence-base for supervision, and crucially, to support supervisors and supervisees to deliver high-quality mental health care across the globe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social work students are tasked with learning the meta and procedural competencies required of the profession while facing their own emotional responses to vulnerable populations and managing clients' difficult experiences. Social work educators can support students in exploring, understanding, and learning to tolerate, regulate, and manage their emotional responses in preparation for practice. Neuroscience provides a foundation to discuss the role of emotions in social work education. A multipronged approach to teaching and learning emotion regulation for social work students is presented. Experiential learning, mindfulness and embodied practice, simulation and role playing, and practicum learning are discussed as methods to enhance social work students' emotion regulation capacities in preparation for practice. Considerations for educators and implications for research are discussed.

Social workers play a critical role in assessing and treating individuals and families with mental health and addiction concerns. Although social workers are key professionals in the mental health workforce, there are gaps in the training and education of mental health, addictions, and suicide, and many students are inadequately prepared for field education. Simulation-based learning is an exemplar method of teaching and assessing practice competencies across several health-care professions including social work. This teaching note describes a simulation-based learning activity in which MSW students build competence in mental health, substance use, and suicide risk assessments with standardized clients. This innovation is integrated in a social work practice in mental health course and was developed in partnership with a community mental health and addiction treatment center. Through this partnership, we developed core competencies, case scenarios, as well as teaching resources and assessment instruments. An advisory committee consisting of MSW students, faculty members, and field instructors evaluated the simulation-based learning innovation and made recommendations for the next iteration. Implications for teaching social work practice in mental health are discussed.

Objective: University has been identified as an important time to develop exercise habits. The aim of this study was to examine factors that enhanced exercise participation among a diverse set of undergraduate students and their perceived facilitators as well as barriers to exercising regularly. Setting: A large public university in one of the largest and most ethno-culturally diverse regions of Canada. Method: A mixed-methods design was employed to examine factors associated with regular exercise participation among diverse Canadian undergraduate students (N = 477). Survey data were analysed using logistic regression analyses to predict regular exercise participation. In addition, six focus group sessions explored barriers and facilitators to regular engagement in exercise (n = 41). Results: Survey findings indicated that being male, having a parent that attended college, and religious affiliation were predictive of exercising regularly. Thematic analysis of qualitative findings highlighted the complex roles that religion, intimidation, peer support and priority-setting played in college students' exercise participation. Conclusion: Findings can inform ongoing strategies to promote exercise participation in early adulthood, particularly among diverse college students.

There has been a call for social work programs to better prepare students for field education. This qualitative study examined an innovation titled Practice Fridays developed to enhance competence in MSW students in a classroom setting. Students (N=57) described what they learned through this simulation-based learning activity and the processes that facilitated their learning. Students reported an enhancement in knowledge, skills, professional judgment, and self-awareness, attributed to observed practice, focused feedback, and guided reflection. Findings suggest that holistic competence can be developed in the classroom when using holistic teaching methods. These findings support simulation as an innovative method of teaching holistic competence in the classroom to prepare students for field learning.

This teaching note describes how a school of social work adapted Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE) during the COVID-19 pandemic to an online live-streamed format, providing students the opportunity to engage in this experiential learning activity despite pandemic-related limitations. A step-by-step process for developing online OSCEs is described, highlighting three key areas—planning, training, and implementation—and the significance of developing a community of practice. Reflections from our team on promising practices for conducting a live-stream OSCE, and insights from the perspectives of simulated clients (n=4), and experienced OSCE raters (n=6) are shared. Implications are described to support future teaching as educators are compelled to continuously prepare social work students for the online realities of practice beyond COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Workplace-based supervision is positioned as a resource within human service organizations with the potential to enhance practitioner well-being and performance under stressful, demanding conditions. This article presents a scoping review synthesizing 175 empirical peer-reviewed publications between 2011 and 2021, including study characteristics, key concepts, methods, and outcomes examined. Providing a comprehensive perspective as its unique contribution, this review mapped the supervision outcomes across the international, multi-disciplinary human services literature. It generally reported the beneficial impact of workplace-based supervision, with notable positive impacts found for competence, implementation, job satisfaction, wellbeing, and retention. Our analysis provides support for workplacebased supervision as an organizational investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social workers play an important role in the field of mental health and addictions, but there are concerns about the level of training and education offered by social work programs. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perspectives of Canadian social work faculty members on social work education in mental health and addictions. We conducted focus groups and individual interviews with faculty (N = 14) from English and French social work programs in seven Canadian provinces and one territory. Using thematic analysis, we generated four themes linked to social work faculty members' perspectives on mental health and addictions in Canadian social work education. These included curriculum priorities and pedagogical approaches, gaps in the curricula, challenges to teaching mental health and addictions in social work education, and facilitators to strengthen the teaching of mental health and addictions in social work education. This study has important policy, practice, and education implications. Our findings underline the importance of including mental health in standards and policies set by accrediting associations, teaching students to use critical-clinical approaches, providing faculty with increased support, and developing a community of practice forsocial work faculty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professor Marion Bogo contributed substantial work in theorizing and conducting research to strengthen the landscape of social work field education. As a tribute, this article updates her 2022 scoping review synthesizing the literature on social work field instruction (i.e., published between 2017 and 2019). We synthesized the current empirical literature as it relates to COVID-19 and field education adjustments and innovations. Using Arksey and O'Malley's scoping review framework, we mapped 14 articles published during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., published between 2020 and 2021). The state and nature of the empirical literature are outlined, and promising adjustments, adaptations, and innovations for social work field instruction during and postpandemic are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This explorative study provides insight into the experiences of standardized clients (SC) involved in simulation for social work education and research. The purpose was to contribute to scholarly conversations regarding SCs and to provide an empirical foundation to inform our simulation program by attending to the perspectives of SC participants who are key to simulation-based learning (SBL). A qualitative, cross-sectional survey was employed to understand these experiences. In doing so, this study attempts to ensure SBL design and implementation is more attentive to SCs who increasingly represent marginalized communities. SCs (n = 14) reported an enthusiasm for engaging with social work simulations as they find the work both interesting and meaningful. The findings demonstrate how incorporating SCs into teaching teams fosters a community of practice that can function to incorporate members of marginalized communities into professional education, and reshape pedagogical strategies for supporting the development of holistic competence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of informal information and communication technologies (ICTs) has transformed social work practice, yet the use of ICTs in practice is not commonly discussed in supervision. The aim of this sequential mixed methods study was to understand the factors associated with social workers' discussion of informal ICT use in supervision, and the considerations that influence these discussions. A logistic regression was conducted using data from Canadian #socialwork survey participants in organisational settings (n  =   958). Quantitative findings were integrated with the qualitative findings from a reflexive thematic analysis of participant interviews (n  =   22), some of which occurred during and were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on our integrated findings, supervisory ICT discussion was highly dependent on organisational policy and supervisors' interpretation of these policies. The setting in which the survey participants worked was also associated with ICT discussion in supervision. In making their decisions to discuss ICT use, interview participants further highlighted the importance of the supervisory relationship based on supervisor qualities and availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teaching students about culture and diversity in social work practice is a complex and important task for social work educators. In this study, we assessed students' conceptualization of culture and diversity factors following a simulated interview. Participants (N = 57 MSW students) completed a reflection questionnaire post-simulation and we conducted thematic analysis of the data. Three themes emerged: 1) culture and diversity impacted the interview, 2) culture and diversity didn't really impact the interview, but ..., and 3) culture and diversity didn't really impact the interview. The results indicate it is important to enhance teaching methods related to culture and diversity, and simulation is a promising innovation to prepare students for practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There have been longstanding debates about Master of Social Work (MSW) Advanced Standing programs. Many schools of social work offer Advanced Standing status to students with a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) that allows students to enter directly into a concentrated and specialized second year of the MSW program. There are arguments that BSW programs are not equivalent to the foundational year of the MSW and do not adequately prepare students for entry into specialized programs and direct social work practice. This teaching note describes a bridging Advanced Standing Practice Seminar developed to prepare Advanced Standing students for competent direct social work practice using innovative teaching methods, such as simulation-based learning. Implications for social work education and practice are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recognizing that despite what has been termed a 'crisis' in field education or practice learning, there exists a robust contemporary empirical literature illuminating a range of issues related to offering quality educational experiences to students in agency and community settings. The aim of this scoping review was to offer an overview and understanding of the contemporary field education empirical literature, focusing specifically on field instruction. Such a review can guide schools of social work, identify the most pressing research needs, and inform practice. This scoping review maps the research literature across a six-and-a-half-year period between January 1, 2013 and June 30, 2019, building on previous reviews. It addresses the state and nature of the empirical literature and identifies the emerging best practices and principles for social work field instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social workers have an important role in the field of mental health, and social work programs have a responsibility to prepare students for practice in the field. This scoping review mapped and synthesized the literature on mental health, addictions, and suicide in social work education and training. We found 51 articles that examined social work education in addictions (n=23), suicide (n=17), and mental health (n=7), and some articles (n=4) focused on more than one area. Most articles were empirical studies that used quantitative methods, and only one article did not examine social work education in the United States. The studies showed variability in teaching methods, format of training programs, extent to which theory and practice were linked, and the integration of culture and diversity in the programs. The articles contained recommendations to increase teaching students about mental health, addictions, and suicide in all social work programs. Studies also recommended training for faculty and field instructors, using simulation-based learning methods, including competencies in training programs that target knowledge, skills, values, and beliefs; identifying a theoretical framework; integrating culture and diversity; and evaluating training programs. The article discusses implications for best practices in social work education in mental health, addictions, and suicide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social workers engage with and hold the emotional context of clients, while managing their own cognitive and affective reactions. As such, the importance of attending to social work students' emotional reactions in the classroom to effectively prepare them for field education and practice has been recognized. A greater understanding of cognitive and affective processes and how to teach students to be increasingly self-aware can better equip future social workers with the necessary competencies for practice. The current exploratory qualitative study examined the role of affective and cognitive processes of MSW students in simulated client interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyze reflection questionnaires completed by MSW students (N = 57) after a simulated client interview in a voluntary educational activity (Practice Fridays). The perceptions of participants illustrated a range of emotional awareness, impact of emotions and emotion regulation which intertwined with their cognitive processes and enactment of procedural competencies. Themes identified included: awareness of emotional reactions, and client understanding; impact of emotions from enhancing to interfering; identification of coping, and connection between practice and emotion regulation. Simulation permits students to reflect on their emotional reactions and receive feedback which can heighten self-awareness, a precursor to developing effective strategies for coping with emotions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social workers play a critical role in assessing and treating individuals and families with mental health and addiction concerns. Although social workers are key professionals in the mental health workforce, there are gaps in the training and education of mental health, addictions, and suicide, and many students are inadequately prepared for field education. Simulation-based learning is an exemplar method of teaching and assessing practice competencies across several health-care professions including social work. This teaching note describes a simulation-based learning activity in which MSW students build competence in mental health, substance use, and suicide risk assessments with standardized clients. This innovation is integrated in a social work practice in mental health course and was developed in partnership with a community mental health and addiction treatment center. Through this partnership, we developed core competencies, case scenarios, as well as teaching resources and assessment instruments. An advisory committee consisting of MSW students, faculty members, and field instructors evaluated the simulation-based learning innovation and made recommendations for the next iteration. Implications for teaching social work practice in mental health are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This article presents a scoping review that synthesized empirical studies on simulation in social work (SW) education. The review maps the research examining characteristics of simulation studies in SW education and emerging best practices. Method: Using Arksey and O'Malley's scoping review framework to develop the methodology and following the PRISMA-ScR checklist, we selected 52 studies for this review. Results: Most studies were published in North America and included quantitative (37%), qualitative (31%), and mixed methods (33%). Simulation was used to teach generalist and specialized practice with interprofessional practice as the highest area of specialization. Simulation was also used for assessment purposes, and the Objective Structured Clinical Examination was a commonly reported method. We identified several facilitators and barriers to using simulation effectively for teaching and assessment. Conclusions: Our analysis permitted us to identify emerging best practices that can be used to guide teaching. Implications for SW research, teaching, and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]