Remember! No identifying information when discussing clients
Please answer the following questions when creating your journal entry. Feel free to use references, share links, media, pics, and other items that you feel would help your teammates.
- What do you expect to accomplish from your field placement?
- What do you hope to gain from your field instructor and seminar instructor?
- In what ways do you prefer to receive feedback from your field supervisor? What is your learning style?
- Are there certain areas that are uncomfortable for you to receive guidance and feedback?
- How do you ensure that you are getting the most out of your supervisory relationship?
Name: Alicia Henry
Agency: Orlando Health; Health Central Hospital
Despite having over 28 years of experience working in the public sector, I have limited knowledge of the healthcare industry. I choose to do my internship at a hospital because it will help me understand more about how the healthcare industry ties to social work. By the end of my internship, I want to be an expert in my position as a case manager. I want to be able to advocate for the patient and be knowledgeable about every aspect of ensuring their safe discharge.
The fact that I have a field instructor who completed the MSW program at UCF a year ago is a plus. By the time my internship is over, I want to know just as much as she does. Regarding my field instructor, I want to be able to ask for advice as needed and convey any problems that may come up knowing that he will be there to help.
My preferred learning style is visual. I am also open to writing, as long as it’s clear. I prefer my feedback to be via emails, or followed up by a phone call if clarification is needed.
I am always open to constructive criticism. Therre are no areas that are uncomfortable for you to receive guidance and feedback.
By keeping lines of communication open, I make sure I am getting the most out of my supervisory relationship. I also have a lot of questions regarding things that are unfamiliar to me or when I require clarification. I’ll check in with my manager to see how I’m doing, what needs work, and if there’s a better way to do things.
Name: Elizabeth Prophete
Agency: Orlando Health REACH
- I have been working in Child Welfare for some time and have gained skills not only in investigation, but as well as case management. My work experience has been centered around children and families. What I am hoping to accomplish from my current internship at the hospital would be a better understanding of the social work life in the hospital. Very similar to Alicia. I am not sure if I want to continue in child welfare. I am hoping that by being at the hospital, I will learn other skills that I currently do not have and or sharpen the ones that I do have or may have lost.
- What do you hope to gain from your field instructor and seminar instructor? Am hoping to gain guidance from my filed instructor. My field instructor also completed her MSW at UCF and she has accomplished so much. She seems to be balancing a lot and I am hoping I can learn from her, on how she is able to do that. Me having to balance school, work and my internship is a lot. Sometimes I am not sure if I can pull through. But she has shared her stories and how she had some barriers in her way yet, she is where she is now. With Mt seminar instructor, I hope to understand fully all the 9 competencies that I am being taught.
- I feel any feedback is great. Feedback on what I have done well and what I can improve on. Most importantly, the feedback being given should come with respect. My learning style consists of a lot of “hands on” work with clear explanations. That way I can have a better understanding as to what I am doing and why.
- There are no areas that would make me feel uncomfortable when it comes to receiving guidance and or feedback. However, I recently was given guidance in a way I felt should have been more of a 1on1 and my field supervisor should have been mindful of her tone on how she was explaining and directing the message to me. If anything, I felt targeted and bit uncomfortable as it was in front of a zoom meeting. As long as the guidance and feedback are given with respect and understanding, I am okay with it.
- How do you ensure that you are getting the most out of your supervisory relationship? The only way anyone can get the most out of any relationship ever, is by providing clear and consistent communication between yourself and the other person(s). This is how I ensure that I am getting the most out of my supervisory relationship.
Alicia, the fact that you are working in DCF alone puts you ahead of the game because that also requires case management skills. I can’t wait to see how much more knowledgeable you become from this experience alone. At my internship, we completed the Integrative 9 Ennegram test. It was free. It’s like a personality test to see more of who you are and can help with how you work with others. I wanted to share it with our team. You can try it out if you’d like.
Here is the link. The Enneagram Personality Test (truity.com) or https://www.truity.com/test/enneagram-personality-test
Name: Polly Smith
Agency: Seminole County Public Schools
During my internship, I hope to accomplish several things. I want to expand my skills and experience in the field of social work and push myself past my comfort zone. I also want to be able to articulate how I show growth in the nine NASW competencies over the course of the field placement. To get the most out of this experience, I want to absorb as much as I can and be open to learning opportunities.
I’m fortunate to be placed with a field instructor that has many years of experience in school social work. She has had quite a few other students that she has instructed over the years, so she is great at explaining how the activities we do tie into the NASW competencies and code of ethics. She takes opportunities to introduce me to others and explain how her role relates to other roles in the school. She also points out the challenges of the job and how she specifically struggles with self-care. I want to learn as much as I can about her style and continue developing my own style with the aspects I want to incorporate. I know that our seminar instructor also comes from a school social work background, so I would love to learn from his experience to get a different point of view.
I like receiving feedback from my field supervisor that is timely/immediate (as in, hearing if I’m doing something wrong right then as opposed to hours or days later) and specific. Because so much of this experience is new for me, I’m unsure of how I’m doing and enjoy frequent feedback. Later on, I likely will not need as much feedback since I’ll feel more confident in what I’m doing. For example, I told my supervisor that I’m learning the lingo for positive behavior reinforcement, and she gave me some suggestions for saying things like “use your walking feet” instead of “no running.”
I would feel uncomfortable if I received negative feedback for something far after the fact, since I would feel like I could have been corrected earlier on. I’m the kind of person that would rather address the elephant in the room than ignore it. Being a white person in a school that has mostly Black and Hispanic students, I recognize that that may cause issues and I might have to have uncomfortable conversations. That is the nature of this work, and I would rather have guidance and constructive feedback than avoid the topic.
I learn well from observing my supervisor’s behavior and following her lead. In most situations, we can debrief after an interaction, but I do not ask questions during certain interactions, like conducting a risk assessment on a student or observing a case staffing. I really like to learn from watching videos and webinars on new topics, so I’ve been spending time watching webinars on Harmony Social Emotional Learning, MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports), and other informational videos for educators. This helps solidify what I learn while interning, and gives me more context for why we do what we do. To get the most out of the supervisory relationship, I try to use opportunities when it is just her and I to debrief and ask clarifying questions. Our days are busy, so we do not get much downtime, so I try to be intentional with the time we have together.
Robens (Team2) Hi Polly,I think pushing yourself past your comfort zone is a great way to make yourself better and a great way own some skills to help future clients.I don’t think any one like receiving negative feedback there is a way to deliver a negative feedback such as complimenting wow well the person has been doing on certain areas then switch to where they could improve.I think most people are visual learns because most use in life from childhood we mirrored what the adults did and we either choice to do the same or followed someone else view.
Alicia- I love that you chose an internship that is quite different from what you’re used to. That has me inspired to do something completely new for me for my clinical placement, just to have a new experience. I also think your preference for getting feedback written is helpful. A side benefit is that you can refer back to it at a later date and see the progress you’ve made! -Polly
Elizabeth- thank you for sharing the Enneagram test! I’ve never actually taken it before so I’m excited to see what the results are. Like you, I also prefer to learn hands-on and get feedback one-on-one. I would feel a bit upset if I got feedback like you did in a Zoom meeting. There’s definitely a better way to do that!! -Polly
Polly-In regard to being uncomfortable receiving negative feedback, I think you should change your perspective about how you view it. In my opinion it should be viewed as constructive criticism. Constructive criticism is an opportunity for learning and growth.
Elizabeth- I like how you are branching out in other areas since you are not sure if you want to remain in child welfare.
