Welcome to the Spring 2013 issue of the Field Educator! We are pleased to be publishing our fourth issue. The three articles in the Field Scholar section address various aspects of diversity in field education. The lead article, by Lori Messinger, Director of Field Education at UNC Wilmington, offers reflections on LGBT issues in social work field education. Patty Hunter and Caitlin Hollis of CSU Chico School of Social Work explore international internships. Alex Colvin of Prairie View A & M in Texas describes the application to field education of the Campinha-Bacote healthcare model of cultural competence.
The Practice Digest section offers a report from faculty at the University of Texas in Arlington on a new application of technology to field education: the virtual field visit. (The next issue of the Field Educator will include an article about the inauguration of a remote field visit at Simmons School of Social Work.) In addition, two articles focus on outreach in field education: one on home-visiting in placements, and one on work with unaccompanied homeless youth. Finally, a field liaison reflects on an ethical dilemma with regard to research in a hospital-based internship.
We were pleased to have several student submissions from Aurora University in Illinois; an article about the art of self-disclosure and an article about seniors telling their stories will be presented in the Students Speak section, and a blog on managing feelings about loss in the Life in the Field blog.
In the Conversation, Judith Perlstein, Associate Director of Field Education at Boston University School of Social Work, interviews Michele Sienkiewicz, Associate Director of University of Denver’s Graduate School of Social Work, about her school’s model of off-site supervision. This is an important current issue, as agencies have fewer resources to provide onsite MSW supervision of social work interns. One of the links in the Resources section is to the University of Chicago’s list of criteria for defining the roles of the task supervisor and the field instructor.
This issue of the Field Educator also honors two noteworthy field educators. Eileen McKee, Assistant Dean, Field Education at the University of Toronto, salutes Illana Perlman, MSW, Educational Coordinator at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center and valued practice educator at the University of Toronto Factor-Inwentash School of Social Work. The News section includes a hail and farewell by Sandra Posada, Army-Fayetteville State University MSW Field Coordinator, to Ginger Robbins, recently retired Director of Field Education at the University of Houston. We also note with sorrow the recent loss of Patty Gibbs Wahlberg, professor emerita, who directed the BSW program at East Tennessee State University.
Inter-professional practice is increasingly important in field education; the What We’re Reading section is broadening its perspective to include summaries of articles from other professions utilizing internships, like nursing and psychology. Several field education articles are also summarized, including those from the recent Smith College Studies issue on field education.
Thanks to all the contributors to the Field Educator, as well as to all our readers who participate through the journal in the lively community of field education.