Evaluation of Social Work Student Placements in General Practice

Abstract

Social work and social work student placements in general practice [GP] can contribute to wholistic healthcare. The overall aims of this research were to develop, implement and evaluate a field education placement curriculum for social work student placements in GP clinics. Between December 2021 and June 2022, six students completed their social work placements in four GP practices in North Queensland. Data collection included student records and an online survey that invited students, field educators, task supervisors, mentors, allied health professionals and GPs to provide feedback about the usefulness of the developed materials, the benefits and challenges of the placements, the services provided by the students, patient outcomes and feedback, social work learning, service delivery overall and the value of, and satisfaction with, the social work GP placements. Social work student placements in GP practices offer a valuable broadening of field education learning opportunities for social work and can benefit GP settings. Such placements need to be particularly carefully scaffolded and supported through a comprehensive curriculum, supervision, and a welcoming GP setting. Students interested in embarking in such a learning journey need to be highly confident and competent in social work practice.

Strategies for facilitating social work placements in general practice

“…8 This paper is based on an Australian pilot project (Figure 1), which placed social work students in general practice to increase the integration of social work in general practice and prepare students for the general practice setting, demonstrating benefits for patients, the clinics and student learning. 9 The research findings highlighted four dimensions (Figure 2) important in social work student engagement in general practice: clinic context, opportunities and environment; student qualities and learning goals; preparation and professional development; and access to supervision. 7 These findings are consistent with established practice in work integrated learning.…”

Exploring the impact of integrated health and social care services on child health and wellbeing in underserved populations: a systematic review

“…The majority of previous work that has explored inter agency collaborative working has focused on creating teams of primary and secondary care clinicians (64, 65). What remains less well understood is how best to combine health and social care services (24, 25).…”

“…Together they share the aim of providing widely accessible health and social care for CYP and their families that can help treat and manage acute and chronic health care alongside the necessary social support that can help mitigate the social determinants of ill-health such as poor housing, domestic violence, or food poverty (21,22). However, despite widespread investment in these systems in countries such as the United Kingdom (23), evidence of the benefits of integrating health and social care remains inconsistent, particularly amongst underserved CYP (24,25): Little is known of which integrated models are most effective, including the precise combination of services, the specific outcomes they improve, or the impact on the surrounding health economy (26,27). This systematic review is the first that has collated and examined the impact of these integrated health and social care services on CYP in underserved populations.…”

“…However, despite widespread investment in these systems in countries such as the United Kingdom (23), evidence of the benefits of integrating health and social care remains inconsistent, particularly amongst underserved CYP (24, 25): Little is known of which integrated models are most effective, including the precise combination of services, the specific outcomes they improve, or the impact on the surrounding health economy (26, 27). This systematic review is the first that has collated and examined the impact of these integrated health and social care services on CYP in underserved populations.…”

Yonder: Social work students, machine learning, mentoring, and urgent care centres

“…A recent Australian study sought to extend this by developing and evaluating a field placement curriculum for social work students in GP surgeries. 1 They found that these placements help students to learn about medical terminology and working in health care, as well as developing core social work skills and knowledge. Likewise, participating GP surgeries gained useful information and resources, and some insight into social work practice.…”