Ellen Katz

Evaluating an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) Adapted for Social Work

Objectives: To evaluate an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) adapted for social work in a lab course and examine the degree to which it predicts competence in the practicum. Method: 125 Masters students participated in a one-scenario OSCE and wrote responses to standardized reflection questions. OSCE performance and reflections were rated on previously standardized scales, competence in field was evaluated using the online practice-based evaluation. Results: A wide range of scores on OSCE scales indicate that differences in student competencies were captured. Correlational analyses revealed an association between OSCE scales and field final evaluations. Nevertheless, a number of students who performed poorly on the OSCE did well in the practicum. Conclusions: The OSCE method of evaluation warrants cautious optimism and requires further replication and adaptation for social work educational outcomes assessment.

“I Didn’t Feel Equipped”: Social Work Students’ Reflections on a Simulated Client “Coming Out”

Few studies have examined social work students’ reflections on and experiences working with lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and questioning persons and addressing the intersection of race/ethnicity and sexuality within practice. This study explored current master’s of social work student (n = 11) and recent graduate (n = 7) reflections on conducting an objective structured clinical practice interaction with an African Canadian youth coming out as a lesbian. Narrative thematic analyses of reflective dialogues highlighted a variation of competence in gay affirmative practice across attitudes (managing personal reactions), knowledge (addressing diversity; terminology and information), and skills (readiness; challenging heterosexism). Curriculum development and agency-based training is recommended to address gaps in knowledge and competence regarding gay affirmative approaches.

Illuminating Students’ Pre-Practicum Conceptual and Emotional States: Implications for Field Education

Pre-practicum student reflections were studied using an Objective Standard Clinical Examination adapted for social work. One hundred and nine students conducted simulated interviews and immediately wrote answers to reflective questions. Reflections were studied using descriptive qualitative methodology. Three patterns emerged: students rely primarily on their personal and/or professional experience rather than theoretical knowledge; they are easily emotionally dysregulated by intense client emotions; and they benefit from active learning to prepare for practicum. Implications for social work education include greater emphasis on simulated interview practice, explicit attention to assisting students in regulating their affective responses, and actively gauging student readiness for practicum.

‘At the still point of the turning world’: a journey through the temporal dimensions of a father–son conflict

This paper will examine aspects of the permeability of time, with a view to exploring our perceptions of ourselves as present–focused distinct individuals. Permeability of time is defined as time’s fluidity, its ability to move across boundaries of past, present and future. Fluidity, in this sense, is our capacity to experience past, present and future simultaneously. Time will be examined from both psychoanalytic and systemic viewpoints. Issues of time and timelessness, consciousness and memory will be raised and the usefulness of working from an affective base discussed. The case cited in the paper is one in which the family was in the stage of having an adolescent child. Adolescence will therefore be discussed as it relates to the issue of time. The clinical discussion will be based on an integration of the two theoretical perspectives as they relate to time and affect. In conclusion I will revisit the question of our perception of ourselves as present–focused distinct individuals within a family context.

Seeing Clinical Attention Anew: Results from an Exploratory Study of Attention in Clinical Practice

Attention is an acknowledged component of the therapeutic relationship that forms the heart of clinical work. Yet it is rarely studied. This study explored the structure of clinical attention with a focus on internal processes occurring within the clinician, not on actions or interventions taken in sessions. Fourteen experienced clinicians participated in an elicitation interview. Data analysis followed a modified phenomenological methodology. The structure of clinical attention was discovered to consist of a dynamic and iterative process of intention and intuition based in distinct, recursive and iteratively related attentional levels. Attention is a process grounded in inner psycho-physiological awareness providing clinicians with abilities to reflect on practice and regulate affective experience.

Taking the Show on the Road in Holding Academic Classes in Community Agencies: Exploratory Study Findings.

ABSTRACT Social work educators often teach students clinical knowledge within a university classroom, whereas students tend to learn clinical practice through their practicum experiences. This article describes data from a cross-sectional, mixed-method study on one way to effectively bridge the gap between teaching clinical knowledge and practice to graduate students. In this study, students participated in a newly developed and delivered 3-hour weekly course, over 12 weeks, based around students’ observation of ongoing live family therapy sessions at a children’s mental health organization. Findings suggest that this course design can fill a gap between the classroom and practicum experiences for students.