Introduction
It is safe to say that social work is the kind of activity that plays a significant part in ensuring the human community’s well-being. Schools of social work train and educates future social workers. According to Bogo et al. (2007), “schools of social work are committed to ensuring that the graduates of their programs become professionals who can provide ethical, competent, high-quality service to the public” (p. 114). Supervision is a critical episode of field education in the social sciences that develops students’ professional identity (Laureate Education, 2013). This work aims to analyze supervision and the field instructors’ part in it.
The Role of Supervision
Supervision indeed plays a vital role in the educational process of future social workers. This statement applies to all areas of social work, primarily adult medical daycare. Supervision in social work refers to the interaction between a field instructor and a student (Garthwait, 2017). The goal of the former in supervised practice is to guide and educate the latter. A noteworthy mention is that field instructors must have appropriate theoretical knowledge and practical skills to teach students properly. In adult medical daycare, these are, for example, the provision of adult day services, care management, crisis intervention, and advocacy.
Students engage in supervision for all-around development and self-improvement in social work. Garthwait (2017) notes that there are two major categories within supervising practice through which both field instructors and their learners achieve the described goals. These are “supervision about your intervention with clients” and “supervision about professional development” (Garthwait, 2017, p. 33). There are other classification models of supervised practices.
Researchers distinguish between three types of supervision based on their functions, namely, administrative, educational, and supportive. In the administrative one, students learn about the institution’s operation, the organization’s structure, and the chain of command (Garthwait, 2017). In the educational one, they are taught how and where to continue their professional development (Garthwait, 2017). A supportive supervision practice is about introspection and how students should cope with stresses in social work and education.
Delegate Leadership of Supervisors in Adult Medical Day Care
As highly skilled professionals, field instructors can apply multiple leadership styles in their social work education practice. One such technique utilized in adult medical daycare is the delegating leadership or supervisory style of “delegation of work” (Garthwait, 2017, p. 32). This type of leader believes that entrusting students with different tasks and responsibilities, such as care management mentioned above, is the best way to develop their professional skills. Put differently, they rely on practice.
Effectiveness of Delegate Leadership
Delegate leadership is useful in many areas of social work, including adult medical daycare. Delegation of assignments by field instructors to students in social work field education allows the latter to develop the necessary skills and professional behavior. It is worthwhile to mention one of the basic behavioral patterns for any social worker, which is “an acceptance of risks to the self” (Mctighe, 2011, p. 302). This quality is essential in the medical field.
Conclusion
This work explores such a part of social work education experience as supervision of adult medical daycare. There were analyzed such phenomena as the nature and role of supervision, delegated leadership of field instructors, and whether it is an effective method of mentoring. This analytical practice is useful for students’ theoretical knowledge. The work is supported by three written and one audio source.
References
Bogo, M., Regehr, C., Power, R., & Regehr, G. (2007). When values collide: Field instructors’ experiences of providing feedback and evaluating competence. The Clinical Supervisor, 26(1–2), 99–117. Web.
Garthwait, C. L. (2017). The social work practicum: A guide and workbook for students, 7th edition. Pearson.
Laureate Education. (2013). Role of supervision. Walden University. Web.
Mctighe, J. P. (2011). Teaching the use of self through the process of clinical supervision. Clinical Social Work Journal, 39(3), 301–307. Web.