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University of St. Thomas/St. Catherine University

The overall program goals were to intentionally extend experiential learning for all BSW students through multiple encounters that give them direct contact with older adults and offer opportunities to participate in experiential learning activities that promote interest in and competency for service to older adults and their families. This has included topics specific to interviewing, policy awareness, networking and advocacy, direct practice, and development of knowledge, values, and skills specific to competence in gero-social work practice. In addition, the field education program has partnered with agencies that practice gero-social work to provide field placements in which students can explore their specific interest in the practice area and connect to gero-specific mentors. The field education program has also partnered with agencies to bring the classroom to the community. The BEL program also led to the creation of a sustainable Area of Emphasis in Gero-Social Work and natural collaborations within our school of social work and the university’s other gero-specific initiatives.

Courses that Included Experiential Activity:

  • Introduction to Social Work
  • Social Welfare Policy
  • Field Placement
  • Communication & Interviewing Skills

Gero Practice Behaviors:

  • Identify and assess their values and biases regarding aging.
  • Identify the breadth of diversity among older adults.
  • Address respectfully the cultural, spiritual, and ethnic values and beliefs of older adults and their families.
  • Relate concepts and theories of aging to social work practice.
  • Understand the perspective and values of social work in relation to working effectively with other disciplines in geriatric interdisciplinary practice.
  • Identify and develop strategies to address service gaps, fragmentation, discrimination, and barriers that impact older persons.
  • Advocate and organize with service providers, community organizations, policy makers, and the public to meet the needs and issues of a growing aging population.
  • Identify the availability of resources and resource systems for older adults and their families.
  • Build collaborations across disciplines and the service spectrum to assess access, continuity, and reduce gaps in services of older adults.