All students are expected to start their placement on the same date. This is usually the Monday of the second week in January for the winter term and after Labour Day for the Fall term. We do offer some flexibility in the days of field placement throughout the term. We are firm that students must be in field placement a minimum of 13 weeks. This is to ensure consistency with the seminar that is taught alongside the field placement. If students are varying from the set days and hours of field placement, approval by the Faculty Liaison is required.
In some instances, due to student absence or unforeseen circumstances, the end date of the field placement can be extended. The Faculty Liaison must be kept informed by the student and can facilitate the necessary paperwork. At the end of the term the student will receive an Incomplete on the transcript which will be modified when the field placement hours and requirements have been met.
Hours of Field Placement
The field placement hours are based on a 7 hour day. The time taken for lunch is not included in the hours. Students are at the site for 8 hours per day with 1 hour deducted for lunch. Some agencies operate for longer hours. This will impact the end date of the placement. Students are expected to adjust their hours so they are meeting the program requirements of being in placement for a minimum of 13 weeks. Students are to outline their days and hours of field placement in their learning contract at the beginning of the field placement. The hours must be communicated to and approved by the Faculty Liaison.
Supervision Requirements
Students are to be provided with a minimum of one to one and a half hours of direct face to face supervision a week by their Field instructors. Students and Agency Field Instructors are to negotiate dates and times of weekly supervision at the beginning of the Field Placement keeping in mind that there may be the need for flexibility. The schedule of the supervision can
Page 35 of 50 be flexible. For example, it can be 20 minutes a day or a scheduled appointment for one hour on a weekly basis. The proposed schedule should be identified and documented on the Learning Contract.
For those students who have a Social Work Consultant assigned to their field placement, an additional supervision schedule is required. Students are to meet with their Social Work Consultant a minimum of once every two weeks to help them integrate social work theory and knowledge with their field placement experience. These meetings can be a combination of face to face, over the telephone or via email supervision sessions.
Forms to Complete During the placement
The Field Placement requires the completion of several forms. These forms are completed online though the IPT database. The Faculty Liaison, student, Field Instructor and Field Education Coordinator have access to all forms assigned to them on the IPT database. Students are evaluated on their performance in the field placement. Field Instructors and students are expected to set up a regular supervision schedule where students receive a
minimum of 1 hour of designated, uninterrupted supervision per week. The student evaluation process is a joint process whereby both the student and the field instructor complete the evaluation. The field instructor is to complete the comments section on the form. The grade of Credit/No credit is assigned by the Faculty Liaison
Students and Field Instructors will receive detailed IPT information and required usernames and passwords prior to the start of the field placement. If you did not receive this information please contact the Field Education Assistant at 604-504-7441 local 4104.
Beginning Of Placement Forms Field Placement Contract
This form outlines the responsibilities of the Student, Field Instructor, Faculty Liaison, Social Work Consultant (if applicable) and Field Education Coordinator. Each person must read, complete, and sign this form.
Liability Form – UFV Work Experience Placement Agreement
This form outlines the coverage provided to the student during field placement. The dates of the field placement must be identified on this form. It is recommended that the months of the field placement rather than the exact dates be used. The university information is completed on the form. Please note the field placement agency is identified as the “Employer”.
Page 36 of 50 If a student is injured or involved in an accident during the course of the placement the Field Education Coordinator and Faculty Liaison must be notified within 24 hours. The school will work with the student to complete any required Worksafe BC forms.
The Learning Contract
The Learning Contract is a guide to monitor and direct the student’s learning and the field instructor’s teaching. It is a joint process and negotiated agreement between the student, the field instructor, and the faculty liaison who leads the seminar. It identifies the process and content of student learning and is referred to throughout the field placement.
The Learning Contract provides structure and guidelines for the learning in the field placement. It helps to identify and define the following:
What the student needs and wants to learn
What learning activities/tasks/strategies will be used to meet the student’s learning objectives
How the student’s learning and accomplishments will be monitored and evaluated
The instructional/supervisory meeting times and process of instruction/supervision
Identification of the roles and responsibilities of all those involved in the student’s learning, including the student
Tally of Hours
The Tally of Hours form is a record of the hours spent in placement and the details of what you accomplished. Include details of how you spent your day. This can consist of meetings or training you attended, tasks you completed or were assigned or research you completed etc. Also record the number of hours you were there each day. If you were there for 8 hours and had an hour for lunch please record 7 hours for that day.
Middle Of Placement Forms
SOWK 330/SOWK430 Midterm Evaluation
The Midterm Evaluation is jointly completed by the Student and the Agency Field Instructor through the IPT database. If a Social Work Consultant is assigned to a placement they should be consulted during the midterm evaluation process. The Faculty Liaison will meet in person with the student and Field Instructor to discuss and review the Mid-term Evaluation.
Page 37 of 50 Tally of Hours Form Continued
Students will continue recording their placement hours and details.
End of Placement Forms
SOWK 330/SOWK 430 Final Evaluation
The Final Evaluation is jointly completed by the Student and the Agency Field Instructor through the IPT database. If a Social Work Consultant is assigned to a placement they should be
consulted during the Final evaluation process. The Faculty Liaison will meet via teleconference to review and discuss the Final Evaluation.
Tally of Hours Form Completed
The Tally of Hours form will reflect the completion of 420 placement hours and provide details of how the student spent that time in placement.
Evaluations of the Field Placement
As part of the requirements of the Field Placement course students are expected to complete an evaluation of their field placement. We also ask field instructors to complete an evaluation of the placement.
These evaluations are only viewed by the Field Education Coordinator and the feedback is used to evaluate the Field Education Program on an ongoing basis. These evaluations are important for the continued improvement of our Field Program.
Personal Safety and Security in the Field Placement
The social work profession has become increasingly concerned about the safety and security of social work practitioners in the workplace. Work-related violence against social workers may include physical and/or verbal assault, the threat of assault and harassment. Such concern about workplace violence also draws attention to the safety and security of social work students in field placement settings.
The School of Social Work and Human Services is concerned about student safety and security. Student field placements have the potential to involve a certain level of risk and vulnerability. Students are not expected to enter into high risk situations in a field placement setting.
Based on the situation, the Risk Management office of the University will need to be contacted. The University does provide WorkSafeBC and liability coverage to students in field placement.
Page 38 of 50 The following expectations are in place to deal with personal safety and risk in field
placements:
Students are required to participate in field placement safety training provided by their agency
The School expects that agencies should have policies and procedures dealing with safety and security issues for all personnel.
We expect that these safety and security policies and procedures need to be a part of the student‘s site orientation at the agency.
However, if this information is not formally presented, it is the student’s responsibility to initiate discussion of such policies and procedures with the Field Instructor.
Students should not be alone in the placement setting either during working hours or after hours unless this has been discussed with the Faculty Liaison and appropriate training and backup is available.
Students who perceive themselves at risk, at any time, in any field placement setting, are obliged to contact their Faculty Liaison or the Field Education Coordinator
immediately.
The topics that should be covered in a safety orientation include:
Office and agency security such as interviewing rooms, emergency exits, disaster plan, parking areas, before and after hours work regulations.
Agency emergency procedures for contacting security, police and backup assistance. Policies and procedures for home and community visits that include where, when, with
another worker or escort, under what conditions a visit should or should not be made, and emergency backup plans.
Transporting clients (personal car, agency vehicle, insurance and liability, when, where, with another worker, under what conditions would a student be expected to transport). Assessment and handling of agitated and/or violent clients (de-escalation techniques,
physical restraint of clients, treating clients with a history of violence).
Potential risks and safety issues unique to a particular setting and/or client population