Department of Social Work at Saint Mary's College

Social Work - Field Education
Saint Mary's College - Notre Dame, Indiana

Faculty • Regional Placements & Instructors • National Placements • Forms • Gerontology Consortium
• Gerontology Curriculum Module

Field Education is the integrative component of the Saint Mary's Social Work Program curriculum. This baccalaureate Social Work Program mentors women into career trajectories for leadership in a variety of fields. Many of our students pursue graduate degrees. Careers in social work provide opportunities to improve the well-being of individuals, families, and society. Saint Mary's graduates are pursuing careers in many areas:

Administrative positions in federal and state agencies and non-profit organizations
Clinical social work positions in mental health (Individual, Marriage, and Family Therapy)
International, national, and local efforts to address issues of poverty and injustice (Policy analysis and advocacy)
School social work
Careers in child welfare, gerontology, health care, public welfare, and forensic social work
Research and social work education (There is a critical shortage of faculty with a Ph.D. in Social Work)

Field education involves a supervised internship in the student's senior year. This experience offers a way for students to learn more about their professional interests as they plan their careers. Both regional and national field placements are available.

Faculty - Field Practicum Coordinator:

Sharon Mayer, MSW, ACSW, LCSW
Visiting Assistant Professor
Office: 110 Madeleva Hall
Telephone: (574) 284-4546
Fax: (574) 284-4716
E-mail: smayer@saintmarys.edu

Regional Field Placements and Instructors:

Regional field placements are done over the course of two semesters in the senior year. In these placements, students are in the field two days per week (usually Tuesday and Thursday). Students earn 6 credit hours each semester. A two credit hour Practicum Seminar is taken concurrently with these placements

Joann Phillips, MSW Laura Kobek YWCA 574-233-9342	Julie Vukovich Office of Senator Evan Bayh 574-236-8302
Carrie Cravalho, MSW Oaklawn Hospital 574-533-1234 ex. 522	Paul Curry Madison Center-Sunshine Club 574-234-0061
Lilia Periquet, MSW Maura Brannick Health Center 574-239-5232	Jill Wagonner, MSW South Bend Community School Corp. 574-283-8900
Nikki Gonzalas Office of Congressman Joe Donnelly 574-288-2780	Betsy Lattanner, MSW Office of Care Management SJRMC 574-251-8452
Mark Geissler, MSW South Bend Community School Corp. 574-283-8570	Jamie Reinbold, MSW Memorial Prenatal Clinic 574-229-2717
Christine Bertrand Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly 312-455-1000	Theresa Ulrich, MSW REAL Services/Elkhart 574-203-1551
Beth Temple, MSW SJRMC Associates in Family Medicine 574-472-6348	Steve Summer, MSW Healthwin Specialized Care Facility 574-272-0100 ex.273
Jesse Whittaker, MSW South Bend Heritage Foundation 574-289-1066	Deborah Walker, MSW Big Brothers Big Sisters 574-232-9958

National Field Placements

(Spring 2004)

National field placements require a 3.2 grade point average. They are taken in the senior year using a modified block placement format. During the Fall Semester, students are involved in the field for two clock hours per week. In the Spring Semester, students are in the field 4-5 days per week. Students earn 2 credit hours for the Fall Semester and 10 credit hours for the Spring Semester. A two credit hour Practicum Seminar is taken concurrently with these placements.

Little Brothers / Friends of the Elderly
Chicago, IL
www.littlebrothers.org

Forms Used in Field Education

These documents were created as Adobe Acrobat PDF files and MSWord documents.

Agency Information Form - (pdf)
Agreement - (pdf)
Field Instructor Information Form - (word .doc)
Evaluation of Field Practicum Learning - (pdf)
Learning Plan - (pdf)
Site Visit Process - (word.doc)
Student Evaluation Field Placement - (pdf)
Application for Field Placement - (pdf)
Weeky Time Log - (word .doc)
Weekly Agenda - (word .doc)

Participating Organizations

Saint Mary's College

Alzheimer's Association, Northern Indiana Chapter

Area 2 Agency on Aging (REAL Services, INC.)

Holy Cross Care and Rehabilitation Center

Memorial Leighton Center for Senior Health

Sisters of the Holy Cross (Kathy Decker-Burrous, M.S.W.)

Field Education Gerontology Consortium

The Field Education Gerontology Consortium is an academic/community partnership model that has been developed to enhance the gerontology-competencies of baccalaureate social work majors, to bring affordable continuing education to practitioners in the aging services network, and to facilitate inter-professional understanding and collaboration in geriatric settings. Representatives from the participating organizations meet once each semester to plan the class sessions for the gerontology curriculum module and the continuing education programs.

Gerontology Curriculum Module

A gerontology curriculum module has been integrated into the Practicum Seminar during the Fall Semester. Learning objectives include familiarizing students with the continuum of health and social services for elders. Students visit the area agency on aging to learn about health and social services provided by public funding, a wellness center for elders operated by a health system, and a long-term care facility. In addition, a practitioner from the Alzheimer's Association provides a lecture on working with persons with memory and cognitive impairments, and a social worker who is employed by a women's religious community provides a lecture on medical and social models of elder care.

Continuing Education for Practitioners in the Aging Services Network

Practitioners from the participating organizations are invited to Saint Mary's College for distance learning programs provided through the American Society on Aging and other professional organizations. These programs are offered in the Fall and Spring semesters. Students are encouraged to attend these programs.