Case Study: Secondary Trauma Experience By Social Work Students

Running head: TRUAMA EXPERIENCED BY SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS

Many studies have been conducted on secondary trauma exposure to social work students in field practice focusing on cognitive distress related to the levels of fatigue which includes incapacity to concentrate, decreased self esteem, memory loss and laziness. Conversely, the results are challenged within this research, students in field practice age range from 28 to 41 years (Brice, Harr, Moore and Riley, 2014). Secondary trauma exposure to social work students in the field internship is a growing concern in social work services because it puts professionals at a higher risk of compassion fatigue causing an imbalance to support a healthy well being and burnout.
Scope
Social work

There are two competencies that best relate to this research. The first is to respond to contexts that shape practice. This means to be informed, resourceful, and proactive when responding to organizations and societal context of all levels. It is important to focus on changing populations including technological developments and societal trends to give appropriate social services (BSW Handbook, 2015). Another Competency that relates to this topic is to engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research. This is important to find research to “improve practice policies and social service deliverance (BSW Handbook, 2015). While understanding the risk factors associated with the levels of secondary trauma exposure to BSW and MSW social work students in field internship this can help instructors in developing effective strategies to prevent social work students at risk for secondary

Students express how they feel about reporting cases about abuse. Students were having feelings that their actions were unprofessional and how they reacted through out class the rest of the day, there was role-playing and mirrored situation used to help expose students to trauma in environments (Cunningham, 2004). A strength this study has was allowing students to manage distressful situations and instructors modeling good clinical skills. Having information about the experiences preparing students for secondary trauma is very valuable and a great tool for social work students to gain. Student in the 2-year BSW program and 1 year MSW program at King’s University College School of Social Work have experienced at least one traumatic experience before. The students were asked open and closed ended questions about traumatic experience while in their field practice (Csiernik,Didham,Dromgole,Hurley and Karley, 2011). The internship was 245 hours long, while the MSW internship was about 570 hours long. Agencies interviewed with these students for about 6-8 weeks. The instruments were successful identifying experiences within the past two years while the weakness of this study was the students’ personal preparation for field internship. Another described how social work graduates would be affected by the trauma clients they have encountered. It focuses on third year social work students that have had