Practicum update

Practicum is going... well... different.

We've already gone through two social workers (one was laid off and the other needed full time work so she quit) and our Director/my supervisor's job was just dissolved... so right now I don't have a supervisor. The remaining social worker can supervise my daily work and goals and what not, and one of the big wigs in Ogden is also a social worker and, for the time being, will supervise me once a week when he comes to Logan and will sign off on all my time cards and what not for school.

Even through I am just an intern I am the Volunteer Coordinator, an actual position within the company. This is the first time they've had an intern have such a big responsibility. Two weeks ago I finished training new volunteers (12 hours spread over 3 days) and have been taking them out on visits recently. I've also been working on phone calls, mailers, etc with them. Not the funnest in the world, but I'm glad to have a heavier responsibility.

Speaking of phone calls, last week I made a phone call to a man a year after his mother passed away to see how he was coping (standard with our bereavement program) and I asked for the father, who was listed first in the paperwork... bad news was the father had passed away about a month after the mother had. Can you imagine getting a phone call asking for the deceased? I felt like such an idiot. No one had updated the file so there was no way I would have known the father had also passed away. Luckily I was quick on my feet and it ended up being a decent conversation.

All my patients are as well as can be expected for their stage in life. One of my favorites was transferred to SLC to be closer to her daughters and grandchildren. I was SO sad, but glad the last time I saw her she was extremely lucid. When I was leaving the facility she said "oh, you're going so soon?" even thought I'd been there for over an hour. When I told her I had other things to get to she said "oh, well I'm glad you came. You're one my favorite." I heard her dementia was a little worse over the next few days, when we realized the move was eminent, so I decided to have my last interaction and memory with her be a good one. I feel guilty for not seeing her again, but I'd rather have a good memory of her. Is that selfish of me?

I want to start doing more social work type visits (i.e. admits, assessments, bereavement visits, etc.) I've only gone to one admit, two assessments, and about 5 bereavements... and I've been there for 5 months already. Hopefully that all picks up soon. We just went paperless so everyone is figuring out the handheld and computer systems, so I'm waiting not-so-patiently for the time when everyone is comfortable enough with their own things that they'll take me along on their visits again. It'll most likely happen next semester.

This video is when the semester first began and I'd just started working in the office on a regular basis. I'd done everything I need to for the day and still had about an hour to kill before I could leave...