Preparing social work students for the realities of practice: A content analysis of occupational stress injury in social work curricula in Canada

Abstract

The practice of social work places social workers at risk for occupational stress injuries (OSIs) such as 1) post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 2) secondary traumatic stress (STS), also known as vicarious trauma (VT) or compassion fatigue (CF), and 3) burnout (Bride, 2007; Shackelford, 2012). Therefore, schools of social work need to prepare students for these potentialities and teach them ways to mitigate risk. This study explores whether and how thoroughly schools of social work across Canada are including the topic of OSIs within their Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) curricula. A content analysis was conducted of course descriptions, from each of the 42 BSW programs across Canada, using online university calendars and program websites. Each course description was reviewed for explicit reference to OSIs, (e.g., use of the words PTSD, STS, VT, CF and burnout) and also for implicit mention to the psychological impacts of practicing social work on the social workers themselves. Only three BSW programs offered a course with explicit reference to OSIs, an additional 11 offered courses with implicit reference. Of the 1,494 course descriptions included in the sample, only four explicitly referenced OSIs and 23 made implicit mention to topics that could arguably align with the etiology of OSIs and prevention and mitigation strategies. These topics included worker stress, personal and professional sustainability, professional resiliency, and self-care. These findings raise concern as to how well social work students are being prepared for the realities of practice. Implications of the findings for social work education and preparation for the field are discussed.