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Program provides practical, hands-on approach

It’s history in the making for the University of New Brunswick’s Saint John campus, as its bachelor of social Work (BSW) program graduates its first cohort.

“It’s not only UNB’s first graduating cohort but it’s the first graduating cohort of social workers in Saint John’s history,” said program graduate and Saint John native, James Derrah.

“To be a part of history like that is really cool.”

The pioneering two-year program will graduate 29 new social workers who will be equipped to handle anything from working in child welfare or assisting marginalized communities like new Canadians, to supporting those suffering from addictions, to academic research and policy.

The Saint John and surrounding area social work community provided over 60 practical placements for BSW students to get hands-on experience in several different areas.

Addictions and mental health counselling were the areas that drew Derrah to the social work field. He said the program field placement co-ordinator prioritized his career goals when lining up his placement, and when the right fit wasn’t available in Saint John, they went the extra mile to find a better fit in an outlying community.

“It was great because it gave me a look at exactly what I want to be doing in the future,” Derrah said of his placement at Horizon Health Network’s Adult Addiction and Mental Health Clinic in Sussex, which he completed in the summer between his first and second years of the program. A one-time grant from the Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation made his dream of obtaining hands-on experience in the field possible.

The bachelor of social work program also encouraged students to step out of their comfort zones and tackle work in areas they aren’t as comfortable with.

“There’s this big emphasis in the program on challenging you to do something that you don’t want to do, or something that you didn’t think about,” he said.

When asked if he’d ever considered working with kids, Derrah said it wasn’t something that he’d thought he’d have an interest in.

“So first thing, they threw me in working with kids,” he said with a laugh. “Which was great!”

He completed his research placement with Horizon’s Child and Youth Addictions and Mental Health Services team on the west side of Saint John.

“I actually really enjoyed it,” he said. “I learned a lot about the education system and the challenges they face.”

It opened his eyes to the possibility of working as a school social worker as a potential career path.

“I didn’t know a lot about social work before I got into the program, but they just lay [the career opportunities] all out for you.”

Fellow grad Taylor McBeath had a similar experience in her two years at the BSW program. Coming to UNB from the New Brunswick Community College Pathway program, McBeath said she felt prepared and ready to take the next step into a university setting.

“The program was very hands-on,” she said of the NBCC Pathway. “Through group work, facilitation, presentations, and lots of reflective learning, I developed confidence in speaking, collaborating with my colleagues and advocating for myself and others. Those are skills that carried directly into the BSW program at UNB.”

McBeath said the bachelor of social work program helped her understand the importance of relationships in the social work field, be it with clients, with other social workers, or with the systems clients and social workers interact within.

“The program really taught me that social work is not a profession where you can just ‘turn it off’ at the end of the day. Our own health and well-being, self-reflection, and maintaining balance are essential,” she said.

“We can’t build helping relationships when we are burnt out.”

Teaching students to avoid emotional burnout and maintain a balanced outlook was a key program pillar, according to Dr. Ian Rice, director of the bachelor of social work program.

“If the social worker isn't well, if they're not able to look after themselves, if they're not taking time to pay attention to their own wellbeing, then it can be really problematic,” said Dr. Rice.

Wellbeing for Care Providers is a foundational course to the BSW program that emphasizes the importance of self-care in the profession. Based on student feedback it will be restructured to run alongside the longer field placements so students can apply the content in real time.

Dr. Rice is proud of the cohort’s many accomplishments over the last two years including the creation of the Social Work Student Society; the establishment of the UNB Social Work Student Society Bursary; and the dinner the cohort prepared for the Out of the Cold shelter last December.

And he’s not the only one who has noticed the cohort’s forward-thinking attitude. An impressive list of dignitaries attended the inaugural Social Work Gala including the provincial Minister of Health, John Dornan; New Brunswick Association of Social Workers executive director, Miguel LeBlanc; UNB president, Dr. Kathy Wilson; and UNB provost and vice president academic, Dr. Petra Hauf.

As the society’s outgoing president, Derrah said the event, which honoured BSW grads and celebrated the upcoming cohort, was the culmination of the care and hard work all the grads have put into their years at UNB.

“When I did my psychology degree, I wasn’t really involved in any clubs or societies, let alone being the executive of one,” he recalled of his first time at university before starting the BSW program. “I had kind of this isolating experience.”

After a fellow BSW student approached him about the idea of a society, he thought it was a great way to bring solidarity and connection to the cohort.

They started out with events like cereal drives to support hungry kids in schools, and social get-togethers like a music bingo evening, and quickly grew to encompass even bigger ideas like social justice involvement.

“My vision was to build something that helps you start acting like a social worker before you become one.”

Among all of the cohort’s outstanding accomplishments, Dr. Rice is most proud of the relationship the cohort has built between the new program and southwest New Brunswick’s social work community—and clients.

“I've heard nothing but positive feedback from the community about their work with our students,” he said.

“I think the students that are graduating from this program really have an ability to meet clients where they're at. They’ve all become these exceptional professionals.”

Photo 1: Social Work Gala, hosted by the Social Work Student Society

Photo 2: The following dignitaries are present: Minister of Health, Honorable John Dornan; NBASW Executive Director, Miguel LeBlanc; UNB President, Dr. Kathy Wilson; UNB Provost and Vice President Academic, Dr. Petra Hauf