Are my placement experiences going to be varied enough?

By Beth Williams 

For me, starting my MA in social work was all about the experiences I was going to get from my placements. A brief background about me – upon leaving school I always knew I wanted to go into a profession where I could make a valuable difference to people’s lives however, I didn’t feel mature enough to consider social work. I knew I wanted to go to University and therefore, decided psychology would provide me with a good basis for any future career path. Through my psychology degree I started volunteering and subsequently working for a charity supporting young people with learning disabilities. Through my work here I strived to be in a position whereby I could make a valuable difference to the inequalities I saw these young people facing – hence now being on my MA studying social work.  

Starting my MA I expected the traditional experience of teaching at university and going out on placement working face-to-face with colleagues and service users. However, a mere 2 months into my course Covid-19 hit and we were faced with barrels of uncertainty about what was to come. Our placements due to start in June were delayed and the experience we were going to get became unknown. I was fortunate to be one of the first on my course to be offered a placement, working with a charity supporting adults with physical and learning disabilities. Although worried that this was not the diverse experience I had been hoping for, I happily accepted as working with adults would be a new experience for me. My placement was remote due to the Covid-19 procedures in place at my placement provider. This displayed both challenges and opportunities. Although extremely grateful for the opportunities on my first placement, I didn’t feel as though I had got the wider experience I had been hoping for and this left me feeling very confused about where I wanted to go with my social work career.  

Upon having to write our application forms for our final 100 day placement, I felt very undecided as to whether I wanted to work with children and families or adults. My time on my first placement had made me realise I enjoy working with adults. However, would I get more experience working with children and families? I opted for asking for an adult placement, as ultimately I saw myself wanting to work in adult services post-qualification. A few weeks after submitting my application form my tutor approached me with a placement opportunity, within a team that was very similar to my first placement. Initially I was worried that when I came to apply for jobs employers would look and think – well she hasn’t had a broad experience so what is she going to bring. I tweeted about my initial worries and a social worker reached out and said, ‘placements are only a snapshot of your career, and you are not solely defined by them.’ This was just the comment I needed to hear and reflecting on my feelings now, I am able to realise that every opportunity is a valuable opportunity and the skills I develop on any placement will be transferable and support me in my role as a social worker. Although I haven’t started my placement yet, I have spoken with my practice educator and feel reassured about the learning opportunities. My advice to students worrying about the variation of placements right now would be – it’s ok to feel worried that our experiences may be more limited however, we are only really limited by ourselves. I think it is important to go out on placement with an open mind and use our professional curiosity to support the development of our practice.