What it Means to be a Dual Professional - Guest Post by Devon Brown (Dec '18)

Devon Brown, MSW/MPH student (Dec '18)

Most people do not consider themselves to be single-track or unidimensional people, yet we’re instructed to build our career paths around one profession. When we’re little and asked the stereotypical question, “what do you want to be when you grow up?”, very few of us name one job and stick with it through our lives. For example, I vividly remember wanting to be a veterinarian, an archeologist, a fashion journalist, an art historian, and a psychologist. I never did figure out a way to combine all of those careers. In fact, I did not realize until I started hearing the term dual degree, that I could actually pursue an advanced degree in more than one field at a time. I suppose what I did not realize until very recently was that I wanted to be a dual professional – somebody with a knowledge base and skill set that bridge two professional fields, typically fostering a more creative, comprehensive, and communicative work style.

My pending role as a public health social worker encapsulates the dynamic benefits and challenges of being simultaneously trained in more than one professional arena. Both fields share an emphasis on social justice, addressing the social determinants of health, and tending to both the environmental and personal factors related to health outcomes. As so succinctly defined by Kate Jackson, public health social work “stresses a socio-epidemiological approach to the prevention and management of health issues” (Jackson, 2015). Health status exists as a byproduct of socioeconomic status, environmental factors, and pre-existing personal biology. The dual nature of being trained as an MSW and MPH translates to an ability to assess a physical or mental health situation as something beyond a singular moment or cause. We understand both that prevention begins before the onset of a palpable problem, and that treatment must extend beyond the problematic situation at hand. Public health social workers also recognize that there are usually a number of barriers faced by individuals and communities in trying to implement preventive and treatment measures, focusing much of our work on addressing these various blockades through direct and program-level approaches. We have the opportunity to show people their own personal power while we concurrently work to address the external factors that may have previously hidden their inner superhuman from themselves. Our interdisciplinary training as dual degree students teaches us to approach problems with the clarity that more than one perspective must be taken in order to establish a more robust understanding and develop an optimal solution (Repko, 2014).

While a key difference between social work and public health surfaces in the occasional contradiction of client self-determination and population health risk, the dual emphasis on “the dignity and worth of the individual and the importance of human relationships” provides a compass for ultimate decision making (Jurkowski & Keefe, 2013). Certainly, the ethical friction between individual health and population health will always be an issue, but I’ve learned that the provision of our expertise as public health social workers can soften the potential clash and help us to establish a compromise. We have the knowledge and skills necessary to facilitate positive communication across several professional levels, and we take this role very seriously in all parts of our lives. My experience with fellow public health social workers continues to illustrate the personal embodiment of our professional ethics, competencies, and standards. I feel deeply grateful to so often find myself surrounded by people who value the potential in all people and who carry a daily passion for equity and advocacy.

Perhaps my interdisciplinary role as a public health social worker is actually the perfect blend of my little-girl grown-up career goals because in this profession I get to offer support to those in need, constantly learn about and appreciate different cultures, engage with a rainbow of people, study the more scientific aspects of health and wellbeing, and work to bring beauty into people’s lives.

- Devon Brown, expected graduation December 2018

Visit Devon's LinkedIn Profile.

References

Jackson, K. (2015). Public health social work: Now more than ever. Social Work Today, 15(6), 12.

Jurkowski, E. T., & Keefe, R. H. (2013). Handbook for public health social work. New York: Springer Publishing Company.

Repko, A. F., Szostak, R., Buchberger, M. P. (2014). The interdisciplinary studies “Cognitive toolkit.” In Introduction to interdisciplinary studies (pp. 49-61). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE. 

My Interdisciplinary Self - Guest Post by Haley Miranda (Dec '18)

Haley Miranda, MSW MPH Student (Dec '18)

While I had a vague idea of what interdisciplinary collaboration was before beginning the Dual Master of Public Health and Master of Social Work program here at UGA, I had very little understanding of what such collaboration could look like on a practical level. On a broad scale, I have come to understand interdisciplinary collaboration as any situation where more than one perspective is used to develop understanding or solutions to circumstances or challenges. When applying this broad definition to a single person, a dual professional could be considered one person who simultaneously carries the contrasting, yet overlapping, perspectives of two different disciplines or professions.

With interdisciplinary work comes the dire importance of perspective taking, which is “the intellectual capacity to view a problem or subject…from alternative viewpoints, including disciplinary ones, in order to develop a more comprehensive understanding of it” (Repko et al, 2014). Through the development of the skill of perspective taking, dual professionals are able to reconcile differences among the professions in which they are trained as well as among professionals with which they collaborate.

For example, public health social workers are trained to “blend the preventive aspect of public health and the problem solving orientation of social work," developing a more holistic view of issues at hand. In addition to this, direct practice skills can be effectively utilized to aid in inter-group communication, where public health social workers can serve as a translator between various disciplines or professions.

This kind of perspective taking is especially important when considering the many “issues that continue to plague our society and call for a more comprehensive, integrated approach” (Jackson, 2015). The deeper I delve into my studies, the more I observe the complexity of the challenges our world faces. However, I find hope in the idea that strong, interdisciplinary collaboration and an increased capacity for perspective taking “enables us to adopt a broader perspective, improves efficiency when integrating information, and facilitates assembling new sets of potential solutions to complex problem[s]” (Repko, 2014).

Increased creativity and sustainable solutions are two of the most promising benefits of interdisciplinary collaboration, especially among social work and public health professionals. I experienced this first hand at an interprofessional education event hosted at Brenau University. The table I was placed at included an occupational therapy student, two physical therapy students, a nursing student, and a physical therapy faculty member. We were given a case study and asked to brainstorm solutions and develop a treatment plan for our client. I am still surprised at the varying perspectives and priorities of each discipline, and recognize the immense number of issues I would have failed to consider had I not been working with an interdisciplinary team. Complexities that I am not trained to address were brought up by each team member, and we were able to develop a more comprehensive plan of action because of our differing, yet important, perspectives. This event was a lesson in perspective taking for me, as I witnessed its power to “reduce stereotyping of those who are different than [I am], improve decision quality by enabling [me] to deal with multiple inputs, and increase creativity” (Repko, 2014).

“From the very beginning of social work in the United States, public health and social work have walked hand in hand, working to understand the issues faced by populations at risk, engaging the community on solutions, and then pushing for societal changes to ensure that the successes will be longstanding,” and I am honored to continue this intentionally sustainable work (Jackson, 2015). My hope is that I will continue to develop a capacity for perspective taking within myself and teams I engage with. I have come to learn that interdisciplinary collaboration is happening everywhere, all I have to do is choose to take part with humility and watch as my view begins to widen.

- Haley Miranda, December 2018

Visit Haley Miranda's LinkedIn Profile.

Resources

Jackson, K. (2015). Public health social work: Now more than ever. Social Work Today Magazine, (15)6, 12.

Repko, A.F., Szostak, R., & Buchberger, M.P. (2014). The interdisciplinary studies “Cognitive toolkit.” In Introduction to interdisciplinary studies (pp.49-61). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.

Guest Post by Tamar June (Dec '18)

Tamar June, MSW/MPH Student (Dec '18)

I wish to introduce myself as Tamar June, a first year Master's in Public Health and Master's in Social Work student. I am honored and humbled to be part of this dual program at the University of Georgia as what I now know of the benefits of interdisciplinary work seem to align perfectly with my experiences and interests moving forward into the workplace and ultimately the way I wish to live and interact with the surrounding community.

I have been at the University of Georgia for nearly 5 years and during that time have gained even more of an appreciation of how UGA interacts with my hometown of Athens. I grew up attending the schools within the Clarke County School District and find myself consistently advocating for outreach into our community to engage families in all that the university has to offer. Through my understanding, it is an imperative to give back knowledge and skills learned through collegiate studies to the communities we live in in creative and innovative ways that can engage more than one profession into multi-faceted projects and programs. The American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare (2016) cites to just this by encouraging the creation of social responses to a changing environment. Environmental changes negatively affect health, and the changing global environment requires social and policy responses, innovative partnerships, community engagement, and human security interventions to strengthen individuals and communities (American Academy of Social Work, 2016).

The concept of a ‘dual professional’ means to me an individual who employs multiple frameworks of understanding together, even if they are in seeming discordance with one another. While the ethical priority of a clinical social worker may be to protect and value the self-determination of the individual first and foremost, the ethical priority of a public health practitioner is necessarily to protect the population and engender sustainable health. When situations come that test the boundaries of either profession, it should not be the denying of values or ethics that plays out, but rather the creative marriage of the two – how can we both protect our population, foster prevention and health, and encourage self-determination. This can and should be accomplished, and it is dual professionals that may lead the charge.

Thinking more abstractly, we are all multi-professionals. We have our employment(s), our homes, our schools, our activism, our churches, where we are able to share our thoughts from and for different perspectives. Identity as a dual professional comes with directly and explicitly finding constant balances and doing so by building cross-profession collaboration and appreciation. Collaborative networks seek to bring disparate groups together so that they can work effectively and synergistically together. Brokers support the controlled transfer of more specialized knowledge between groups, serve to increase cooperation by liaising with people from both sides of the gap, and improve efficiency by introducing ideas and solutions from one isolated setting into another (Long, et al., 2013).

As a prospective dual professional in Social Work and Public Health, I intend to represent both of my professional affiliations with respect and dignity, as well as curiosity for further development and success. This is how professions evolve and I fervently believe that the contributions that MPH/MSW practitioners will make to both fields, will be integral in the ever changing identity of both Social Work and Public Health in addition to Social Work Public Health.

- Tamar June, MPH/MSW Candidate (December 2018)

Visit Tamar June's LinkedIn Profile.

References

American Academy of Social Work & Social Welfare. (2016). Build financial capability for all. Retrieved from http://aaswsw.org/grand-challenges-initiative/12-challenges/build-financial-capability-for-all

Long et al. Bridges, brokers and boundary spanners in collaborative networks: a systematic review. BMC Health Services Research. 2013, 13:158

Congratulations Taylor Kennedy on receiving the Georgia Gerontology Society graduate award

Taylor Kennedy MSW/MPH Student (Dec '18).

Congratulations to Taylor Kennedy (Dec '18) on receiving the Georgia Gerontology Society graduate award. Taylor is a MSW/MPH student with concentrations in Clinical Practice and Gerontology. 

The scholarship is awarded to outstanding graduate students who are committed to pursuing a career in the field of aging.

Congratulations on this achievement, Taylor!

Visit Taylor Kennedy's LinkedIn profile.

MSW/MPH Spring 2017 Graduate: Jacqueline Tachman

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Congratulations to our newest MSW/MPH graduate, Jacqueline Tachman, MSW, MPH, who graduated in Spring 2017 with a MSW (Clinical concentration) and MPH (Gerontology concentration).

Integrated Field Placement:
Jackie completed her integrated field placement at the Athens Community Council on Aging, where she conducted needs assessments for clients at the Center for Active Living. She also assisted the Meals on Wheels staff with daily operations, including volunteer coordination, meal deliveries, and safety checks via phone.

Service: 

Jackie was the president of the UGA Gerontology Club for two years. The objective of the organization is to engage across students across academic disciplines in service and scholarship related to the field of Gerontology. She recently created that summarized the UGA Gerontology Club's efforts during the 2016-2017 academic year.

Research:

Jackie co-authored a paper with Dr. Tiffany Washington of the School of Social Work titled "Gerontological Social Work Student-Delivered Respite: A Community-University Partnership," which was published in the Journal Gerontological Social Work. Jackie also assisted Ms. Ellie Lanier in the School of Law, with a multi-state study on barriers to limited guardianship. Further, Jackie worked as Dr. Kerstin Emerson's Teaching Assistant for the undergraduate Aspects of Aging course in the College of Public Health.

Presentations:

Jackie attended the Annual Southeastern Student Mentoring Conference in Gerontology and Geriatrics twice as a graduate student. Next year, she will return as a keynote speaker. In 2017, Jackie was awarded first place for her presentation related to her Public Health capstone project on unmet fall prevention needs among homebound older adults. In 2016, Jackie was awarded third place for her presentation on an innovative dementia caregiving service-learning course developed by Dr. Tiffany Washington.

Honors:
Jackie was a recipient of the 2017 Mary Ann Johnson Aging and Health Scholarship and the 2016 Outstanding Gerontology Graduate Student Award. She was also inducted into the following academic and professional honor societies: Delta Omega (Public Health), Phi Alpha (Social Work), Sigma Phi Omega (Gerontology), and Phi Kappa Phi (Interdisciplinary).

Post-Graduation Plans:

After graduation, Jackie will work at the Athens Community Council on Aging as a Home Delivered Meals Specialist.

Visit Jackie's LinkedIn profile.