Fostering Social Work Gerontology Competence A Collection of Papers from the First National Gerontological Social Work Conference

Inspire the next generation of gerontological social workersThe growing number of people over the age of 65 in the United States has increased the demand for social workers who are trained to work with the elderly—a demand that’s in danger of not being met. Fostering Social Work Gerontology Competence presents innovative techniques and strategies to help educators infuse aging content into their graduate and undergraduate curriculums in an effort to produce a new generation of social work practitioners who are up to the task of working with an older population. Recent surveys show that there has been a decline in the number of aging specialties and courses offered by schools of social work. Fostering Social Work Gerontology Competence offers a renewed focus on the promotion of gerontological social work education, presenting papers that grew out of the first National Gerontological Social Work Conference (NGSWC), held in 2003. This unique book is invaluable to anyone who educates future social workers, leads staff training sessions, and/or teaches continuing education courses on aging. Leading gerontologists examine teaching research, community collaboration, and social work competencies, while focusing on special populations and issues including end-of-life care, elder abuse, grief counseling, cultural diversity, cultural competence, and the effects of spirituality and social support on the well being of the elderly.Fostering Social Work Gerontology Competence examines: curricular and organizational change developing intergenerational projects involving older persons in the educational process uniting field practice with theory strategies to promote student interest identifying geriatric competencies intergenerational service learning developing an aging prepared community emerging trends in aging and health care end-of-life care and death education environmental issues affecting elder abuse victims mental health services for older persons in rural communities kinship care and much moreFostering Social Work Gerontology Competence is a vital resource for social work educators and practitioners, gerontology educators and practitioners, and students.

Foreword (M. Joanna Mellor) Developing Visibility for Aging in Social Work: The First NGSWC (Catherine J. Tompkins and Anita L. Rosen) Creating Aging-Enriched Social Work Education: A Process of Curricular and Organizational Change (Nancy Hooyman and Suzanne St. Peter) Infusing Gerontology Throughout the BSW Curriculum (Judy L. Singleton) Strengthening Aging Content in the Baccalaureate Social Work Curricula: What Students Have to Say (Cheryl E. Waites and E. Othelia Lee) Geriatric Enrichment: Guaranteeing a Place for Aging in the Curriculum (Barbara W. Shank and W. Randolph Herman) Building on the Life-Span Perspective: A Model for Infusing Geriatric Social Work (Molly Raqnney, Catherine C. Goodman, Philip Tan, and Agathi Glezakos) Increasing Aging Content in Social Work Curriculum: Perceptions of Key Constituents (Stacey R. Kolomer, Terri Lewinson, Nancy P. Kropf, and Scott E. Wilks) A Competency Approach to Curriculum Building: A Social Work Mission (Colleen Galambos and Roberta R. Greene) Transforming the Curriculum Through the Intergenerational Lens (Mildred C. Joyner and Eli DeHope) Developing Geriatric Social Work Competencies for Field Education (JoAnn Damron-Rodriguez, Frances P. Lawrance, Diane Barnett, and June Simmons) Intergenerational Service-Learning: An Innovative Teaching Strategy to Infuse Gerontology Content into Foundation Courses (Harriet L. Cohen, Bonnie Hatchett, and Darlene Eastridge) Increasing Aging and Advocacy Competency: The Intergenerational Advocacy Pilot Project (Joyce Hermoso, Anita L. Rosen, Libby Overly, and Catherine J. Tompkins) Developing an Aging Prepared Community: Collaboration Among Counties, Consumers, Professionals, and Organizations (Laura Bronstein, Phillip McCallion, and Edward Kramer) Social Work and Aging in the Emerging Health Care World (Barbara Berkman, Daniel Gardner, Bradley Zodikoff, and Linda Harootyan) End-of-Life Care and Social Work Education: What Do Students Need to Know? (Marlene Belew Huff, Sherri Weisenfluh, Mindy Murphy, and Pamela J. Black) Environmental Issues Effecting Elder Abuse Victims in Their Reception of Community Based Services (Nancy N. Barker and Maureen V. Himchak) Research, Macro Practice and Aging in the Social Work Education Curriculum (Eileen Appleby and Anne L. Botsford) The Impact of Religiousness, Spirituality, and Social Support on Psychological Well-Being Among Older Adults in Rural Areas (Dong Pil Yoon and Eun-Kyoung Othelia Lee) Spirit of Aging Rising: Cross-Cutting Thematic Modules to Enrich Foundation Graduate Social Work Courses (Connie Saltz Corley, Pamela Davis, LaTina Jackson, and Marlena Stuart Bach) A Dual Process Model of Grief Counseling: Findings from the Changing Lives of Older Couples (CLOC) Study (Virginia E. Richardson) Spiritual Assessment in Aging: A Framework for Clinicians (Holly Nelson-Becker, Mitsuko Nakashima, and Edward R. Canda) Providing Mental Health Services to Older People Living in Rural Communities (Allan V. Kaufman, Forrest R. Scogin, Louis D. Burgio, Martin P. Morthland, and Bryan K. Ford) Using Collaboration to Maximize Outcomes for a John A. Hartford Foundation Geriatric Enrichment Project (Debra Fromm Faria, Virginia V. David, Jason Dauenhauer, and Diane Dwyer) Bringing the Community In: Partnerships for Aging Enrichment (Joy Swanson Ernst and Lynda Sowbel) Preparing Social Work Students to Work with Grandparents in Kinship Care: An Approach to Infusion of Content Materials into Selected Core Social Work Courses (Patricia Johnson-Dalzine) Joy of Living: A Community-Based Mental Health Promotion Program for African-American Elders (Sandra Edmonds Crewe) Filipinas as Residential Long-Term Care Providers: Influence of Cultural Values, Structural Inequity, and Immigrant Status on Choosing This Work (Colette V. Browne, Kathryn L. Braun, and Pam Arnsberger) Lis