It takes a unique type of man or woman to dedicate their career and professional life to social work. Continuing education and maintaining current licenses is just a small part of their position, but is an essential step to keeping their accreditation up-to-date. This article outline a few of the key points about continuing education in the field and why it is so important for the individual to stay abreast of the information and license renewal.
As someone that is employed in the field of social work, these classes are your responsibility. You can look to education boards and even your employer for direction, but the ultimate task of applying for and maintaining current licensure in your field is completely up to you. Individual requirements vary according to jurisdiction and you must take the time to make yourself aware of what these particular requirements may be.
For many men and women keeping up with license renewal for social work, continuing education involves taking certain courses along the way. Keep in mind that not all courses are created equal and you often get what you pay for. Be wary of courses that advertise dramatically reduced fees or do not offer to provide attendance records to licensing boards. Once you complete a course you should receive a signed certificate indicating your successful completion, attendance records for every day that you were present, as well as proof of qualification of instructors, consultants, and other educational personnel. All of these items are important to present to the licensing board when validating or renewing your social workers accreditation. Once again, all of these requirements are the responsibility of the social worker and must be kept track of by the individual that is looking to advance their education and renew their license.
There are a number of other things that help set some courses far above and beyond their competitors. It would be in your best interest to choose continuing education that offers a lot of assistance from other social workers in the program, provides evaluation forms and procedures that are easy to understand and learn from, and offers relevant content with a general outline or syllabus. The course should also state the educational goals and learning objectives, with tangible ways of evaluating progress as the course unfolds. There are a number of online courses also available that are convenient to attend and easy to pay for. These may be viable options for busy professionals with numerous home and career commitments.
It is important to keep all of these factors in mind when considering social work continuing education. Be responsible for keeping yourself aware of the requirements of license renewal and choose a course that exceeds the Association of Social Work Board's Approved Continuing Education requirements. In this way, you will keep yourself on track in a fulfilling career for years to come.