Social Work Practice in Serious Illness Care Micro-Credential
Gain the knowledge, skills and competencies to work with people who have serious physical and mental illnesses or disabilities, including intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The Social Work Practice in Serious Illness Care micro-credential consists of two courses and a monthly non-credit classroom-to-field seminar.
Open to advanced year MSW students in the seated program
To pursue this micro-credential, you must indicate your interest in time to match your advanced year field placement with an agency that supports and participates in serious illness care.
Currently, this micro-credential is exclusively available to students in the seated MSW program. We are reviewing the possibility of opening this program to online students.
On this page:
Program Overview
The Social Work Practice in Serious Illness Care micro-credential program provides academic coursework, specialized internships and experiential opportunities that focus on the care for, and communication with, people who have serious illnesses and their families.
Through this program, you will develop your knowledge and skills for practice with individuals who have serious mental or physical illnesses, and intellectual, developmental and other disabilities, across the continuum of care.
SW 568 Serious Illness Care (3 credits) – typically offered in fall semester
This course focuses on problems and issues that occur on the trajectories of serious illnesses. Guided by current theories of psychosocial care and human development, the course addresses serious physical and mental illnesses, with attention to multiple co-existing conditions (e.g. end stage renal disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, serious and persistent mental illness, disabilities). Guided by a life course perspective, the curriculum focuses on serious illness care for people of all ages and ethnicities with specific attention to culturally competent care. The course focuses on the provision of care to people who are seriously ill and their families in varied practice settings (e.g. community, primary, acute, emergency and long-term care programs). The course addresses policy-guided practice by considering how policies influence access to resources and services, thus informing the lived experience of individuals with serious illness. The course introduces assessment tools and evidence-based interventions (e.g. the Serious Illness Conversation Guide) for person-centered care and communication with people who have differential types of illnesses. The course incorporates a trauma-informed and human rights perspective to social work practice with people who are seriously ill and their families.
SW 710 Loss and Grief Across the Life Course (3 credits) – typically offered in fall and spring semester
This course will focus on the central human experiences of loss, grief and bereavement that occur across the life course. Guided examination of current theories, research and evidence-based practices in grief counseling will be conducted. This course focuses on building knowledge about the nature of grief, mourning and bereavement as it is influenced by age, developmental stage, gender, race, culture, ethnicity and social context. Familiarity with the various types of losses that occur in all age groups is germane to effective social work practice in all agency settings. This course provides students with greater awareness, increased knowledge and basic skills for assessing and intervening with loss and grief in micro-, mezzo- and macro-social domains. It incorporates a trauma-informed and human rights perspective to social work practice with people who are adapting to loss.
Partner organizations, where students have completed their micro-credential internship, have included:
- Alzheimer’s Association of WNY
- BestSelf Behavioral Health
- Canopy of Neighbors
- Chautauqua Hospice & Palliative Care
- Crossroads House (a comfort care home)
- Erie County Medical Center (Supportive and Palliative Medicine Department, Dialysis, Internal Medicine Clinic)
- Grassroots Gardens WNY
- Hospice Buffalo
- Mercy Doula Program at People Inc.
- Pathways Program of Niagara Hospice
- Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
- Attend all eight classroom-to-field seminar sessions
- Submit reflective self-evaluation
Receive New York Contact Hours for SW 568 and SW 710
SW 568 and SW 710 courses are approved for NYSED social work contact hours to renew your license registration. If you have a license in another state, check with your state regulatory board to determine if New York hours will be accepted in your state.
Use this form upon completion of a course to request a NYSED social work contact hours certificate.
Smaller that a minor, certificate or degree program, micro-credentials allow you to meet your personalized learning needs by gaining knowledge and skills in areas that are relevant to your academic or professional goals. Micro-credentials equip you with digital badges that showcase your achievements and all it took to get there.
When you complete a micro-credential program you will earn a digital badge or a series of digital badges. A digital badge is a clickable icon that houses important information, including the issuing institution, the date earned, the criteria required to earn the badge and evidence showing you have met that criteria.
Digital badges are dynamic credentials that you own, so you can decide how you wish to use them. You can add them to your social media profiles, digital résumé, e-portfolio and more.
UB digital badges are issued through Acclaim, allowing you to display your skills and accomplishments for employers, colleagues and peers. For questions about using Acclaim, contact the Office of Micro-Credentials at micro@buffalo.edu or 716-645-1357.
Contact
Katie McClain-Meeder
Clinical Associate Professor
Email: mcclainm@buffalo.edu
Phone: 716-645-1260