Educating Students for a Changing Health Care Environment: An Examination of Health Care Practice Course Content

Abstract

Social work educators are confronting new challenges in preparing students for health care practice. Given the changing environment in which health care social workers practice and the changing nature of practice itself, it is surprising that there have been no surveys of health care curricula since the 1980s. This study, which is based on an analysis of the outlines for graduate-level health care practice courses from 53 accredited schools, attempts to determine what students are taught to prepare them for this altered practice environment. Content reflective of current practice issues was infrequently included in course outlines. Implications for social work education and practice are discussed.