The Impact of a Professional Judgment Training on BSW Students

Background and Purpose:

Effective social work practice requires the use of professional judgment. This goal is explicit in the CSWE EPAS competency one “understand how their (social workers) personal experiences and affective reactions influence their professional judgment.” Although social work researchers have explored professional judgment in specific contexts (e.g., Child Welfare Assessment of Risk), there is little developed regarding a comprehensive professional judgment model paralleling generalist social work curriculum and competencies. More specifically, professional judgement can be considered an evaluation of evidence by a social worker using their cognitive faculties to reach a conclusion regarding a situation, event or proposed course of action based on available information inclusive of professional values and knowledge. This requires sifting through opinions, bias, and judgment to arrive at a fair and equitable course of action.

Methods: Thirty-one (31) BSW trainees participated in an eight-week professional judgment training program. The professional judgment training program included six content modules: Two modules that introduced professional judgment for social work practice, one module introduced concepts on critical reflection, and three modules demonstrated how to think about and apply professional judgment as one “solves” social work problems. The lab concluded with a final reflection requiring the student to demonstrate their application, synthesis and learning in the form of a reflective essay. Using a mixed-methods exploratory design, quantitative data was collected from participants in a scale deployed at pre and post of the training using the Professional Inventory of Competencies (PIC) a 41-item survey designed to measure aspects of the problem solving and judgment process. Mean scores on the PIC were tested for significant differences in a paired samples t-test. The qualitative data was analyzed using MaxQDA to better understand what concepts trainees learned and applied. Each week contained instructional webinars, and structured reflection exercises using the DEAL model as described above.

Results: Overall, professional judgment was assessed by collapsing all the items on the scale. Social work trainees’ awareness significantly improved from pre-test (M = 4.06, SD = .38) to post-test (M = 4.27, SD = .45); t (-2.83) = 30, p<.008. The PIC reliability (Guttman Splitt-Half) was high (α = .89). Moreover, our qualitative analyses yielded themes related to emotion regulation, application of ethics, and stress management like, “I learned that I have the ability to handle and overcome conflict with a client.” “I feel more prepared going into practice knowing that I can handle the emotions and stress that comes with it all while maintaining professional relations and boundaries.”

Conclusions and Implications: Our findings suggest that professional judgment training may not only help students to solve ambiguous client problems, but may also help them navigate their own complex emotions and feelings as they practice social work. This is important as we navigate uncharted resilience territory with a new generation of social workers that are entering the frontlines of a global mental health crisis which is expected through the next decade.