Mentoring the Next Generation of Social Workers in Palliative and End-of-Life Care: The Zelda Foster Studies Program.

As Americans live longer with chronic illnesses, there is a growing need for social workers with the knowledge and skills to deliver quality palliative care to older adults and their families. Nevertheless, there remains a critical shortage of social workers prepared to provide quality palliative and end-of-life care (PELC) and to maintain the field into the next generation. Formal mentorship programs represent an innovative approach to enhancing practice, providing support and guidance, and promoting social work leadership in the field. This article reviews the literature on mentorship as an approach to professional and leadership development for emerging social workers in PELC. The Zelda Foster Studies Program in Palliative and End-of-Life Care bolsters competencies and mentors social workers in PELC over the trajectory of their careers, and enhances the capacity in the field. Findings from the first six years of two components of the ZF Program are examined to illustrate the feasibility, benefits, and challenges of formal mentorship programs. The authors describe the background, structure, and evaluation of the initiative's mentorship programs, and discuss the implications of mentorship in PELC for social work education, practice, and research.

Organization-based incident management: developing a disaster volunteer role on a university campus.

BACKGROUND: Catastrophic events are an ongoing part of life, affecting society both locally and globally. Recruitment, development, and retention of volunteers who offer their knowledge and skills in the event of a disaster are essential to ensuring a functional workforce during catastrophes. These opportunities also address the inherent need for individuals to feel necessary and useful in times of crisis. Universities are a particularly important setting for voluntary action, given that they are based in communities and have access to resources and capabilities to bring to bear on an emergency situation. METHODS: The purpose of the study was to discern how one large private organization might participate and respond in the case of a large scale disaster. Using a 2-phase random sample survey, 337 unique respondents (5.7%) out of a sample of 6000 replied to the survey. RESULTS: These data indicate that volunteers in a private organization are willing to assist in disasters and have skills that can be useful in disaster mitigation. DISCUSSION: Much is to be learned related to the deployment of volunteers during disaster. These findings suggest that volunteers can and will help and that disaster preparedness drills are a logical next step for university-based volunteers.