Researching Veterinary Social Work Schools and Programs-Interview

Interview with a local VSW

Courtesy of news.mpbn.net

Yesterday I was fortunate to have a phone conversation with a local Veterinary Social Worker,  but I didn't ask permission to use her name or the facility where she provides services so she will remain anonymous in this post.

The VSW is a clinical social worker slash therapist offering traditional and animal-assisted psychotherapy.  She has her own practice but also works about 30 hours in a local specialized veterinary referral clinic.  She stated that her own experiences prompted her to pursue the VSW certificate.  She studied with Dr. Strand at University of Tennessee Knoxville and found the program to be very satisfying.  She has also done extensive work with the AHELP project.  She is taking University students as interns and stated that it was "too bad" that I was already finished with MSW although I didn't view it that I had somehow missed out on an opportunity as there are many ways to reach a personal goal.

She explained she had built a relationship with the veterinary clinic through her own experiences with her pet; due to this and her private practice experience, she was able to complete her service learning project (required by UTK) at this veterinary facility and was subsequently hired on as their VSW.  She provides grief and bereavement services to the facilities [human] clients, compassion fatigue services to the facilities staff, and facilitates community grief groups.

Some of these specific services include:

• Grief support humans who have lost their pets
• Assistance with critical care and end of life decisions
•  Working as a liaison between veterinary staff and their clients
• Supportive services with euthanasia 
• Crisis intervention
• Referrals to community resources including memorials

When I first heard the term "Veterinary Social Work" I had a preconceived notion in my head what that would entail, so this conversation was incredibly helpful.  The more information I'm gaining the more this discipline sounds like a social work description of palliative and hospice care.

According to the State by State Licensure Guide palliative and hospice social workers provide services to individuals and families nearing end of life including:

• Offering support to families
• Making sure patients have the resources to be physically comfortable
• Providing for emotional and spiritual needs
• Acting as care coordinators or navigators
• Helping families to understand options and paperwork

So, with risk of heading down that proverbial rabbit hole, I will simply mention here that it seems a bit complex breaking into this new social work field and I'm reminded when looking into specialty certificates for Social Work Hospice and Palliative care.  The Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network offer certificate programs for post Master's graduates, but the network of professionals require experience in the field.  I'm sure with more research I will find additional certificate or continuing education hours but for now I will leave it at that, as the purpose really, was to find a parallel with both services in attempt to find out if Veterinary Social Work is for me.