Outside Educational Opportunities

Go to the Attendance Log

Overview

Although the field practicum and course work are critical components of training of social workers, there are also other educational opportunities outside of the school and field for students to obtain new skills and knowledge. Two days (16 hours) of field time for the IAP students are set aside for students to attend educational events outside of the school and the field placements (e.g., conferences, workshops, seminars, hearings).

top of page

Guidelines

The 2 days (or 16 hours) of the outside education is part of the field time. Students may spend additional time on outside education upon their field instructor's permission. If the events fall on non-field days (e.g., weekends, Monday, Tuesday), students may take time off to balance the hours. However, students should discuss with their field instructors about when they should take this time off. Students and field instructors should discuss which events the student will attend based on the student's educational goals. The “Examples” section lists several opportunities, which may be used when planning to attend events. As new information on events becomes available, the project staff will notify students through the project’s listserv.

Students need to complete and submit an “Outside Education Attendance Log” form to the Project's office.

top of page

Cost Associated with Attendance

Some events are quite expensive while others are free. Several conferences also waive fees for the students who volunteer at the conference. The project has very limited amount of resources to financially assist students’ conference attendance. The following suggestions will minimize students’ financial burden.

  1. Attend free conferences/workshops/events (see the section on each events’ costs)
  2. Volunteer at a conference (some conferences waive registration fees if students do volunteer work)
  3. Obtain outside funding sources. For example, there are several places on campus where you can apply to obtain financial support to cover costs associated with conference attendance, including:
    1. Graduate Student Organization
    2. Initiative for Women Award Initiatives For Women (IFW) benefits women students, faculty, and staff by providing them the means to advance their educational and professional goals. The IFW General Awards fund a variety of needs such as book money, summer childcare, health insurance, research travel, tuition assistance, speakers’ fees, and training and development programs. The award winners usually receive between $300 and $1000. Application is usually due in early Spring (early March). More information is available on their website.

top of page

Examples of Outside Education Opportunities

Grand Round Presentation in the Field
  • Date: Depends on the field site (Number of hours also depends on the field site)
  • Place: Depends on the field site
  • Cost: Free
Some field sites (e.g., VA Medical Center) have grand round presentations. Attendance of such presentations can be counted as outside education.
Internships in Aging Project Fall Brown Lunch Series
  • Time: Noon - 1 p.m. (each session counted as 1 hour)
  • Place: SUNY downtown campus, location to be announced
  • Cost: Free
The Internships in Aging Project has a series of seminars on aging open to the public. IAP students are welcome to attend these seminars. Each seminar is on a different topic that is related to aging.All lectures are free of charge. Pizza and soda supplied by IAP. Please contact the IAP office at 442-5327 if you have questions, need directions or would like to request a parking permit to use the school parking lot for these lectures.
Alzheimer's End-of-Life Education Series
  • Date & Place: Varies, see below (counted as 1.5 hours)
  • Cost: Free (pre-registration requested)
This educational series is sponsored by Alzheimer's Association and the Community Hospice. Each session covers the following topics: stages of Alzheimer's disease, communication issues, community resources, and treatment issues during the end stage of the illness. For pre-registration for each session, call Community Hospice at (518) 285-8150.
The Annual New York State Interdisciplinary Training Institute on Adult Abuse
  • Date: Usually early in October
  • Presented by: The New York State Office of Children and Family Services, The New York State Office for the Aging
The New York State Office of Children and Family Services and the New York State Office for the Aging in a joint venture with the Brookdale Center on Aging of Hunter College present this annual Interdisciplinary conference on Adult Abuse to bring together both providers and workers who daily address the social and mental health needs, rights and protection of adults of all ages. This 2-day conference draws attendees from counties throughout New York State. The purpose is to educate and revitalize. Each year the conference is filled to capacity of over 550. The conference web site is http://www.brookdale.org.
State Society of Aging Conference
  • Date: October
  • Place: Albany, New York
  • Cost: Scholarships to defray registration costs are available.
State Society on Aging annual conference brings practitioners, researchers from different disciplines to discuss the latest issues in aging. This is also a wonderful opportunity for students to present their own projects or research. The conference web site is http://www.ssany.org/.
Senior Law Day
  • Date: Usually the first Saturday in November
  • Time: 9:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m. (counted as 1 day)
  • Place: Albany Law School (Albany, NY)
  • Cost: Free
Albany Law School (ALS) hosts an annual Senior Citizen's Law Day (SCLD), a free daylong program devoted to the issues of aging. Seniors, family members, care providers, social workers and other advocates are invited to attend what has become the premier educational event on matters of importance to older adults in the Capital Region. For additional details, please go to http://www.governmentlaw.org/scld.php or call Albany Law School at 445-2329
Alzheimer's Conference for Caregivers
  • Date: November
  • Time: 8:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. (counted as 1 day)
  • Cost: Minimal (Alzheimer's Association is looking for volunteers)
This conference is for family caregivers of Alzheimer’s disease patients and professional care providers. The conference covers a number of issues, including diagnosis, caregiver survival, coping with late stage Alzheimer’s, and spirituality. Contact the Alzheimer’s Association of NE NY at 1-800-272-3900
American Society on Aging Conference
The American Society on Aging a nonprofit organization committed to enhancing the knowledge and skills of those working with older adults and their families. For information concerning professional education, go to http://www.asaging.org/calendar/home.cfm. Conferences are nationwide.

Although the following are not conferences or workshops, they are wonderful learning opportunities outside of your class and field.

NASW Lobby Day
  • Date: TBA (usually in the Spring)
  • Place: Downtown Albany
  • Cost: Free
Legislature Public Hearing
  • Date: Depends on hearing
  • Place: Depends on hearing
  • Cost: Free
The New York State Assembly and Senate have a number of public hearings, some of which may be related to issues in aging. The Senate website (www.senate.state.ny.us) has a link (click “schedules,” then “public hearings”) for a list of upcoming hearings
Web Seminars
The American Society of Aging delivers live seminars and stand-alone Web-based training program to organizations and individuals around the world using the multimedia and interactive capabilities of the World Wide Web. The American Society on Aging website: http://www.asaging.org/webseminars/ provides upcoming online learning and free web-based training programs. Please refer to the website for instructions on technical computer requirements to view and hear the seminars. For each series of seminars you must submit separate registration forms. Continuing Education Credits are available.

Center for Excellence in Agng Services