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Spotlight on Simmons

On the Frontline - Simmons Social Work Students Help Our Aging Society

(This story was published in the spring 2007 edition of the Simmons Magazine)

By Janelle Randazza

When Susan Shemin graduates from the Simmons School of Social Work next year with a focus on geriatric social work, she will become a minority.

Despite the rising number of individuals age 65 and older in our society, few professionals in the fields of health care and social work are choosing geriatrics as their area of focus.

A 2005 report released by the National Association of Social Workers found that out of four general areas of interest, geriatric social work ranked last, with only 13 % of social workers listing it as an interest or specialty.

"We are going to be hit hard with retirees in the next few years. The profession as a whole is looking at a disconnect between supply and demand," said Jeanne Martin, who lectures at the Simmons School of Social Work (SSW) and is a 1975 graduate.

Though the need for "aging-enriched" education is growing, less than 3% of social work master's degree students nationwide were enrolled in gerontology programs in 2000.

Simmons is one of a few social work programs trying to change these statistics. According to SSW Associate Professor Gary Bailey, Simmons is one of a group of social work programs around the country working to prepare for this shift and for the new paradigms in the field.

"Because such a large portion of our population is going to be over age 65 in the next few years, students — no matter what their focus — are going to need to know how to deal with older clients. That is why Simmons is attempting to infuse content of this genre into all of our programs," said Bailey, immediate past president of the National Association of Social Workers.

Part of the way Simmons plans to address this population shift is by offering more courses focused specifically on gerontological social work. Bailey said the SSW now requires all incoming students to take one of two online courses focused on caring for older adults. There are plans for more geriatric course offerings, and the SSW hopes to provide a specialty major in gerontology within the next few years.

Like many other social work professionals, Bailey and Peter Maramaldi, a SSW professor and a Hartford Foundation faculty scholar, are hopeful that students will respond to the growing need, and to the increased offerings in geriatric social work.

"Everyone knows we need to be ready. We are getting geared up and are trying to infuse this knowledge in each course," said Maramaldi. "In effect, we are retooling the faculty to be prepared for this shift and to assure that we can provide quality preparation and skills at all levels of social work."

As the population grows older and, simultaneously, as our current elderly population sees increased longevity, social service providers will face new challenges for understanding, assessing, and treating this expanding client base.

"We are going to see more and more complex family systems that may include an 80- or 90-year-old within a multi-generational family," said Maramaldi. "Social workers not only will be working with a much larger older population, but they also will be seeing a trickle-down effect that will have them dealing with 70-year-old children of 90-year-old parents," said Maramaldi.

Social worker and co-founder of the Boston Women's Health Book Collective, Joan Ditzion, a 1985 SSW graduate, says the scenario Maramaldi describes should be viewed as an exciting opportunity for change for our society, and one that will deeply alter our views of aging and the way we cope with the needs of our elderly.

"I'm actually optimistic. Social work and all fields are going to change for this population, because they will have to. The baby boomers have changed every milestone they've crossed, and I don't see this as any different. Part of our problem as a culture is that we are very prejudiced against age. But with the change in our population, we have the opportunity to heighten our sensitivity and our consciousness," said Ditzion.

Simmons School of Social Work student Shemin agrees. "It's a really interesting time to go into the field of geriatric social work. We're looking at a complete shift in our population, and with that comes a completely new way of looking at the profession."