PhD 101

Yesterday in class, we learned about a gazillion things in a 3 hour time period. It was quite a whirlwind. Basically our professor went over a ton of information in an outline format and told us to figure out the information to detail the outline from our book. It was definitely overwhelming, but that is OK. I am sure i will figure this out, shwiya bi shwiya (as they would say in Morocco, which means little by little in English). One thing that really interested me in yesterday's class was this idea of evidence based social work practice. Social work is a fairly young profession. It is just recently that there has been more research done on the effectiveness of social work interventions. so, the new idea in social work follows the medical model of requiring evidence of effectiveness before implementing an intervention. for instance, if a social worker has a new patient who is a young child suffering from PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) due to being abused, then the social worker must search the evidence available for the best treatment option for such a client. in the past, social workers just did what they were taught in school. But, now with the new evidence and research base, there is the opportunity to truly see which interventions are most effective and then implement those with clients. I definitely don't think this is a new idea, but i like that it is being so widely discussed now in the field of social work. I think that ethically, it is crucial for social workers to practice interventions that have been proven to be effective. well, that is phd 101 for today. :)

this weekend was great. We went to austin for matt and hayley's wedding at the salt lick. the bbq food was delicious and the wedding was tons of fun. we danced, caught up with some old friends, spent some good time with family. it was good fun. It was a short, but very fun trip. it was really nice to catch up with some old friends from high school. we are all getting married now. it is quite crazy how we are all grown up. :) when we got home sunday afternoon, we basically spent the rest of the evening studying. not so fun, but necessary, i guess. :)

This week at work is looking to be pretty busy, but that is ok. It makes the time go by faster. I am looking forward to next weekend. We don't have any big plans, but I have a ton of studying to be doing before we head to New Orleans the next weekend. :) yeah for new orleans!! I cant wait. I am also hoping to get some decorations on our walls this weekend. keep your fingers crossed on that one, we have been trying for some time now.

well, i am off to class again. i will let you know how it goes.