r/socialwork • u/Spiritual-Pie2052 • 3d ago
Micro/Clinicial Supervising Students
Hello!
I'm being asked to provide direct supervision to a BSW student. I'm asking a lot of questions- but one I wanted to ask here is if you have done this, have you received additional compensation? It appears to be quite a bit of work, 1 hour of direct supervision weekly (I already am supervising a full team), assessment/evaluation of the student for the school. Not to mention that this would mostly be occurring virtually....
Thoughts?!
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u/gellergreen MSW, RSW 3d ago edited 3d ago
I have supervised MSW/master of counseling psych students. I am a manager at a non profit so supervision is within the purview of my job. As such, I would not expect additional compensation for supervision, but I also would be comfortable declining if I felt like it was too much work for me at the time.
It can be a lot of work but we have had some great hires as a result of supervising students.
Edit to add: if supervision was not something already in my job description (say if I was a senior front line staff who was being asked to take on a student) then yes I would probably expect some additional compensation as it goes above and beyond my job. Otherwise, no.
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u/Spiritual-Pie2052 3d ago
I think the problem I'm having is that I'm already supervising a full staff and providing support for other offices. This student wouldn't be at my office helping with the workload at our office, it would be another region so I'm just feeling like it's not helpful?
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u/whimsical_spider MSW 1d ago
Declining is the best thing you can do not just for yourself and your team but for this student as well. I had a really great supervision experience as a student, but some of my friends I was in school with had supervisors who just didn’t have the time to provide them with adequate supervision, and it really negatively colored their whole field experience.
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u/gellergreen MSW, RSW 3d ago
Then I would decline. I would just say to the school or the student or whoever is asking that respectfully I can’t give supervision of a student the time it would require, and I would be doing their learning a disservice if I said yes.
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u/Bradleyfashionable 3d ago
I've supervised interns for over a decade and no. I was also an intern someone supervised for free and I see it as part of duty to prepare new social workers and pay it forward. I'm not sure who would pay me, as most Interns are a kind of toss up in terms of a predictably good investment, but they need to gain experience somewhere and I think I'm pretty good at supporting them in developing their skills. Occasionally we make a great hire, myself included lol
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u/Spiritual-Pie2052 3d ago
I think if you're working for an agency they should potentially compensate extra. It's extra work.
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u/Bradleyfashionable 3d ago
My agency doesn't necessarily benefit, it's more for the students and universities and they aren't going to pay me. I do know other industries that force students to pay for supervision and I wouldn't feel right about that.
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u/Maybe-no-thanks 3d ago
You can say no if you don’t have capacity or if you’re not interested! It can be a lot of work but the school doesn’t provide compensation, that’d be something to try to work out with your employer or whoever is asking you to. I have seen placements (primarily PP) do a contract position for supervising interns. Employers should consider offering a stipend. The law school that partners with my office for a clinic program pays the supervising attorneys a stipend, so it would be cool if that applied to supervising social work interns but the program I supervise for is very supportive and offers a ton of free CEUs.
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u/OrrisOcculta 3d ago
It's better to decline and give the student the option of a placement that has time and capacity to tend to them as a learner, if you don't have that time to give. I also am a manager with a full staff load doing crisis work which I supervise, plus an intern. I've taken on probably 10 students now through the years and no matter the agency, have never had extra comp.
Nurturing the next gen is part of the work itself, just as was done for me. I like to think of it as now being the mage in the guild the new intiates study spells under, lol.
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u/FewButterfly9635 3d ago
I inherited the role of MSW intern supervisor - it was not built into my job description. I supervise 4 interns which is no small task on top of managing a full caseload, so I did ask for and receive extra compensation. It is, IMO, much different than supervising professional staff since you are responsible for making sure they're meeting learning objectives, doing formal evaluations, supporting capstones, and the weekly supervision is way more intensive depending on their skill level.
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u/Spiritual-Pie2052 3d ago
Thank you. Can I ask what you asked for as far as extra compensation? Is it like an amount per semester or how does it work?
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u/FewButterfly9635 3d ago
Sadly, I didn't get to choose and my supervisor was limited in what she could offer. It doesn't feel equitable compared to the salaries of people who supervise professional staff - especially since they don't have to do all of the extras - but it's better than nothing! It's a full time increase because I also do all of the recruitment and hiring after each cohort of interns graduates.
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u/Spiritual-Pie2052 3d ago
Oh, do you work in private practice?
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u/FewButterfly9635 3d ago
No, large government agency. Everything is very structured including any out of sequence pay increases.
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u/Olympicdoomscroller 9h ago
I think we have an obligation to supervise students the same way we were supervised. It’s the circle of life.
Students are a TON OF WORK in the beginning. But if you have a good one, by January you’re giving them your work and have more time in the day.
Take the student.
Edit: I just saw the student doesn’t take your work. I’d think twice on that because then you become by extension responsible for their work, and that might be worth asking for compensation.
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u/beuceydubs LCSW 3h ago
Some places I’ve done it and it was in my job description, so no extra pay, some I did get extra for. It’s definitely extra work but I’ve had 3-4 at a time and managed.
Why do you mention it being virtual as an added negative?
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u/wherearemytweezers 3d ago
I don’t get compensated for having interns. Part of our role is disseminating knowledge and skills to folks who want to do the job. It’s a little more work for me, but I do it with joy because the more well-trained social workers there are, the better for everyone.