Social Worker (student) Review

Lots of face-to-face contact with service users and their families, and multidisciplinary working within hospital teams. I was supported by my team and given my own computer and phone which made it easier to conduct my work. By the end of the placement I felt like a regular member of the team. There is a lot of paperwork and at times the job can be stressful. Like any other job I had good days and bad days and there were some weeks I just didn't want to go in, but I learnt a lot and feel it was an excellent experience to have on my CV.

I formed excellent relationships with some colleagues, and at the end of my placement they did a collection to get me a leaving present. I will be keeping in touch with one or two as friends. They seemed to value me as a worker and recognised my student status without being patronising - they encouraged me to learn and develop my skills, gave me their time and guidance, but also requested my help when I could be of assistance.

I rarely saw the manager in the office (this was the same for all team members, not just me as a student) and they did not seem to be much of a team player. I also had a worker who was in charge of supporting me in my learning, who was based at a different site and who I only saw on about 5 or 6 occasions over the course of my entire placement. Luckily for me the team in my office were very supportive and made up for the lack of formal support.

On some days I was rushed off my feet and feeling very stressed, whilst on others I felt I had nothing to do. This was useful at times, as I got lots of my university coursework done whilst on placement. By the second half of the placement I was generally kept quite busy, and felt like a regular full-time employee.

I felt that I was given appropriate levels of responsibility throughout the placement. At the beginning I was shadowing, then co-working, then taking on simple cases. By the end I was allocated my own area to have responsibility for, and was dealing with everything that arose in that area, from the simplest to the more complex cases.

I have gained a lot of skills, experience and knowledge that will equip me very well as I embark upon my future career. I believe this placement will look prestigious on my CV and be valued by future employers.

The atmosphere varied greatly depending on the managers. When the main manager was in a bad mood descended across the office, but on other days the atmosphere was pleasant, supportive and fun. I was sat near people who I could have a laugh with and who were encouraging to one another, but of course there are always others in the office who drag the mood down.

It took a lot of effort in the beginning to understand who was responsible for what, and having an off-site mentor was a nightmare. It really didn't work. After a month or so, though, I had settled into my team and was able to make it work through informal support of those in my office. The formal support measures were useless all the way through.

I attended several training days, and I felt I was given a lot of time and input from team members on an informal basis. I was allowed to take a day off to attend training I had arranged for myself too.

I have applied for a job within the organisation. I wouldn't say it is the most secure future ever, and if I were to get a job I would be half-expecting redundancy at some point in my future career but i would still love to work there for as long as I can.

I got on really well with the other students and we will stay in touch, but there weren't many of us, so I wouldn't say we formed a scene!

It is a big city where you can more or less take your pick of the cheap or expensive areas. Travel is a bit of a bind, with my 3 mile commute taking 45-65 minutes each way. The travel was probably my biggest expense.

It's a big city with plenty of nightlife activity to suit all tastes.

There is lots going on in Birmingham for nearly all types of people. It is a very multicultural city with a large population, so there is something to be found for everyone.