Rigorous field education requirements were no deterrent to PROGRESS student Lisa Lopez Troksa (MSW '07), who describes her experiences in the program as "amazing."
Like many PROGRESS students, Troksa was drawn to healthcare and advocacy because of a medical crisis in her own family. "I thought at first that I would work with children," she says, "but now I'm sure I want to work with older adults."
Following a foundation year placement at Shalom Park nursing home, Troksa's concentration year "hub" internship was in the geriatric inpatient psychiatric unit of the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Ft. Logan. As a member of an interdisciplinary team including social workers, a psychiatrist, a psychologist, psychiatric nurses, team leaders and mental health clinicians, Troksa says she "learned an incredible amount about individuals with chronic mental illness."
Rotations create personalized internships
In addition, her field education was enhanced by rotations at the Guardianship Alliance (providing assistance in completing guardianship paperwork), the St. Anthony's Hospital "Health SET" outreach and home visitation program for elderly residents of Denver high-rise communities, Presbyterian St. Luke's Hospital acute care services and the Alzheimer's Association, where earned a certificate in dementia care.
These diverse field experiences were chosen through the use of a "geriatric learning grid" that PROGRESS Director Susan Stark created to help students identify practice areas in which they need additional work. Such a personalized internship selection process gave Troksa what she calls "an opportunity to maximize my education at GSSW."
