The Science of Studying

One of these science of studying articles pops up pretty regularly. Here's a new one via NPR which encourages an on/off study pattern (instead of on/on/on/on): Studying? Take A Break and Embrace Your Distractions. From the article:

Distraction is one of those things everybody is worried about— certainly every parent, with the iPhones and people jumping on Facebook and so on. And of course if you're spending your entire time tooling around on Facebook, you're not studying, so that's a problem.

However, there's a whole bunch of science looking at problem-solving. In problem-solving, when you get stuck, you've run out of ideas, distraction is really your best friend. You need to stand up, let it go — walk around the block, go to the cafe, drink a beer, whatever it is— and that is really your best shot at loosening the gears a little bit and allowing yourself to take a different and more creative approach to the problem.

If answering exam vignettes isn't "problem-solving," I don't know what is. So, set down the practice tests, step away, catch a breath. Just make sure you get back to studying sooner than later. Happy studying. Good luck on the exam!

Social Work Exam Acronyms

Some questions on the social work licensing exam are simple to get right or wrong. You either know the answer or you don't. This Eriksonian stage happens at this or that age...the DSM diagnosis has such and such criteria...breaking confidentiality is or isn't appropriate in a given situation. These are questions you can study for--cram for, if that's your style. For the other questions--for the bulk of the exam--it's not what you know, exactly, it's how you apply it. It's putting your general understanding of social work principles to work in the strange context of the exam. Vignette questions with the dreaded two (or three...or four) good answers fit in this category. The "what is the FIRST step the social worker should take?" questions. To have an improved shot at narrowing these down, some like to go into the exam armed with acronyms to guide decision making.

So, here are a few acronyms pulled from the web (original sources u/k). If you have others--known to the world, or creations of your own--please feel free to share them in comments.

Please use them with caution. These acronyms may end up creating confusion, not decreasing it. Feel free to ignore them completely. Instead of FAREAFI, when in doubt, go with your knowledge of the NASW Code of Ethics, go with your textbook social work learning, and go with your gut. It's a fair bet that more people pass that way than do using acronyms.

That said, here we go:

FAREAFI.  This may come handy in FIRST and BEST questions--if unsure about what the FIRST/BEST intervention would be, start with F (feelings) and go from there):

• F: Feelings of the client be acknowledged first above all. Begin building rapport.
• A: Assess
• R: Refer
• E: Educate
• A: Advocate
• F: Facilitate
• I: Intervene

ASPIRINS is supposed to help with BEST questions as well. Acknowledge client concerns/assess, and go from there. (You could stress protecting life first, couldn't you? But that would be PASIRINS--not as easy to remember.)

• A: Acknowledge client concerns and Assess
• S: Start where the patient is.
• P: Protect life.
• I: Intoxicated? Do not treat.
• R: Rule out medical issue.
• I: Informed consent.
• N: Non-judgmental.
• S: Support self-determination.

AREA-FI gives an alternate version of the above. If you can make sense of how best to apply it, go for it!

• Acknowledge
• Refer
• Educate
• Advocate
• Facilitate
• Intervene

Good luck!

Knowing Which DSM to Study

Are you confused about the new DSM as it relates to the social work licensing exam? Let's get that settled and off your anxiety plate. DSM-5 is out and in use. It's purple, it's big, it's controversial. And, as of this post (August, '14), it's not yet appearing on the test. Not anywhere. It will soon and not-so-soon, depending upon where you're sitting for the exam.  Here are your guidelines, straight from the horses' mouths:

From the ASWB which administers most exams--just not California:

No content related to DSM-5 will appear on the exams until July 2015. [Everywhere but California.] 

That's most people--49 states plus Canada. If you're taking the exam between now and July, '14, study DSM-IV-TR. People in sunny CA have to put down their surfboards and get their DSM-5 knowledge together sooner. From the California BBS:

Exam administrations December 1, 2014 and after: DSM-5 [California only.]

Two different exam administrators, two different times to expect to see DSM-5 questions on the exam. Since everyone's eventually going to be using DSM-5 diagnoses, the California people may have an advantage in that they don't have to dig into two different DSMs. But it's not hard to imagine a big, everywhere-but-California sigh of relief at getting to push that particular information loading down the road some.

Wherever you are, whichever DSM you're learning, good luck!