Study how you need to study. Learn how you need to learn. Pass when you're ready to pass. Good luck!
Whether or not you're primarily a visual learner or just a sometimes visual learner, there's no doubt that it's nice to shake things up during social work licensing exam prep time. Reading line after line of text can wear you out. That's why we always list audio resources like The Social Work Podcast as essential for studying. But don't forget other avenues. There are plenty of videos covering exam topics searchable on YouTube. And there are dozens upon dozens of infographics, charts, and lots else all around the web that will help you get your exam content learned. Consider Pinterest as a lively, colorful supplemental study guide. Don't grind yourself down with text and index cards. Branch out! Click around. See what works best to get info stuck in your mind. Some like charts for getting the stages of various developmental theories learned. And how can you argue with someone who prefers to see Maslow's Pyramid of Needs in an actual pyramid?
Study how you need to study. Learn how you need to learn. Pass when you're ready to pass. Good luck! It's easy to get overwhelmed. The social work licensing exam potentially covers a library's worth of wisdom. But talk to people who have taken and passed the test. It's not as impossible as you might think. Yes the ASWB exam outlines cover just about everything you learned in school and lots that you probably didn't (or have since forgotten). But it can't all fit on a 170-question exam. The people who are charged with putting exams together have to make choices. So, put yourself in their shoes. If you could only cover a portion of all the social work info available for questions, what would you include? Think about the mission of the ASWB (and of the social work profession, for that matter). Social workers are helpers. They're helpers who are in a position to do some harm if they're not careful. So the powers that be want to give licenses to social workers who can demonstrate some basic understanding of how to help and, maybe more importantly, how to avoid doing harm. What does that look like in an exam question? For starters, it looks like lots and lots of questions derived from the NASW Code of Ethics. It looks like vignettes designed to assess for social worker prejudice and bias. It looks like questions about scope of practice, making proper referrals, duty to warn, and such. Help and harm. After that, there will still be room for more general questions about theories and diagnoses. Expect to see the bulk of those questions focused on the basics: best-practice approaches (e.g., CBT) and diagnoses that social workers commonly see (mood disorders, personality disorders, psychotic disorders). Getting the idea? There's a potential library to study, but what you actually have to get learned is much, much narrower. So crack open the Code of Ethics, sign up for some practice tests, and you're on your way. Good luck! |
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Disclaimer: The Social Work Licensing Exam and Social Work Test Prep are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Association of Social Work Boards® (ASWB®). All organizational and test names are trademarks of their respective owners. Archives
December 2019
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