The Professional Social Work Mentor Program Overview
The purpose of the NASW-OK Professional Mentor Program is to provide early-career social workers and social workers returning to the field after taking time off with opportunities to connect with experienced clinical and macro professionals who are committed to fostering their personal and professional growth. NASW-OK Professional Mentor Program is not supervised. This mentor program is a service provided by NASW members who wish to offer support in the development of colleagues who seek the guidance of seasoned colleagues. The program is intended to help the mentee identify with the profession and provide opportunities to discuss job-related issues, resumes and career concerns, licensure and testing, as well as dealing with the challenges and demands of the social work profession. Mentorship is a purposeful, conscious, and voluntary relationship. Participants are expected to uphold the principles and standards put forth by the NASW Code of Ethics.
The NASW-OK Professional Mentor Program is a one-year commitment. If a mentee or a mentor would like to continue to participate in the mentor program after the one year has ended, please notify Chapter staff at director.naswok@socialworkers.org. Mentees and mentors are expected to meet on a monthly basis. It is encouraged that all formal mentoring meetings take place face to face, but meetings may also be done over the phone or through videoconference.
Once the Chapter matches a mentee with a mentor, the staff person will notify both. The mentee is responsible for initiating contact with the mentor.
Looking for a Mentor?
Mentees are NASW members who may be social work students, newer professionals with one to five years of experience practicing social work, or are returning to the social work field after taking time off. Mentees seek the guidance and support of a seasoned colleague in their professional development. NASW-OK members CLICK HERE to log into our website. Please fill out the Mentee application form with as much detail as possible.
Looking to be a Mentor?
Mentors are NASW members in good standing, maintain a license to practice social work in Oklahoma, have more than five years of clinical and/or macro practice experience, have demonstrated expertise in social work practice, and are willing to share their experience with social workers in their pursuit of professional development. It is recommended, but not required, that mentors hold professional liability insurance. CLICK HERE to log in and fill out the Mentor form with as much detail as possible.
Responsibilities:
Notify Chapter Staff that Mentee has made a connection and update on Mentoring status. (For example: primary conversation completed, first meeting date determined and completed, any problems/concerns.)
Commit to a 2 meeting minimum with assigned Mentee. Meetings need not be in person and may be via telephone or email.
Establish regular contact with the mentee (recommended minimum: twice/year). Mentor and mentee should agree upon the frequency of contacts, the duration of these contacts, and the parameters of the relationship itself.
Discuss with the mentee issues of the social work field and any possible concerns/questions related to mentee’s job or job search.
Keep the mentee abreast of NASW Oklahoma Chapter activities and encourage participation when appropriate.
Recommend and recruit new mentors.
Understand that the mentor/mentee relationship is not a substitute for or the equivalent of supervision, as defined by the Oklahoma Board of Licensed Social Workers
How Matches Are Determined:
The Chapter staff reviews the online database and matches applicants based on mentee’s interests and needs, and the mentor’s experience. When possible, matches will be made based on specific requests for a particular mentor or mentee.