Iain Ramsay, Professional Social Work Adviser at Scottish Government will speak about what rural social workers can take from their experiences of the pandemic to stay connected with each other.
Digital technologies and experiences during COVID-19 have highlighted new ways for rural social workers to connect to and support one another, and gain access to new learning opportunities. There's also potential to ‘influence up’, so rural practice is considered more at policy-level and features in more funded research.
Urban models of practice dominate, and are quite different to the more holistic and creative practices of working in a rural context. Rural social workers also have to deal with significant travel, working in dispersed/agile teams, and need to become adept at managing ‘dual relationships’ which comes with living and working in the same community.
There will also be opportunities for attendees to share and discuss their experiences.
