[Adta] Teaching a course on Presenting the Profession

[Lora Wilson]

Dear Nava, Heather and all,
 
I too think a course geared toward presenting the profession would be brilliant. Heather, you mentioned role playing in your classes... Annie Kirschenmann had us do a similar exercise in her intensive at last year's conference where we walked next to someone and role played sharing what we do (in the service of being better equipped to market our work to prospective clients/agencies, etc.) I felt empowered after that exercise.. clearly my empowerment wasn't with me during my "experience" at the hospital last week... but the day of the intensive I felt great! :-)   

I think a stuctured class over time that perhaps culminated in each student's own powerpoint inservice with interchangeable slides for different populations would be of great benefit ( or handouts or whatever the student wanted to create.) The student would graduate with a ready made tool to use to solicit work, to educate co-workers... How many times have we seen posts on the listserve for advice about how to present an inservice and for research to back one's inservice?

The PR committee is starting a project under Christina Devereaux' leadership that is related to having research-based summaries available for members... but if the core curriculum could start to include this sort of class - each D/MT would have their own ready made, personalized PR kit done upon graduation!  WITH practice before others utilizing it.  The class could be "professional issues" and could go beyond presenting to include all issues that arise once in the workforce.

On a loosely related note, my undergrad was in theatre and my alma mater recently did a survey of graduates to find out, among other things, what course did we all wish we could have had during our time there.  Overwhelmingly, people wrote in about a course that prepared them for "getting work" and living in the "real world."  Seems we're talking about a similar course in our field...

Best,
Lora Wilson, MA, DTR





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