Pursuing professional development (PD) is part of how every social worker ensures they are best equipped to complete their responsibilities and help those they are called to serve. Social workers in Nova Scotia are self-regulated, and have collectively created standards for minimum PD activity that each member is accountable to their College to complete each year; members must therefore keep track of their PD activities, and submit documentation to NSCSW during their annual registration renewal.

Registered Social Workers and Social Work Candidates are encouraged to seek opportunities that combine their PD activity with contributing to the field of social work, serving the public interest, improving social conditions, and promoting social justice and quality of life for all Nova Scotians.

We are always open to member feedback on our PD standards, and ways we can appropriately and effectively support our members in their professional commitments to lifelong learning.

PD via NSCSW

We offer a program of professional development events every year, including an annual conference scheduled with our AGM in May. Sessions are designed to help members meet regulatory requirements, advance the interests of the profession, and address interests/needs expressed by our membership. Check here to see what’s coming up in our event calendar. Recordings of some of the College’s past events have been also archived on our YouTube channel for later viewing; links to several of these have been included in the lists below, but we encourage you to visit YouTube directly and browse the full selection.

NSCSW is also part of the Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW). We encourage our members to visit casw-acts.ca/webinars to browse upcoming CASW events and their archive of recordings. In addition to their live and recorded webinars, CASW offers many learning resources that are free for NSCSW members, including a professional journal and a full-text journal database. Members of our College can visit the CASW website to claim their free national membership.

Suggested PD on topics mandated by the College

Social work ethics

The activities you select should specifically be related to social work ethics. Ethical behaviour is at the core of social work practice. It is a part of our everyday decision making and paramount to guiding our actions.

Check out our social work ethics playlist on YouTube, and find more on the CASW archive.

More resources:

Truth and Reconciliation

The 94 calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission include provision of education to public servants and health care professionals, as well as those charged with child welfare, specifically on the history of Aboriginal peoples, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal–Crown relations.

Check out our related playlist on YouTube, and find more resources in the CASW reconciliation hub.

Further resources

Anti-racist & anti-discriminatory practice

When selecting activities to support your culturally responsive and appropriate practice with diverse communities, try to vary topic areas each year in order to ensure broader cultural competence and increase cultural safety.

Check out our anti-racist & anti-discriminatory practice playlist on YouTube, or search the CASW archive.

Further resources

Social justice

The professional development standards prioritize activities outside the scope of your employment duties for meeting this requirement. (e.g. participating in advocacy, volunteer community service, or serving on a board or committee). You can look for opportunities to get involved in your community, or you can use the We Have Power resources or the Social Policy Framework to pursue your own advocacy goals.

However, members can also pursue training in social justice advocacy. Most of our webinars on this topic are interactive (and therefore not recorded) so you should subscribe to the newsletter to get the announcements, but we do have a YouTube playlist with a few recorded options. And of course, you can always seek out continuing education from other organizations that meets the criteria.

Vicarious trauma & secondary stress

We frequently offer online professional development options for this topic that is interactive (and therefore not recorded) but you can check out our vicarious trauma & secondary stress playlist on YouTube, or search the CASW archive.

Informal self-care activities are not eligible to meet this requirement. If you’re selecting activities offered by another organization, please review the criteria for this topic in the professional development standards.

Suggested PD on other topics of interest

Ressources en français

Clinical practice

NSCSW Professional Standards

PD is self-directed

The NSCSW Council does not currently limit members to pre-approved options for professional development; while there are five mandated topics and active members must include a minimum amount of formal learning, each NSCSW member can assess which of the many learning opportunities available to them are most appropriate to their practice. We recognize the broad scope of the social work profession, and there are many ways to develop knowledge and acquire new skills.

The suggested activities on this page are therefore intended to support and guide members, not restrict them. The list is also a work in progress, and we will continue to add to it over time.