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
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.
NSCSW and/or CASW webinars:
- The ethics of burnout
- Ethics and social work during COVID-19
- Social work ethics and telehealth
- Ethics In Social Work
- Social Work Practice in a Digital and Electronic World: Ethical and Risk Management Challenges
- Navigating Ethical Issues in Social Work Practice
- Spirituality & Social Work Ethics
- Medical Assistance in Dying: New Guidelines for Social Workers
Parts 2 and 3 of this 2021 webinar series have content related to social work ethics - Ethical Social Work Practice During Holidays
Other organizations
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.
CASW webinars
- Indigenous Perspectives & Social Work series
- Aboriginal Community Social Work: Committing to Anti-Oppressive Practice
- Unsettling ourselves: Settler engagement with Truth and Reconciliation
- Decolonizing Journeys
Other organizations
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission: Final Report
Recorded webcast of the Commission’s closing event - Learning from Knowledge Keepers of Mi’kma’ki
A 12-episode lecture series from Unama’ki College at Cape Breton University - Doctrine of Discovery: Stolen lands, strong hearts
A documentary film created in response to The Anglican Church’s Primate’s Commission on Discovery, Reconciliation and Justice - Respect our Boundaries: A conversation on land, bodies and consent
On the National Day of Awareness of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Womxn and Girls, hosted by Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women and The Red Nation.
Anti-racist & anti-discriminatory practice
NSCSW and/or CASW webinars
- Big Gender-Affirming Ideas: Social Justice & Mental Health for 2SLGBTQIA+ Communities
- Big Ideas in Mental Health for Black & African Nova Scotians
- Africentric Social Work: Challenges & Opportunities
- Introduction to trauma-informed practice
- Black Lives Matter and environmental racism
- Africentric Social Work book launch
- Intersectional trauma-informed care series: Part 1 and Part 2
- Doing better for LGBTQ2+ communities in health and social services
Working with trans youth and their families: Evidence based practice for intervention and social change
Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 - Spirituality and Social Work
Includes a presenter who focuses on mental health experiences of Afro-Caribbean youth - Senator Wanda Thomas Bernard webinar series
- Casualties of Care: Social work as a cog in the machinery of white supremacy
- Beyond Good and Bad: Understanding Racism
- Social Work and Racialized Youth
- Canadian Immigration Policies and Family Reunification: Implications For Social Work
Other organizations
- Trans inclusion in social work
Nebraska Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers - Working with LGBTQ+ people
Social Work England - Virtual Tour of Yad Vashem’s Holocaust History Museum
- Social work with refugees and asylum-seekers: Current practices, research and challenges
Research seminar co-hosted by the Universities of Sussex and Brighton
Social justice
NSCSW and/or CASW webinars
- Repositioning social workers in mental health in NS:
- Mental health services & Indigenous communities
- Big Gender-Affirming Ideas: Social Justice & Mental Health for 2SLGBTQIA+ Communities
- The Right to Housing in Action
Other organizations
- The Borders of Racial Capitalism
Harsha Walia’s keynote at a CCPA-NS event - Tertulia: Border and Rule
Vicarious trauma & secondary stress
NSCSW and/or CASW webinars
- Chronic stress, moral injury and grief
- Wanted: Moral courage in social work
- The ethics of burnout
- Arts-based mindfulness methods
- Vicarious Trauma, Wellness and Resilience in the Field of Child Welfare
Suggested PD on other topics of interest
Ressources en français
- Répondre aux besoins de santé mentale des femmes qui résident en maison d’hébergement pour femmes violentées
- L’Acte d’écrire de manière éthique
- Les travailleurs sociaux de la protection de l’enfance
- Travail social: je travaille pour le changement
- La santé mentale dans les communautés noires
Clinical practice
- Trauma informed practice (NLCSW, 30 March 2022)
- Trauma informed supervision promoting relational care (NLCSW, 21 June 2022)
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.
