IBH Cognate Area of Study:
The College of Social Work will award $10,000 stipends to full-time MSW students and $5,000 to part-time MSW students accepted in the Integrated Behavioral Health Cognate Area of Study. IBH students learn advanced clinical competencies through practicum placements in primary care medical settings as members of interprofessional clinical healthcare teams.
What Is Integrated Behavioral Healthcare?
IBH is a structured approach to treating “the whole person.” Medical staff and social workers improve patient well-being by providing coordinated care for medical, mental health, and substance abuse issues within primary care settings.
What does the IBH Cognate Area of Study offer MSW students?
- Enriched learning opportunities through coursework and specialized trainings that prepare students for professional practice in integrated healthcare settings.
- Two-semester advanced practicum placements in primary care medical clinics with on-site mentoring from licensed behavioral health providers.
- Stipends of $10,000 for full-time students and $5,000 for part-time students.
Why do IBH students receive stipends?
The stipends are part of an initiative by the federal government to build up the social work workforce in Kentucky, with the aim of increasing the number of IBH social workers. The College of Social Work has been awarded a 4-year Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant to prepare students and health care professionals for work in IBH settings.
The Principal Investigator for the grant is Karen Badger, Ph.D., MSW (CHS); Co-Investigators are Pam Weeks, J.D., MSW (COSW), and Janet Ford, Ph.D. (COSW). The Integrated Behavioral Health Cognate Area of Study will be offered on UK’s main campus and at UK MSW program off-campus sites in Eastern Kentucky to full and part-time MSW students in their last 30 credit hours of the MSW program.
The purpose of this grant is to improve access to behavioral health services in Kentucky for vulnerable and underserved individuals and communities across the lifespan by increasing the number of well-prepared behavioral health social workers in primary care. The grant also supports interprofessional healthcare education to students, faculty, and healthcare providers.
Who should apply to the IBH Cognate Area of Study?
- Applicants for Advanced Standing in the UK MSW program who are interested in behavioral health are encouraged to submit an IBH application at the same time they apply to the MSW program. The deadline for IBH applications is March 1, 2020.
- Current 60 hour MSW students are encouraged to apply during their foundation year of MSW coursework before the Spring semester deadline of March 1, 2020.
