University of Southern Maine School of Social Work
Agency Profile for Undergraduate/Graduate Student Placements
Name of agency: St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center (Psychiatric) Date: November 29, 2011
Agency address:
PO Box 291 Lewiston, ME 04243
Agency telephone phone number: 777-8701
In arranging for field placements, whom should student contact? Bill Worth, LCPC, CCS
Name of Field Instructor: This varies as we have staff changing positions, hours, units, etc.
Generally we have 10-12 Master level clinicians on the Psychiatric/Substance Abuse units.
Assigned Field Instructor would depend on the area of interest, clinician’s interest/availability
and number of current interns.
Field Instructor telephone number: Same as above
Field Instructor email address: wworth@stmarysmaine.com
Name of agency director and/or key administrative personnel:
Name
Position
Paul Rouleau
Director of Adult Services
Ruth Hall
Director of Child/Adolescent Services
Agency is able to handle:
BSW student_Y_
MSW foundation year student_Y_
MSW concentration year student _Y
How many students can your agency accommodate? Again, this depends on
interest/availability, if there are already interns from another school, etc.
Briefly describe the basic services/programs of the agency, client population served, and
the size of your staff.
(A3) Adult Psychiatric – 30 bed in-patient unit. Average length of stay – 7-8 days. Serves
patients with acute/chronic mental illness. Six psychiatrists, five clinicians, recreation therapists,
dozens of nurses and behavioral techs.
(D4) Adult Substance Abuse/Co-occurring – 18 beds. Average length of stay – 3-4 days. Serves
patient’s with needs to safely withdrawal from dependent substances (alcohol, opiates,
benzodiazepines, etc.) Two psychiatrists, 3-5 clinicians, recreation therapists, nurses, techs.
(IOP) Adult Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) – 30 patients, group therapy day treatment
lasting 3-4 weeks, two psychiatrist, 4 clinicians, recreation therapy, nurse
(A2) Child/Adolescent Psychiatric – 18 beds. Average length of stay – 9-10 days. Serves 5-18
year olds with acute/chronic mental illness. Two psychiatrists, 2-3 clinicians, recreation
therapists, nurses, techs
(AIOP) Adolescent Intensive Outpatient – 6-8 patients, group therapy day treatment lasting 1-2
weeks, one psychiatrist, one clinician, one nurse.
When (day and time) are agency staff and other important meetings held?
A3 – generally M, T, F from 8:30-10:00
D4 – generally daily from 9:00-10:00
IOP – generally daily from 8:15-9:15
A2 – generally M, T, F mornings
AIOP – generally as needed or once a week.
What characteristics or qualities would be helpful for a student to have to best utilize the
placement as a learning opportunity?
A willingness to tolerate an inconsistent work pace. There are times when things are relatively
slow and we are able to spend a fair amount of time with the patients – at other times it is like a
busy bee hive and a dozen things have to happen all at once. The student should be willing to
learn and have an understanding that this is a hospital that uses a medical approach (most of our
patient’s benefit from psychiatric medication in combination with talk therapy).
Would a student who needs a highly structured learning environment do well in this
placement? ____Yes ____No Other comments:
Depends on what “highly structured” means. The units are well organized and efficient – A3
discharges roughly 85 patients/month; D4 discharges closer to 100 patients/month. It can look
chaotic at first but there is an organized approach that allows us to meet the patient’s needs in a
timely and effective manner. The pace does require that the student learn by observing as well as
meeting with the supervisor.
List the learning opportunities available for the student in your setting:
Diagnosing mental illness (from DSM-IV)
Treatment team meetings
Individual, group and family therapy
Assessments
Treatment planning
Discharge planning
Insurance reviews
Is there adequate physical space for the student(s)? Usually.
Does the student need a car? Only to get here…
Is mileage reimbursable? Nope.
Can your agency provide an opportunity for students to fulfill part of their required
placement hours on evenings or weekends? Possibly – there are clinicians that work on the
weekends on D4
Does your agency require any formal training for interns? Training in Meditech (our
computer based system for patient records).
If yes, how many training hours are required? However long it takes to learn the system.
When is the training offered? Intern is trained by the supervisor.
Can the training be completed online? No
Is the agency handicapped accessible? Yes
Agency Requirements:
Background check (SBI)
Yes___
No X
Physical Exam
Yes___
No X
Immunizations
Yes X
No___
(If yes, please name
immunizations required)
MMR, Varicella, Hep B, PPD
flu shot (recommended)
Other pertinent information:
St. Mary’s Hospital is an excellent hospital with excellent staff. It is a teaching hospital (we have
nursing and medical students as well) so the staff are used to teaching students on a variety of
topics. The doctors will take the time to explain their rationale for choosing a particular
medication or treatment approach, nurses will allow the students to sit in on their education
groups and interns are exposed to multiple treatment theories.
The day programs allow the intern to see longer term progress and growth. There is more
opportunity to talk with the patient’s and understand their history. The inpatient programs will
teach the intern to prioritize and how to quickly engage with a patient.
Finally – the interns can spend time of the different units. They will have a “home-base” but can
spend a day or week on another unit as time permits.