Telehealth on the Fly: Why We Need a More Thoughtful Approach in Social Work Education

The use of technology to provide social work services is becoming more common, and the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in telehealth services throughout the United States. Telehealth can provide a variety of benefits and challenges that social workers must be prepared to address. While social work programs are using technology in a variety of ways to teach skills, there is limited information on the actual education and preparation of students to provide telehealth services. This teaching note focuses on a telehealth simulation used during the early weeks of the pandemic to teach social work students about the provision of telehealth services. It discusses students' experiences with and suggestions for telehealth simulations in social work education.