December 28, 2022 • 31 mins
Our second episode is with Doug Durst, BA, MSW, PhD. Doug recently retired in December of 2022 as a Professor of Social Work at the University of Regina. During this episode, Doug reflects back on his decades spent within the Faculty of Social Work and answers questions sent in by students in advance of the interview. We wish Doug all the very best in retirement!
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Episode Transcript
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Brad Fraser (00:01):
Hello and welcome to the Social Work beginnings
podcast. Social Work Beginningsis a student hosted podcast
engaging with instructors,agencies and members of the
Social Work community in Canada.
As we strive to learn to becomeeffective social workers at the
beginning of our careers, weseek to amplify the ongoing work
to advance social justice inCanada within social work.
(00:22):
This podcast was born out of adesire to equitably increase the
accessibility of opportunity tolearn outside the classroom
about our diverse field.
Our guest today is Doug Durst,that recently retired from being
a professor at the University ofRegina in the Faculty of Social
Work. We sat down to discuss histime and his thoughts to the
(00:44):
future.
Thanks for joining us today.
Doug Durst (00:51):
My pleasure.
Brad Fraser (00:53):
Tell us a little bit about yourself about your
time here at the University ofRegina.
Doug Durst (00:56):
Well, I'm an old prof here. I've been here for 30
years now. And it's quite asquite surprising that the time
has gone so quickly. And, youknow, I consider moving on and
maybe going to anotheruniversity and that sort of
thing. In fact, when I camehere, a colleague was here for
10 years, I oh my gosh, I'dnever laughs 10 years because I
(01:17):
moved over every five years. Soit was quite surprise. Pastures
aren't always greener on theother side.
Brad Fraser (01:25):
Wow! So you said for 30 years University of
Regina, take us back. What didit look like that that first
couple of days?
Doug Durst (01:32):
Oh, it was quite surprising. I arrived with my
family, my daughter and a dog mywife and we arrived here.
Actually, we started teaching inJanuary. And so we arrived
between Christmas and New Year'sYeah, my my poor dog came up and
it was minus 35. Really coldkind of like shock, you know, it
was gone. And then it is walkedinto the classroom, almost sort
(01:56):
of like the next day andteaching social policy and
taught social policy at MemorialUniversity, St. John's
Newfoundland. So, so yeah, Iwas, you know, a little a little
behind in terms of getting thecourse outline together. But
caught up fairly quickly, ispretty exciting. That was a good
time. I got into social workkind of on the back end the way
what most students don't realizeis that anybody my age or older,
(02:19):
would have like a two yearmaster's degree, we have a
bachelor degree in anotherdiscipline. And that that was
the way social work educationdeveloped. Actually, you had a
two year master's. And it was acreation of the BSW as occurred
in the 1970s. And trying to makesocial work education more
accessible to people. And soanybody that a social worker
(02:41):
really meant had a master'sdegree in fact at the time. So I
have a Bachelor in recreation,and I took kids out on paddling
trips, emotionally disturbedkids, worked with kids with
disabilities, and so social workwas in that natural fit for me.
And so, yeah, and then the wholecreation of BSWs ism that that
the BSW here was created in theearly 1970s. And, and so then I
(03:05):
went on, and I went up north, inthe Northwest Territories for
almost 10 years working withIndigenous people working in
Indigenous communities andreally loved the work, mainly
developing Indigenous socialworkers. The whole idea of as a
white person, I mean, I can goon into communities, doing my
social work stuff, where we workwith, we call them community
(03:26):
social service workers, and wedeveloped education and
encouraged them to get socialwork degrees. And yeah, that's
where it started from. And thenI got into well, I, I found
these these people coming upnorth with PhDs doing research
and they're doing terribleresearch and all kinds of
assumptions and biases. And so Ithought, well, if these guys can
(03:47):
do a PhD and what the hell maybeI can too so I went on to go to
Toronto and, and I thought I'dgo north to do more further
research. But I got intoacademia, and went out to
Memorial University. I was therefor six years. I made a shift to
here. Yeah, I don't, lookingback. I've had a good time and a
good career. Did some research,got some grants and love
(04:10):
teaching , love the studentsand love engaging. Yeah. So.
Brad Fraser (04:14):
So from paddling trips to spending time up north
to your dog running outside andbeing like, What the heck is is
this climate? Not only did youhave a movement between physical
spaces, but it sounds like youfound yourself moving amongst
just different areas of yourinterests as well how to
(04:36):
vocationally target that.
Doug Durst (04:38):
Well, that's true.
You know, I've been living inYellowknife for a while and also
living in Iqaluitand also inInuvik, so they're very
different cultures, verydifferent kinds of moods and
also very different culturesamong universities. Memorial
University, sort of the culturethere is very different than
than here. And so I had to learna little bit about harvesting,
combines and swathing and stufflike that
Brad Fraser (05:00):
Yes.
Doug Durst (05:01):
And it's been good, you know. And I was impressed
with Regina, the one thing aboutRegina was kind of a new to me
because I actually went to highschool in the east end of
Toronto area, Scarborough. Andso I was I was amazed about how
engaging people were. And Ithink they still are here in
Regina. You meet somebody on thestreet corner and be a woman,
(05:23):
and she'll make a comment, youknow, this, this rain is gonna
be good for farmers or, youknow, it was a nice warm day,
you know, and they have some eyecontact and some exchange even
even with complete strangers.
And I kind of thought that waskind of neat of a place. And I
hope this Regina doesn't losethat, that kind of exchange so.
Brad Fraser (05:40):
That big, small town that Regina, essentially,
is that you found that that wasalmost something you saw in the
culture in the university aswell.
Doug Durst (05:48):
Yeah, I think so. I really did. And all you know,
there's some lots of otherissues in the community. But I
found that so that, yeah, andthen I got established, and we
moved on, my daughter was young.
And when she's young, she makeslots of friends. So it was easy
to move. But then after that shedeveloped more permanent kinds
of relationships. So that, youknow, moving a 16-year old is
(06:08):
much more difficult than movingan eight year old. So that kind
of kept us here. It was lessattractive to move, because she
got really settled as she wenton. So yeah, it's been good.
It's interesting. I mean, youyou're asking earlier a little
bit about kind of in thatthought I'd share a little bit
about the history of social workprogram because it was created
(06:29):
in the 70s. And as thisUniversity developed out of
branched out of U of S, soUniversity of Saskatchewan was a
college, Regina campus College,and then it became its own
university. And so they hiredthey hired a guy from
Saskatchewan, who that had amaster's degree and studied the
PhD at the London School ofEconomics in London. And so if
(06:53):
anyone knows of London School ofEconomics, it's very left wing
very left as a hotbed ofsocialism and, and that, and so
he came here, and that's what hebrought with him. And even so,
as I said, he was a Saskatchewanperson who grew up here. And,
and so he hired a number ofpeople that shared that left
wing. So University of Regina inthe early 70s, was very left
(07:16):
wing, very socialist. And so hecreated a social work program.
And it was kind of neat, in away, because it was kind of wide
open, and you can take whateveryou wanted. And once you got
enough credits, you got to besteady, and are no so I came
here and I said, Hey, guys, andhe thought about maybe
sequencing classes, or maybehaving some prerequisites, you
(07:38):
know, because if you're notlearning on this topic, don't
you need a base over here andthat sort of thing? Well, I was
seen as the ultra conservative,right wing, you know, kind of,
and they really resisted that.
And so and then then the thingshifted, these guys started to
retire and younger peoplestarted coming in. And people
(07:58):
that were more geared to theprofessional association, the
professional associationdeveloped and grew and pulled
together and became more andmore kind of influential, you
had to have be registered tocall yourself a social worker.
And that's a good trend. And sothe shift then switched. But
then we started going the otherway. And, quite honestly, for
the listeners, social workstudents, I think that we've
(08:22):
gone a little bit too far in thesense that we don't have enough
flexibility in the program.
There are too many courses thatare required, and students don't
get a chance to take electives.
So just the other day, I wasasking students, what classes do
you think you could do withoutthat we can have more
flexibility to the program. AndI think that that's perhaps
happening, I think that it'llshift and wealth will find some
(08:44):
balance. However, a very, verygood thing is that we're fully
accredited with the CanadianAssociation of Social Work
Educators and the Canadianassociate, pardon me, the
Canadian Association of SocialWork, so forth. And that
accreditation is reallyimportant. And in the last
review, we the accreditationprocess, where we present our
program to the association, andthey review it in-depth,
(09:08):
in-depth review. And we've beengiven full-accreditation without
problems. We didn't have anymajor significant issues, and
that's a good thing. So we wantto keep that accreditation, but
I'd like to see us kind of openup a little bit more and not be
so retentive.
Brad Fraser (09:27):
Well, I think that's part of why the students
actually had an interest in apodcast because there's so many
things when you're doing thosecore required classes, you end
up missing out on particulartopics or areas of interest. And
so what does it look likeoutside of the classroom to try
and have some of thoseconversations and you talked
earlier about, you know, you,you moved and then the next day
(09:47):
you're teaching social policy.
How has that evolved when youhave in the classroom that
course over the last 30 years,so it hasn't changed much?
Doug Durst (09:58):
Well, that's an interesting question, social
policy can be taught kind of twoways I actually and some of my
colleagues teach a piece ofsocial policy has looking at
specific social policy lookingat the policy around child
welfare, looking around thepolicy of immigration and
looking around the policy aroundsay disabilities, persons with
(10:19):
disabilities.
I intended the teach it andtrying to give not specific
policies, because they changeall the time. I mean, they
change everyday, I try to teachand kind of give the students a
foundation of social policy sothey can analyze social policy
as it changes, and how they caninfluence social policy. So
that's kind of kind of the waythe way I kind of taught it. And
(10:42):
I've enjoyed teaching, and Ialso teach research. And those
are two undergraduate classesthat are probably the least
favored students. And I see itas a challenge to teach those
classes. And that's why I put afair bit of energy into it, to
try to make it meaningful andall of it so social, are the
students come in, and like inthe research class, they're all
(11:03):
terrified, you know, they'rejust like, ooh, research, ahh,
you know, it's gonna be a lot ofmath or, you know and then try
to kind of make them relevant towhat it is. What do they need to
know, as a professional socialworker, what kind of, because
they're going to read research,then when you don't want them to
be intimidated by it. And also,they're going to all of our
students, graduates willeventually be in some form of
(11:25):
evaluation, client satisfaction,assessments. So in any, you need
a foundation and basic knowledgeand research. So those are the
two courses in the undergraduateprogram that I've taught that I
really enjoyed teaching. I'mgoing to miss it.
Brad Fraser (11:40):
Yeah, I bet.
Doug Durst (11:42):
I'm going to miss it. This is my last term.
Brad Fraser (11:44):
So this is the last term you've taught here for well
over 30 years now. And you'vetalked about that energy that
you were bringing, for example,to research
Doug Durst (11:52):
Well, I try.
Brad Fraser (11:55):
Is there something that you would say to students
that aren't going to have theopportunity to learn from you
and the upcoming semesters thatbut are looking at that research
core requirement? What would youtell them?
Doug Durst (12:06):
Oh, well, I don't know. depends who's going to
teach it and how they want toteach it and that sort of thing.
You know, I've tried to beengaging and try to make it
relevant, you know, make thatconnection. So, you know, I'm
not sure who all we've got newfaculty coming in, and we've got
new, new the whole universityhas changed. I used to walk
(12:26):
around campus, and I pretty wellknew everybody around, but now a
lot of new blood. And I seethat's good. That's all I see is
positive. So the students willdo fine.
Brad Fraser (12:36):
Yeah, no, I agree.
I think it's amazing to see whenyou discuss this kind of
pendulum swinging changes asdifferent people come and that
as different people areinvolved, they bring with them
their values.
Doug Durst (12:47):
Right
Brad Fraser (12:47):
And that means that the program itself changes,
Doug Durst (12:50):
of course,
Brad Fraser (12:51):
is there things that you've seen over your own
research, you talked earlierabout getting some grants and
doing some research yourself? Isthere anything that you look
back on as?
Doug Durst (13:00):
Well, you were asking earlier to before we
started a little bit aboutresearch within indigenous
communities, and that's reallychanged over the years, and it's
a very, very sensitive topic.
And Indigenous communities havebeen exploited, in fact, have
been exploited through research.
And, you know, I mean, quitehonestly, I mean, I've been
(13:20):
fortunate enough to work withIndigenous communities. But, you
know, secretly, I mean, I'vebenefited, you know, I mean, my
career has been advanced fromthat work and that sort of
thing. So, so it's kind of a,you know, it's a, it's a
sensitive topic. And I think, Ithink in the future, research
with, there's a lot of protocolsand procedures now, so that
(13:43):
students can just sort of runout, go into communities,
conduct research, there's a lotof protocols and sensitivities
to that. And I think that reallyany, speaking, you know, any
non-Indigenous person reallyneeds to work with the
Indigenous community to do theresearch in partnership with
them. And also, Indigenousstudents have to be sensitive
(14:05):
too, to conducting research,because doing research in their
own way, in their owncommunities, it's sensitive and
delicate. So that's a goodthing. And I see that as a
positive.
Brad Fraser (14:19):
Yeah, you know, I think some of the questions from
students around that interest inindigenous research for many
that comes from their owncultural backgrounds, and I
think they've probably seen whatyou described as this kind of
tension and oppressive history.
And so when we look ahead tosome of those new policies and
some of those new procedures totry and make this better, for
lack of a better way to put it,what do you look forward to what
(14:42):
what you see if you were to lookinto the future?
Doug Durst (14:48):
Well, some of my own work is has been in the area of
looking at moving away from ifyou're talking about Indigenous
communities, is moving away fromsort of the social problem
aspectand looking at positive aspects
and healthy communities. And Iactually ended just yesterday, I
gave a presentation on the classabout, "What is a healthy
community?" and not just anIndigenous community, but
(15:09):
healthy other communities aswell, what factors are there,
and what's present in a healthycommunity and build on that. And
that's, and then also, I guess,when, when I think you're
talking about the future, Ithink, really what's happening,
and maybe again, this was maybemy bias, okay, so, not everyone
would share this perspective.
But I see a rising middle classan Indigenous community, and
(15:33):
this rising middle class is whatis a really, I see it as a
positive outcome, a positivedevelopment. And our First
Nations in Quebec, for example,that are very, very
sophisticated. And we have, youknow, professional services,
like an in Meadow Lake, thetribal councils coming together
(15:55):
with, again, very professionalservices. And, again, it's,
you've got this middle-classthat's starting to emerge. And
that's, I see that as a positivedevelopment, countering some of
the negative aspects and, andthey can, in fact, you know,
resist colonial racism. And, youknow, I use this example, and
(16:17):
again, this, you may accuse meof my own middle class values,
okay, so, but the largest houseon my street is, is owned by an
Indigenous man who worked inNorthwest Territories for a long
time, and is a lovely home, andhis kids are there and they go
to school, and they work and,and again, that's that middle
class, you know, that they'vegot it together. They know what
(16:39):
they're doing. It's a veryhealthy, it looks like to me
from outside looks like a veryhealthy family.
And I see that as a positivedevelopment. So growing, growing
group and others, this group ofprofessional people both live on
reserve and off reserve, notjust in one area. So yeah. And
(16:59):
would you say maybe then, overthe last 30 years that made that
story wasn't told or focused onas much when you talk about
moving towards those healthiercommunities. And that positivist
approach? I don't think it'seven talked about now, very
much, you know, positiveexamples, although I think maybe
there's more more discussion onthat positive entrepreneurs, and
(17:19):
artists, artists and crafts andfilmmakers and Indigenous
communities, it's it's quiteremarkable. They're flourishing.
That's a healthy thing. Yeah.
Well, social work, educationthat that's, you know, we're,
you know, First NationsUniversity has their social work
program, and it's been aroundthat's another interesting
(17:41):
question. First Nations SocialWork program. You know, I think
that's really, First NationsUniversity of Canada, their
social work program hasconsistently provided almost a
third of their graduates everyyear, and often I've kind of
complained that they should geta third of the budget.
(18:02):
If you walk down the halls andFirst Nations University and
look at the graduating classes,again, consistently in like a
third of the students are firstand are first nation social
work, social work students. AndI think that I would like to see
it better funded, bettersupportive, because that's where
a lot of First Nations studentsare in education and social
(18:26):
work. You know,that's a positivething.
Brad Fraser (18:32):
Absolutely.
Doug Durst (18:33):
It's kind of secret, or no one talks about?
Brad Fraser (18:36):
So when you talk about funding, have you seen
changes over the last 30 yearsin terms of funding and social
work? And what that looks like?
Doug Durst (18:46):
No, we're always the quiet one in the background here
at this university, you know,we're located here. It's
interesting that we're a facultythat that's an interesting
thing, rather than than ourdepartment, for example, with
the small levels, I guess we'rethe smallest faculty. That's an
interesting trend. And there'sbeen some interest in combining
(19:07):
some of these faculties toforming a larger, in fact that
when I moved from Newfoundland,this perhaps, I don't know how
interesting this is. But when Imoved from Newfoundland, I was
in the Faculty of ProfessionalStudies. So the Faculty of
Professional Studies includedsocial work, education,
engineering, and it was huge.
The faculty, the faculty, I wasin at Memorial was larger than
this entire university.
Brad Fraser (19:29):
Oh, wow.
Doug Durst (19:30):
Kind of different, a little bit different structure.
But we're a little independentgroup. I think we've done quite
well.
Brad Fraser (19:37):
Well, and where we're sitting today physically,
it's kind of interesting,because, you know, on the fourth
floor of this building,engineering and social work
actually share a space, right.
But in terms of how they'reactually divided, it's something
completely different.
Doug Durst (19:50):
Yeah. What's unique in Saskatchewan, again, maybe
the students wouldn't thinkabout this. But as social
workers, the only program,program in, the social work
program at the U of R is theonly one in the province.
Whereas if you went to Ontario,there's many social work
programs. And I can't even thinkI'm not even sure how many of
(20:11):
them there'd be. Maybe 12 or 14social work programs spread
around the province. So they'recompeting with each other and
competing for practicums. Onthis, I think a lot of students
don't realize too, that theprogram in Saskatoon is a U of R
program.
Brad Fraser (20:25):
Yes, it is, yeah.
Doug Durst (20:26):
It's a U of R campus and the students get a U of R
degree, they take their theirelectives and their
prerequisites with U of S. Butthere is a full year U of R
degree. So that's kind ofrealize that and then, of
course, when you're asking aboutchanges too I think that this is
COVID pandemic has changed theway we're going to deliver
(20:47):
classes in the future. I mean,there's going to be blended
classes and hybrid classes, allthat's going to change that
that's that's going thing. Andstudents with independent
learning can do their degree inYorkton, for example.
Yeah, that's the I don't knowwhat that means. I'm not one to
ask because I'm, I'm a dinosaurfrom another.
Brad Fraser (21:10):
Well, I often wonder if that's going to help
bridge the divide that we'veseen between urban and rural
social work and the need forsocial workers to work in
different communities, if theeducation can more easily reach
people where they are, perhaps,allowing them to stay in their
communities longer for part oftheir degree, or maybe even all
of it someday, that may helpthem.
Doug Durst (21:32):
That may, it may, and also, I think it'll make,
not just the rural but also, youknow, students that have
families and commitments andother responsibilities that
don't have the flexibility ofcoming into the city to study or
coming into the classroom. Youknow,
(21:52):
one of my classes I was talkingabout online students in the
students from I'll say Melville,because of confidentiality, but
you know, central Melville wasgreat I can I can do here, I can
be here, I can take your class,Doug, and break time, I can put
a load of laundry and can checkon the kids. And, you know, and
(22:15):
I thought about that, and Ithought, well, under normal
circumstances, you know, hewould have to drive in from
Melville, and have to park hiscar, he has to pay for parking,
he has to pay for gas, he picksup a coffee and a doughnut, and
how much is the coffee and donutnow? I mean, it's like six bucks
or something like that. And soit picks up the coffee and
doughnut and comes to class. Andso if you think of the $6 for a
(22:38):
coffee and doughnut, and you'vegot 12 classes over the term,
13. So let's, you know, sixtimes 12, seven, he's planning
to spend $70 to $75 on coffeeand donuts alone, you know,
that's, you know, if you're ayoung family that that's, that's
a bit of a pinch, and then hehas to drive back and spend an
hour an hour and a half orwhatever it is. You know, so
(23:00):
that makes accessibility andaffordability attractive for a
lot of students. So, yeah.
Brad Fraser (23:07):
Well, I think for many of us students, that for
many of us that actually startedthe program, during the
pandemic, it's been a veryinteresting start to beyond
zoom, and then to come on campusfor some things. Because for
many of us, we haven't known anydifferent. So I think that
example, you just gave up theseincreased costs, this increased
(23:28):
time this, this stretching thathappens within families, or
whatever your commitments are,what excites me about
technology, and for example,this podcast is the opportunity
that, perhaps while he's puttinga load of laundry, and he can
listen to this podcast, and Ithink that's the hope we have
within, at least as students forthis podcast is that we can have
(23:50):
this conversation and dialoguewith you, but so many people are
never going to be able to sitdown and have a chat with you.
Right, because of physicalspace. So what can we do to look
further and use technology to dothat. When you talked earlier
about healthier communities,and when you look at Regina, has
Regina changed much in the last30 years from your perspective?
Doug Durst (24:11):
Oh, yeah, I think that it's expanded population,
but it's expanded remarkably, indiversity, you know, and all
elements of the city and all,you know, diversity, and campus,
is really, I remember, there wasalmost nothing for international
students. I got involved withinternational students, and we
(24:32):
were holding some events, andjust about all the international
international students were fromChina. You know, well, now the
diversity, particularly fromIndia and the Middle East and
other parts of central SouthAmerica. It's just remarkable
change. And I think that'sreally healthy.
You know, there are many moreservices for international
(24:53):
students and then that's spilledout into the community. You
know, and you travel around indifferent areas and my wife and
I have done quite a bit of workwith refugees supporting
refugees and that sort of thing.
And so the diversity among thepopulation and neighborhoods
where they live around theGolden Mile, for example, drive
around the Golden Mile. And youjust see that that's definitely
yeah, many more newcomers aremigrants, I think that's a
(25:17):
healthy perspective for thecommunity.
Brad Fraser (25:20):
For sure it you talked about this diversity that
you're seeing reflected oncampus, would you say that
social policy and research isperhaps adapted at the same
speed of the diverse populationsthat are joining us here in
Saskatchewan?
Doug Durst (25:39):
The the province, I'm not sure about the social
policy in the province in termsof responding to the diversity,
I think that the government thatwe have now is pretty much
focused on rural or rural whitepopulation. That's where they're
trying to get their base. Sosocial policy has not been that.
(26:05):
I think that the populationshift, Manitoba and speaking
about social policy Manitoba,years ago, decades ago, really
developed a provincial nomineeprogram and wanted diversity.
And so Saskatchewan's been waybehind them, compared to other
provinces, and it's sort ofwaking up in the last five or so
years, for Provincial Nominee,but they are still incredibly
(26:28):
slow. And of course, they blamethe Feds. But that would be that
would be my thinking on that. Ithink, in my classrooms among
students, I've seen population,much more diverse population.
Brad Fraser (26:44):
And would you say then that as the students go
into social work, perhaps thatthere is that critical hope that
they can start to influence thatpolicy to be more progressive.
Doug Durst (26:56):
The, the Regina Open Door has been one of the kind of
the main kind of servicedelivery, it delivers to
newcomers. And they've done aremarkable job and expanded a
lot. Again, as was provincial.
So the provincial government haskind of is sort of funding
support for diversity throughagencies like Regina Open Door
(27:18):
rather than themselves. Maybe Idon't I'm not sure about. It's
another kind of question.
Brad Fraser (27:26):
You know, Doug, is there something that you would
say to students in terms of, youknow, why social work? Because
for many students, they're inthe program already. But for
some of them, they're checkingout social work, they're in pre
social work there. They haven'tdecided yet, if they're going to
apply for their BSW, what wouldyou say to those students that
are considering social work?
Doug Durst (27:47):
Well, I, the neat thing about social work is that
is a huge kind of diversitywithin what we call social work,
you know, and I think it's acase of finding your place and
not being you know, when we getthe applications, we review the
applications to come into theprogram, and there's sort of
(28:10):
like they, what they want tosort of work with children, that
sort of thing is often kind of,but there's many other areas of
social work that you can gointo, that are branches out of
social work, that you find yourway if you don't like working,
and I used my wife as anexample. And see, she worked in
long term care as a socialworker, and she had a nursing
(28:31):
background and she loved it.
And, and people would say toher, so well, you know, you're
dealing with death, you'redealing with dying, you're
dealing with loss, you know,people are getting older and and
she just she just had thepersonality to handle that she
could never understand howpeople could work with young
people and work at Rancho Ehrlo,you know, and so she did, that
kind of tension was not what shelikes. So, there's, if you don't
(28:54):
like one area, there's someeither and I often encourage
students, I say, there's twothings out there, there's one
thing that try somethingdifferent in your practicum. Try
something that is new to you, ifyou've never worked with elderly
or people with disabilities werethat populations to see whether
you like it, and you'll find aplace that social work. It's
just more of a case of findingyour place and your space and
(29:15):
what you like to do. I thinkthat's the other thing I
encourage students to do. Andunfortunately, by the time we
get to my classes, they'vealready near the end of their
program, so it's restrictive,but for those first year
students take take a course inmusic or take a course if
they're interested in music oror joining, we have an excellent
(29:35):
choir here and we have a newchoir director and she has a
community, kind of UniversityChoir. And I know some of his
students, you know, they sangtheir church when you know so do
that and take advantage of thosethings. And some of these you
can get credit for. You can takea course in curling and you get
1/3 of a credit. Do it, use it.
(29:57):
Yeah. And then I remember when Iwas a student and I took a
course in astronomy, astronomyfor non science students. And
you know, I used it when I'm ona canoe trip with kids, I could
look at stars and say, you know,how densify some of the
constellations and, and so, youknow, you'd be surprised. If
you've got strength and music,you can use that, you know, in
(30:18):
your social work practice. Andso, yeah,
Brad Fraser (30:21):
That sense of self, I think that social workers are
able to bring, thinking,speaking to maybe the uniqueness
that each social workerultimately is we have this core
value and ethic that we agree toas professionals, but yet within
that, is these, immenselydiverse and unique people?
Doug Durst (30:38):
Sure. And there's a place for it. Yeah. And, you
know, it's a great profession.
And I also encourage guys toobecause when, you know, there's
good opportunities for men andsocial work, and sometimes I
think it's sort of a woman'sprofessional one, with great
opportunities as well. So, youknow, we need we need men to
work with boys and things likethat. There's lots of work to
do. And yeah, so get out there,get into the program. And as I
(31:02):
say, kick ass and do your stuff.
Make change, and make changehappen.
Brad Fraser (31:11):
Awesome. Was there anything else you'd like to
leave us with, Doug?
Doug Durst (31:14):
But no, I think that's just about it. And thanks
for the the honor of making thispodcast and I hope people find
it interesting,
Brad Fraser (31:21):
Oh, I'm sure we will. Thanks.
Right on.
This podcast has been brought toyou by the Faculty of Social
Work at the University ofRegina, the U of R is currently
accepting applicants untilJanuary 15 2023 for their
Bachelor of Social Work Programfor the 2023 academic year. Go
to www.uregina.ca/socialwork.
Forward slash social work toapply today.
(31:48):
The views, information andopinions expressed in this
podcast do not necessarilyrepresent the views of our
sponsors.
Hello and welcome to the Social Work beginnings
podcast. Social Work Beginningsis a student hosted podcast
engaging with instructors,agencies and members of the
Social Work community in Canada.
As we strive to learn to becomeeffective social workers at the
beginning of our careers, weseek to amplify the ongoing work
to advance social justice inCanada within social work.
(00:22):
This podcast was born out of adesire to equitably increase the
accessibility of opportunity tolearn outside the classroom
about our diverse field.
Our guest today is Doug Durst,that recently retired from being
a professor at the University ofRegina in the Faculty of Social
Work. We sat down to discuss histime and his thoughts to the
(00:44):
future.
Thanks for joining us today.
Doug Durst (00:51):
My pleasure.
Brad Fraser (00:53):
Tell us a little bit about yourself about your
time here at the University ofRegina.
Doug Durst (00:56):
Well, I'm an old prof here. I've been here for 30
years now. And it's quite asquite surprising that the time
has gone so quickly. And, youknow, I consider moving on and
maybe going to anotheruniversity and that sort of
thing. In fact, when I camehere, a colleague was here for
10 years, I oh my gosh, I'dnever laughs 10 years because I
(01:17):
moved over every five years. Soit was quite surprise. Pastures
aren't always greener on theother side.
Brad Fraser (01:25):
Wow! So you said for 30 years University of
Regina, take us back. What didit look like that that first
couple of days?
Doug Durst (01:32):
Oh, it was quite surprising. I arrived with my
family, my daughter and a dog mywife and we arrived here.
Actually, we started teaching inJanuary. And so we arrived
between Christmas and New Year'sYeah, my my poor dog came up and
it was minus 35. Really coldkind of like shock, you know, it
was gone. And then it is walkedinto the classroom, almost sort
(01:56):
of like the next day andteaching social policy and
taught social policy at MemorialUniversity, St. John's
Newfoundland. So, so yeah, Iwas, you know, a little a little
behind in terms of getting thecourse outline together. But
caught up fairly quickly, ispretty exciting. That was a good
time. I got into social workkind of on the back end the way
what most students don't realizeis that anybody my age or older,
(02:19):
would have like a two yearmaster's degree, we have a
bachelor degree in anotherdiscipline. And that that was
the way social work educationdeveloped. Actually, you had a
two year master's. And it was acreation of the BSW as occurred
in the 1970s. And trying to makesocial work education more
accessible to people. And soanybody that a social worker
(02:41):
really meant had a master'sdegree in fact at the time. So I
have a Bachelor in recreation,and I took kids out on paddling
trips, emotionally disturbedkids, worked with kids with
disabilities, and so social workwas in that natural fit for me.
And so, yeah, and then the wholecreation of BSWs ism that that
the BSW here was created in theearly 1970s. And, and so then I
(03:05):
went on, and I went up north, inthe Northwest Territories for
almost 10 years working withIndigenous people working in
Indigenous communities andreally loved the work, mainly
developing Indigenous socialworkers. The whole idea of as a
white person, I mean, I can goon into communities, doing my
social work stuff, where we workwith, we call them community
(03:26):
social service workers, and wedeveloped education and
encouraged them to get socialwork degrees. And yeah, that's
where it started from. And thenI got into well, I, I found
these these people coming upnorth with PhDs doing research
and they're doing terribleresearch and all kinds of
assumptions and biases. And so Ithought, well, if these guys can
(03:47):
do a PhD and what the hell maybeI can too so I went on to go to
Toronto and, and I thought I'dgo north to do more further
research. But I got intoacademia, and went out to
Memorial University. I was therefor six years. I made a shift to
here. Yeah, I don't, lookingback. I've had a good time and a
good career. Did some research,got some grants and love
(04:10):
teaching , love the studentsand love engaging. Yeah. So.
Brad Fraser (04:14):
So from paddling trips to spending time up north
to your dog running outside andbeing like, What the heck is is
this climate? Not only did youhave a movement between physical
spaces, but it sounds like youfound yourself moving amongst
just different areas of yourinterests as well how to
(04:36):
vocationally target that.
Doug Durst (04:38):
Well, that's true.
You know, I've been living inYellowknife for a while and also
living in Iqaluitand also inInuvik, so they're very
different cultures, verydifferent kinds of moods and
also very different culturesamong universities. Memorial
University, sort of the culturethere is very different than
than here. And so I had to learna little bit about harvesting,
combines and swathing and stufflike that
Brad Fraser (05:00):
Yes.
Doug Durst (05:01):
And it's been good, you know. And I was impressed
with Regina, the one thing aboutRegina was kind of a new to me
because I actually went to highschool in the east end of
Toronto area, Scarborough. Andso I was I was amazed about how
engaging people were. And Ithink they still are here in
Regina. You meet somebody on thestreet corner and be a woman,
(05:23):
and she'll make a comment, youknow, this, this rain is gonna
be good for farmers or, youknow, it was a nice warm day,
you know, and they have some eyecontact and some exchange even
even with complete strangers.
And I kind of thought that waskind of neat of a place. And I
hope this Regina doesn't losethat, that kind of exchange so.
Brad Fraser (05:40):
That big, small town that Regina, essentially,
is that you found that that wasalmost something you saw in the
culture in the university aswell.
Doug Durst (05:48):
Yeah, I think so. I really did. And all you know,
there's some lots of otherissues in the community. But I
found that so that, yeah, andthen I got established, and we
moved on, my daughter was young.
And when she's young, she makeslots of friends. So it was easy
to move. But then after that shedeveloped more permanent kinds
of relationships. So that, youknow, moving a 16-year old is
(06:08):
much more difficult than movingan eight year old. So that kind
of kept us here. It was lessattractive to move, because she
got really settled as she wenton. So yeah, it's been good.
It's interesting. I mean, youyou're asking earlier a little
bit about kind of in thatthought I'd share a little bit
about the history of social workprogram because it was created
(06:29):
in the 70s. And as thisUniversity developed out of
branched out of U of S, soUniversity of Saskatchewan was a
college, Regina campus College,and then it became its own
university. And so they hiredthey hired a guy from
Saskatchewan, who that had amaster's degree and studied the
PhD at the London School ofEconomics in London. And so if
(06:53):
anyone knows of London School ofEconomics, it's very left wing
very left as a hotbed ofsocialism and, and that, and so
he came here, and that's what hebrought with him. And even so,
as I said, he was a Saskatchewanperson who grew up here. And,
and so he hired a number ofpeople that shared that left
wing. So University of Regina inthe early 70s, was very left
(07:16):
wing, very socialist. And so hecreated a social work program.
And it was kind of neat, in away, because it was kind of wide
open, and you can take whateveryou wanted. And once you got
enough credits, you got to besteady, and are no so I came
here and I said, Hey, guys, andhe thought about maybe
sequencing classes, or maybehaving some prerequisites, you
(07:38):
know, because if you're notlearning on this topic, don't
you need a base over here andthat sort of thing? Well, I was
seen as the ultra conservative,right wing, you know, kind of,
and they really resisted that.
And so and then then the thingshifted, these guys started to
retire and younger peoplestarted coming in. And people
(07:58):
that were more geared to theprofessional association, the
professional associationdeveloped and grew and pulled
together and became more andmore kind of influential, you
had to have be registered tocall yourself a social worker.
And that's a good trend. And sothe shift then switched. But
then we started going the otherway. And, quite honestly, for
the listeners, social workstudents, I think that we've
(08:22):
gone a little bit too far in thesense that we don't have enough
flexibility in the program.
There are too many courses thatare required, and students don't
get a chance to take electives.
So just the other day, I wasasking students, what classes do
you think you could do withoutthat we can have more
flexibility to the program. AndI think that that's perhaps
happening, I think that it'llshift and wealth will find some
(08:44):
balance. However, a very, verygood thing is that we're fully
accredited with the CanadianAssociation of Social Work
Educators and the Canadianassociate, pardon me, the
Canadian Association of SocialWork, so forth. And that
accreditation is reallyimportant. And in the last
review, we the accreditationprocess, where we present our
program to the association, andthey review it in-depth,
(09:08):
in-depth review. And we've beengiven full-accreditation without
problems. We didn't have anymajor significant issues, and
that's a good thing. So we wantto keep that accreditation, but
I'd like to see us kind of openup a little bit more and not be
so retentive.
Brad Fraser (09:27):
Well, I think that's part of why the students
actually had an interest in apodcast because there's so many
things when you're doing thosecore required classes, you end
up missing out on particulartopics or areas of interest. And
so what does it look likeoutside of the classroom to try
and have some of thoseconversations and you talked
earlier about, you know, you,you moved and then the next day
(09:47):
you're teaching social policy.
How has that evolved when youhave in the classroom that
course over the last 30 years,so it hasn't changed much?
Doug Durst (09:58):
Well, that's an interesting question, social
policy can be taught kind of twoways I actually and some of my
colleagues teach a piece ofsocial policy has looking at
specific social policy lookingat the policy around child
welfare, looking around thepolicy of immigration and
looking around the policy aroundsay disabilities, persons with
(10:19):
disabilities.
I intended the teach it andtrying to give not specific
policies, because they changeall the time. I mean, they
change everyday, I try to teachand kind of give the students a
foundation of social policy sothey can analyze social policy
as it changes, and how they caninfluence social policy. So
that's kind of kind of the waythe way I kind of taught it. And
(10:42):
I've enjoyed teaching, and Ialso teach research. And those
are two undergraduate classesthat are probably the least
favored students. And I see itas a challenge to teach those
classes. And that's why I put afair bit of energy into it, to
try to make it meaningful andall of it so social, are the
students come in, and like inthe research class, they're all
(11:03):
terrified, you know, they'rejust like, ooh, research, ahh,
you know, it's gonna be a lot ofmath or, you know and then try
to kind of make them relevant towhat it is. What do they need to
know, as a professional socialworker, what kind of, because
they're going to read research,then when you don't want them to
be intimidated by it. And also,they're going to all of our
students, graduates willeventually be in some form of
(11:25):
evaluation, client satisfaction,assessments. So in any, you need
a foundation and basic knowledgeand research. So those are the
two courses in the undergraduateprogram that I've taught that I
really enjoyed teaching. I'mgoing to miss it.
Brad Fraser (11:40):
Yeah, I bet.
Doug Durst (11:42):
I'm going to miss it. This is my last term.
Brad Fraser (11:44):
So this is the last term you've taught here for well
over 30 years now. And you'vetalked about that energy that
you were bringing, for example,to research
Doug Durst (11:52):
Well, I try.
Brad Fraser (11:55):
Is there something that you would say to students
that aren't going to have theopportunity to learn from you
and the upcoming semesters thatbut are looking at that research
core requirement? What would youtell them?
Doug Durst (12:06):
Oh, well, I don't know. depends who's going to
teach it and how they want toteach it and that sort of thing.
You know, I've tried to beengaging and try to make it
relevant, you know, make thatconnection. So, you know, I'm
not sure who all we've got newfaculty coming in, and we've got
new, new the whole universityhas changed. I used to walk
(12:26):
around campus, and I pretty wellknew everybody around, but now a
lot of new blood. And I seethat's good. That's all I see is
positive. So the students willdo fine.
Brad Fraser (12:36):
Yeah, no, I agree.
I think it's amazing to see whenyou discuss this kind of
pendulum swinging changes asdifferent people come and that
as different people areinvolved, they bring with them
their values.
Doug Durst (12:47):
Right
Brad Fraser (12:47):
And that means that the program itself changes,
Doug Durst (12:50):
of course,
Brad Fraser (12:51):
is there things that you've seen over your own
research, you talked earlierabout getting some grants and
doing some research yourself? Isthere anything that you look
back on as?
Doug Durst (13:00):
Well, you were asking earlier to before we
started a little bit aboutresearch within indigenous
communities, and that's reallychanged over the years, and it's
a very, very sensitive topic.
And Indigenous communities havebeen exploited, in fact, have
been exploited through research.
And, you know, I mean, quitehonestly, I mean, I've been
(13:20):
fortunate enough to work withIndigenous communities. But, you
know, secretly, I mean, I'vebenefited, you know, I mean, my
career has been advanced fromthat work and that sort of
thing. So, so it's kind of a,you know, it's a, it's a
sensitive topic. And I think, Ithink in the future, research
with, there's a lot of protocolsand procedures now, so that
(13:43):
students can just sort of runout, go into communities,
conduct research, there's a lotof protocols and sensitivities
to that. And I think that reallyany, speaking, you know, any
non-Indigenous person reallyneeds to work with the
Indigenous community to do theresearch in partnership with
them. And also, Indigenousstudents have to be sensitive
(14:05):
too, to conducting research,because doing research in their
own way, in their owncommunities, it's sensitive and
delicate. So that's a goodthing. And I see that as a
positive.
Brad Fraser (14:19):
Yeah, you know, I think some of the questions from
students around that interest inindigenous research for many
that comes from their owncultural backgrounds, and I
think they've probably seen whatyou described as this kind of
tension and oppressive history.
And so when we look ahead tosome of those new policies and
some of those new procedures totry and make this better, for
lack of a better way to put it,what do you look forward to what
(14:42):
what you see if you were to lookinto the future?
Doug Durst (14:48):
Well, some of my own work is has been in the area of
looking at moving away from ifyou're talking about Indigenous
communities, is moving away fromsort of the social problem
aspectand looking at positive aspects
and healthy communities. And Iactually ended just yesterday, I
gave a presentation on the classabout, "What is a healthy
community?" and not just anIndigenous community, but
(15:09):
healthy other communities aswell, what factors are there,
and what's present in a healthycommunity and build on that. And
that's, and then also, I guess,when, when I think you're
talking about the future, Ithink, really what's happening,
and maybe again, this was maybemy bias, okay, so, not everyone
would share this perspective.
But I see a rising middle classan Indigenous community, and
(15:33):
this rising middle class is whatis a really, I see it as a
positive outcome, a positivedevelopment. And our First
Nations in Quebec, for example,that are very, very
sophisticated. And we have, youknow, professional services,
like an in Meadow Lake, thetribal councils coming together
(15:55):
with, again, very professionalservices. And, again, it's,
you've got this middle-classthat's starting to emerge. And
that's, I see that as a positivedevelopment, countering some of
the negative aspects and, andthey can, in fact, you know,
resist colonial racism. And, youknow, I use this example, and
(16:17):
again, this, you may accuse meof my own middle class values,
okay, so, but the largest houseon my street is, is owned by an
Indigenous man who worked inNorthwest Territories for a long
time, and is a lovely home, andhis kids are there and they go
to school, and they work and,and again, that's that middle
class, you know, that they'vegot it together. They know what
(16:39):
they're doing. It's a veryhealthy, it looks like to me
from outside looks like a veryhealthy family.
And I see that as a positivedevelopment. So growing, growing
group and others, this group ofprofessional people both live on
reserve and off reserve, notjust in one area. So yeah. And
(16:59):
would you say maybe then, overthe last 30 years that made that
story wasn't told or focused onas much when you talk about
moving towards those healthiercommunities. And that positivist
approach? I don't think it'seven talked about now, very
much, you know, positiveexamples, although I think maybe
there's more more discussion onthat positive entrepreneurs, and
(17:19):
artists, artists and crafts andfilmmakers and Indigenous
communities, it's it's quiteremarkable. They're flourishing.
That's a healthy thing. Yeah.
Well, social work, educationthat that's, you know, we're,
you know, First NationsUniversity has their social work
program, and it's been aroundthat's another interesting
(17:41):
question. First Nations SocialWork program. You know, I think
that's really, First NationsUniversity of Canada, their
social work program hasconsistently provided almost a
third of their graduates everyyear, and often I've kind of
complained that they should geta third of the budget.
(18:02):
If you walk down the halls andFirst Nations University and
look at the graduating classes,again, consistently in like a
third of the students are firstand are first nation social
work, social work students. AndI think that I would like to see
it better funded, bettersupportive, because that's where
a lot of First Nations studentsare in education and social
(18:26):
work. You know,that's a positivething.
Brad Fraser (18:32):
Absolutely.
Doug Durst (18:33):
It's kind of secret, or no one talks about?
Brad Fraser (18:36):
So when you talk about funding, have you seen
changes over the last 30 yearsin terms of funding and social
work? And what that looks like?
Doug Durst (18:46):
No, we're always the quiet one in the background here
at this university, you know,we're located here. It's
interesting that we're a facultythat that's an interesting
thing, rather than than ourdepartment, for example, with
the small levels, I guess we'rethe smallest faculty. That's an
interesting trend. And there'sbeen some interest in combining
(19:07):
some of these faculties toforming a larger, in fact that
when I moved from Newfoundland,this perhaps, I don't know how
interesting this is. But when Imoved from Newfoundland, I was
in the Faculty of ProfessionalStudies. So the Faculty of
Professional Studies includedsocial work, education,
engineering, and it was huge.
The faculty, the faculty, I wasin at Memorial was larger than
this entire university.
Brad Fraser (19:29):
Oh, wow.
Doug Durst (19:30):
Kind of different, a little bit different structure.
But we're a little independentgroup. I think we've done quite
well.
Brad Fraser (19:37):
Well, and where we're sitting today physically,
it's kind of interesting,because, you know, on the fourth
floor of this building,engineering and social work
actually share a space, right.
But in terms of how they'reactually divided, it's something
completely different.
Doug Durst (19:50):
Yeah. What's unique in Saskatchewan, again, maybe
the students wouldn't thinkabout this. But as social
workers, the only program,program in, the social work
program at the U of R is theonly one in the province.
Whereas if you went to Ontario,there's many social work
programs. And I can't even thinkI'm not even sure how many of
(20:11):
them there'd be. Maybe 12 or 14social work programs spread
around the province. So they'recompeting with each other and
competing for practicums. Onthis, I think a lot of students
don't realize too, that theprogram in Saskatoon is a U of R
program.
Brad Fraser (20:25):
Yes, it is, yeah.
Doug Durst (20:26):
It's a U of R campus and the students get a U of R
degree, they take their theirelectives and their
prerequisites with U of S. Butthere is a full year U of R
degree. So that's kind ofrealize that and then, of
course, when you're asking aboutchanges too I think that this is
COVID pandemic has changed theway we're going to deliver
(20:47):
classes in the future. I mean,there's going to be blended
classes and hybrid classes, allthat's going to change that
that's that's going thing. Andstudents with independent
learning can do their degree inYorkton, for example.
Yeah, that's the I don't knowwhat that means. I'm not one to
ask because I'm, I'm a dinosaurfrom another.
Brad Fraser (21:10):
Well, I often wonder if that's going to help
bridge the divide that we'veseen between urban and rural
social work and the need forsocial workers to work in
different communities, if theeducation can more easily reach
people where they are, perhaps,allowing them to stay in their
communities longer for part oftheir degree, or maybe even all
of it someday, that may helpthem.
Doug Durst (21:32):
That may, it may, and also, I think it'll make,
not just the rural but also, youknow, students that have
families and commitments andother responsibilities that
don't have the flexibility ofcoming into the city to study or
coming into the classroom. Youknow,
(21:52):
one of my classes I was talkingabout online students in the
students from I'll say Melville,because of confidentiality, but
you know, central Melville wasgreat I can I can do here, I can
be here, I can take your class,Doug, and break time, I can put
a load of laundry and can checkon the kids. And, you know, and
(22:15):
I thought about that, and Ithought, well, under normal
circumstances, you know, hewould have to drive in from
Melville, and have to park hiscar, he has to pay for parking,
he has to pay for gas, he picksup a coffee and a doughnut, and
how much is the coffee and donutnow? I mean, it's like six bucks
or something like that. And soit picks up the coffee and
doughnut and comes to class. Andso if you think of the $6 for a
(22:38):
coffee and doughnut, and you'vegot 12 classes over the term,
13. So let's, you know, sixtimes 12, seven, he's planning
to spend $70 to $75 on coffeeand donuts alone, you know,
that's, you know, if you're ayoung family that that's, that's
a bit of a pinch, and then hehas to drive back and spend an
hour an hour and a half orwhatever it is. You know, so
(23:00):
that makes accessibility andaffordability attractive for a
lot of students. So, yeah.
Brad Fraser (23:07):
Well, I think for many of us students, that for
many of us that actually startedthe program, during the
pandemic, it's been a veryinteresting start to beyond
zoom, and then to come on campusfor some things. Because for
many of us, we haven't known anydifferent. So I think that
example, you just gave up theseincreased costs, this increased
(23:28):
time this, this stretching thathappens within families, or
whatever your commitments are,what excites me about
technology, and for example,this podcast is the opportunity
that, perhaps while he's puttinga load of laundry, and he can
listen to this podcast, and Ithink that's the hope we have
within, at least as students forthis podcast is that we can have
(23:50):
this conversation and dialoguewith you, but so many people are
never going to be able to sitdown and have a chat with you.
Right, because of physicalspace. So what can we do to look
further and use technology to dothat. When you talked earlier
about healthier communities,and when you look at Regina, has
Regina changed much in the last30 years from your perspective?
Doug Durst (24:11):
Oh, yeah, I think that it's expanded population,
but it's expanded remarkably, indiversity, you know, and all
elements of the city and all,you know, diversity, and campus,
is really, I remember, there wasalmost nothing for international
students. I got involved withinternational students, and we
(24:32):
were holding some events, andjust about all the international
international students were fromChina. You know, well, now the
diversity, particularly fromIndia and the Middle East and
other parts of central SouthAmerica. It's just remarkable
change. And I think that'sreally healthy.
You know, there are many moreservices for international
(24:53):
students and then that's spilledout into the community. You
know, and you travel around indifferent areas and my wife and
I have done quite a bit of workwith refugees supporting
refugees and that sort of thing.
And so the diversity among thepopulation and neighborhoods
where they live around theGolden Mile, for example, drive
around the Golden Mile. And youjust see that that's definitely
yeah, many more newcomers aremigrants, I think that's a
(25:17):
healthy perspective for thecommunity.
Brad Fraser (25:20):
For sure it you talked about this diversity that
you're seeing reflected oncampus, would you say that
social policy and research isperhaps adapted at the same
speed of the diverse populationsthat are joining us here in
Saskatchewan?
Doug Durst (25:39):
The the province, I'm not sure about the social
policy in the province in termsof responding to the diversity,
I think that the government thatwe have now is pretty much
focused on rural or rural whitepopulation. That's where they're
trying to get their base. Sosocial policy has not been that.
(26:05):
I think that the populationshift, Manitoba and speaking
about social policy Manitoba,years ago, decades ago, really
developed a provincial nomineeprogram and wanted diversity.
And so Saskatchewan's been waybehind them, compared to other
provinces, and it's sort ofwaking up in the last five or so
years, for Provincial Nominee,but they are still incredibly
(26:28):
slow. And of course, they blamethe Feds. But that would be that
would be my thinking on that. Ithink, in my classrooms among
students, I've seen population,much more diverse population.
Brad Fraser (26:44):
And would you say then that as the students go
into social work, perhaps thatthere is that critical hope that
they can start to influence thatpolicy to be more progressive.
Doug Durst (26:56):
The, the Regina Open Door has been one of the kind of
the main kind of servicedelivery, it delivers to
newcomers. And they've done aremarkable job and expanded a
lot. Again, as was provincial.
So the provincial government haskind of is sort of funding
support for diversity throughagencies like Regina Open Door
(27:18):
rather than themselves. Maybe Idon't I'm not sure about. It's
another kind of question.
Brad Fraser (27:26):
You know, Doug, is there something that you would
say to students in terms of, youknow, why social work? Because
for many students, they're inthe program already. But for
some of them, they're checkingout social work, they're in pre
social work there. They haven'tdecided yet, if they're going to
apply for their BSW, what wouldyou say to those students that
are considering social work?
Doug Durst (27:47):
Well, I, the neat thing about social work is that
is a huge kind of diversitywithin what we call social work,
you know, and I think it's acase of finding your place and
not being you know, when we getthe applications, we review the
applications to come into theprogram, and there's sort of
(28:10):
like they, what they want tosort of work with children, that
sort of thing is often kind of,but there's many other areas of
social work that you can gointo, that are branches out of
social work, that you find yourway if you don't like working,
and I used my wife as anexample. And see, she worked in
long term care as a socialworker, and she had a nursing
(28:31):
background and she loved it.
And, and people would say toher, so well, you know, you're
dealing with death, you'redealing with dying, you're
dealing with loss, you know,people are getting older and and
she just she just had thepersonality to handle that she
could never understand howpeople could work with young
people and work at Rancho Ehrlo,you know, and so she did, that
kind of tension was not what shelikes. So, there's, if you don't
(28:54):
like one area, there's someeither and I often encourage
students, I say, there's twothings out there, there's one
thing that try somethingdifferent in your practicum. Try
something that is new to you, ifyou've never worked with elderly
or people with disabilities werethat populations to see whether
you like it, and you'll find aplace that social work. It's
just more of a case of findingyour place and your space and
(29:15):
what you like to do. I thinkthat's the other thing I
encourage students to do. Andunfortunately, by the time we
get to my classes, they'vealready near the end of their
program, so it's restrictive,but for those first year
students take take a course inmusic or take a course if
they're interested in music oror joining, we have an excellent
(29:35):
choir here and we have a newchoir director and she has a
community, kind of UniversityChoir. And I know some of his
students, you know, they sangtheir church when you know so do
that and take advantage of thosethings. And some of these you
can get credit for. You can takea course in curling and you get
1/3 of a credit. Do it, use it.
(29:57):
Yeah. And then I remember when Iwas a student and I took a
course in astronomy, astronomyfor non science students. And
you know, I used it when I'm ona canoe trip with kids, I could
look at stars and say, you know,how densify some of the
constellations and, and so, youknow, you'd be surprised. If
you've got strength and music,you can use that, you know, in
(30:18):
your social work practice. Andso, yeah,
Brad Fraser (30:21):
That sense of self, I think that social workers are
able to bring, thinking,speaking to maybe the uniqueness
that each social workerultimately is we have this core
value and ethic that we agree toas professionals, but yet within
that, is these, immenselydiverse and unique people?
Doug Durst (30:38):
Sure. And there's a place for it. Yeah. And, you
know, it's a great profession.
And I also encourage guys toobecause when, you know, there's
good opportunities for men andsocial work, and sometimes I
think it's sort of a woman'sprofessional one, with great
opportunities as well. So, youknow, we need we need men to
work with boys and things likethat. There's lots of work to
do. And yeah, so get out there,get into the program. And as I
(31:02):
say, kick ass and do your stuff.
Make change, and make changehappen.
Brad Fraser (31:11):
Awesome. Was there anything else you'd like to
leave us with, Doug?
Doug Durst (31:14):
But no, I think that's just about it. And thanks
for the the honor of making thispodcast and I hope people find
it interesting,
Brad Fraser (31:21):
Oh, I'm sure we will. Thanks.
Right on.
This podcast has been brought toyou by the Faculty of Social
Work at the University ofRegina, the U of R is currently
accepting applicants untilJanuary 15 2023 for their
Bachelor of Social Work Programfor the 2023 academic year. Go
to www.uregina.ca/socialwork.
Forward slash social work toapply today.
(31:48):
The views, information andopinions expressed in this
podcast do not necessarilyrepresent the views of our
sponsors.
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