Putting the Pieces Together

The School of Social Work

Jennifer Oetman:
Putting the Pieces Together

Like many high school seniors, Jennifer Korb Oetman was undecided about her major in college. This changed when a Walla Walla College recruiter visited Portland Adventist Academy in 1993. Teetering between two options, she chose social work partially because of the one-year master’s degree program offered by WWC. Once Jennifer made her decision, she never looked back. A 1999 MSW graduate, Jennifer is now a medical social worker/life skills specialist at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Walla Walla. All in a day’s work, Oetman might:

• Visit a patient.
• Conduct a biopsychosocial assessment. This brings in all the pieces of the puzzle in one assessment: the community, financial, mental, and social aspects.
• Come up with a plan. What will the plan be when they are admitted? What are the treatment processes? Where are they going when they leave? What facility? What support systems will be in place to help them succeed in the community? The plan, Oetman says, may change over time, but there has to be a starting point.

Oetman cites as her inspiration Susan Smith, an assistant professor of social work. “She not only brought the invaluable experience she learned as a medical social worker in Florida, she brought realism into the classroom,” says Oetman, “That made the difference!”

The Mutual Admiration Society is alive and well, admits Susan Smith. “Jennifer has developed into a wonderful social worker, not only because of what she knows, but because of who she is. She is a kind, compassionate woman. She displays the whole picture of a social worker--someone who has had a good foundation and can apply it,” says Smith.

Back to Contents