Examining the challenges faced by social work supervisors in Northwestern British Columbia.

The purpose of this qualitative and exploratory study was to describe the experiences of social workers working in supervisory capacities throughout Northwest British Columbia, with a focus on the challenges they experience working in rural and remote communities. Five participants were involved in this study four female and one male. Individual interviews were used to collect data. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, then reviewed and coded based on emerging themes, using thematic analysis. This study identified four major, over-arching themes and a cluster of sub themes. The major themes were: recruitment and retention challenges, a northern context, budget implications, and areas for further consideration. An extensive literature review supported this research, however, this study revealed an interesting finding that has not been identified in the literature reviews, succession planning in social work. --Leaf II.