About 60 University of South Florida BSW and MSW students were part of the 900 social work students statewide who participated in the National Association of Social Workers - Florida Chapter 2016 Legislative Education and Advocacy Day in Tallahassee. Most of the students rode together on a school-sponsored bus to the State Capitol, along with BSW Program Chair Lori Rogovin, and stayed overnight in a Tallahassee motel. Others carpooled and met the group for the first day's advocacy training session and the second day's rally and legislative visits. The officers of the Social Work Society provided leadership for the event including providing newly designed T-shirts for participants, arranging for group meals, and helping Professor Rogovin with answering questions and providing advocacy training.

The State Capitol educational activity provides a unique opportunity for social work students to apply macro practice skills learned in the classroom to the real life macro environment of the state legislature and executive branch of government. By learning from policy experts about state legislative and budget issues that affect social workers and the clients they serve, and having an opportunity to educate elected officials about these issues, students gain confidence and competence in using these vital social work skills. Students met with a variety of senators, representatives and legislative assistants about child welfare, juvenile justice, mental health, and veteran's bills, and also attended committee meetings and watched deliberations on bills from the galleries of the State Senate and House. Many students had the opportunity to sit in on oral arguments before the Florida Supreme Court regarding the legality of death penalty sentences in the state. In fact, a front page article in the Tampa Bay Times on February 3rd explained one of the cases the students were able to observe. One USF student testified on a bill in one of the committees and another student was able to participate in key meetings with legislators regarding a veteran's program funding issue.

The USF Doctor of Audiology program will hold Grand Rounds this Friday, February 12, at 10:30AM in PCD 1147. Daniel L. Wohl, MD, of Pediatric Otolaryngology Associates will make a presentation entitled: "Positive Benefit from Integrating an Auditory Processing Assessment Program in a Private Practice Setting". The formal presentation will be followed by an open Q&A forum with some interesting cases to prompt dialogue and discussion. Everyone is welcome to attend.

George Rebok, PhD, will present "Do Cognitive Workouts Work for Older Adults" on Friday, February 26, 2016 at 10:30 am in the College of Public Health Auditorium 1023-A. Dr. George Rebok is a Professor in the Department of Mental Health in the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University and holds joint faculty appointments in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and in the Center on Aging and Health, Center for Innovative Care in Aging, and Center for Injury Research and Policy. He has over 35 years of experience in life-course developmental research, prevention science, and cognitive aging. Dr. Rebok has served as PI of the NIA/NINR-funded ACTIVE trial and the NIA-funded Baltimore Experience Corps® trial. He is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, American Psychological Association, Association for Psychological Science, and the American Institutes for Research.

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3. Nedjat-Haiem, F. R., Carrion, I. V., Gonzalez, K., Ell, K. & O'Connell, M. (2016). Exploring healthcare providers' views about initiating end of life care communication. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.