To work as a social worker, a degree in social work from a university or college program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. The undergraduate degree is BSW (Bachelor of Social Work); graduate degree is the Master of Social Work (MSW); and the Doctor in Social Work (DSW or PhD). A graduate degree is mandatory to provide therapy. Degree programs consist of classroom study and extensive practical field experience. Undergraduate degrees are helpful for entry-level work, and graduate degree for advanced practice.
A doctorate is useful for doing research or teaching at the university level. Roles and responsibilities in hospitals. In medical settings, hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, mental health facilities, home nursing organizations, public health agencies, AIDS/HIV programs, and school health clinics employ professional social workers. Social workers may work directly with patients, or indirectly in these settings, through program planning, research, developing policy, or serving in administration or supervision capacities.
Duties of the social worker vary with the health care setting. Medical social workers may work in a hospital, hospice, assisted living center, nursing home, physical rehabilitation center, clinic, home health care agency, or drug rehabilitation or mental health center. They may work in the health care institution or perform home visits to work with their clients. They interact with other agencies and travel short distances for meetings with the agency members. Social workers regularly meet workers from other agency or with health care team members to assess client needs and care.
As agents for patients, social workers connect the patients with resources to overcome difficult situations. In case of bereavement or the severity of the condition of a patient, the social workers work with chaplains/counselors to deliver the news about patient’s medical conditions. They also advise family caregivers, counsel patients, and help plan for patients’ needs after discharge by arranging for at-home services, from meals-on-wheels to oxygen equipment. During emergencies the social workers help to connect with families.
Social workers help a child’s family with travel arrangements when the family does not have financial resources. To lessen the sufferings of the families having members with catastrophic illnesses that require expensive treatments and medicines, social workers assist in locating resources and write applications to obtain assistance. Social workers educate family members, patients and hospital staff about the particulars of public assistance. They possess knowledge about the funding sources for patients on public assistance for long hospital stays.
Social workers help to locate rehabilitation centers and nursing homes after leaving the hospital. At times, for the elderly and those who live alone, who are marked to be discharged from hospitals but have difficulty with accommodation, social workers help find suitable places for them to receive care. They advise family caregivers, and design plan for patients’ needs after discharge by arranging for at-home services such as meals-on-wheels to oxygen equipment.
Clients are faced with many problems after an accident, develop a sudden chronic illness, or when diagnosed for life-threatening disease. Social workers assess these problems, highlight their immediate and long-term needs, and locate resources. Social workers coordinate the client assessments and plan appropriate client’s care plan along with other agency workers.
References
National Association of Social Workers (n. d. ). Retrieved November 11, 2006 from http://www. nasw. org