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DQ, 2 peer responses and paper
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SOCW 6204
WEEK4 DQ PEER RESPONSES AND
PAPER
PRIMARY ROLES OF MEDICAL SOCIAL
WORKERS
While medical social workers can assume a variety of roles in their day-to-day work—and
seamlessly transition from one to the next—they have a primary role that is tied to the
particular healthcare setting and their functions within it. For example, in one setting, a
social worker might be more of an educator, teaching a patient about their diagnosis and
its implications for other areas of their life. In another, a social worker might utilize the
broker role most often as they link patients and families to resources.
As you envision the healthcare setting of interest to you, what is the primary role you
see yourself employing? And what type of relationship might that setting allow you to
forge with patients and families? In this Discussion, you explore a healthcare setting and
its associated medical social work role.
RESOURCES
•
Gehlert, S., & Browne, T. (Eds.). (2019). Handbook of health social work (3rd ed.).
Wiley.
o Chapter 2, “Social Work Roles and Healthcare Settings” (pp. 21–37)
•
Cootes, H., Heinsch, M., & Brosnan, C. (2022). ‘Jack of All trades and master of
none’? Exploring social work’s epistemic contribution to team-based health
care.Links to an external site. The British Journal of Social Work, 52(1), 256-273.
https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcaa229
•
Document: Social Work Roles (PDF)
To prepare:
•
•
•
Review the Learning Resources on social work roles and healthcare settings.
Select one of the healthcare settings from the interactive media that is of
interest to you. Use the Social Work Roles document to consider the primary
role of medical social workers in the setting you chose.
In addition to the primary role, consider the type of relationship you would
have with patients, caregivers, and families in this setting.
BY DAY 3
Identify a healthcare setting of interest. Then, select what you see as the primary role of
medical social workers in this setting (e.g., educator, mediator). Explain how this role
directly supports patients, caregivers, and families. Then, analyze the relationship you
expect to have with patients, caregivers, and families in this setting (e.g., single
encounter, short-term, long-term, etc.). Would this type of relationship be fulfilling to
you and aligned with your skill set—why or why not?
BY DAY 6
Respond to at least two colleagues who chose different healthcare settings than you did:
•
•
Respectfully agree or disagree with their assessment of the primary role.
Provide additional analysis of the role’s support for patients, caregivers, and
families.
Use the Learning Resources to support your posts. Make sure to provide APA citations
and a reference list.
MEDICAL SOCIAL WORK SCOPE OF
PRACTICE AND COMPETENCIES
As you saw in this week’s Discussion, the healthcare setting often dictates the role,
functions, and services of a medical social worker. Therefore, scope of practice can vary
greatly depending on the setting. For example, in a hospice center, it is not uncommon
for medical social workers to intervene with family members and support caregivers; in
other settings, practice might involve counseling on financial wellness and securing
access to insurance or educating patients about diabetes or substance use.
For this Assignment, you again engage with a healthcare setting, this time examining the
medical social worker’s scope of practice, responsibilities, and skills and competencies
within that context.
To prepare:
•
•
•
Review the Learning Resources on medical social work competencies and
standards.
Explore the chapters in Part 3 of the textbook to further examine various
healthcare settings and the responsibilities aligned with those settings.
Select one healthcare setting of interest to you. This can be the same one you
identified in this week’s Discussion, or it can be different. Reflect on scope of
practice, common functions and responsibilities, and necessary skills and
competencies associated with the setting.
BY DAY 7
Submit a 2- to 3-page paper in which you:
•
•
•
Briefly state the healthcare setting you find most interesting. Explain the
scope of medical social work practice, including primary responsibilities, within
the setting.
Explain how you might address the needs of patients that are beyond the
scope of practice of your selected setting.
Explain skills and competencies you think would be most beneficial to you as a
medical social worker in this setting and with the associated patient
population.
Use the Learning Resources to support your Assignment. Make sure to provide APA
citations and a reference list.
Mediator
Social
Work
Roles
In healthcare
settings, social
workers inhabit
many different roles
as they engage with
patients, families,
teams, and systems.
Working to resolve conflicts in an
objective manner
Educator
Sharing knowledge with patients,
families, and team members
Broker
Connecting patients and families
with community resources
Analyst
Analyzing and using information
effectively
Advocate
Empowering patients and families in
their rights; pursuing social justice
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