The term social work its self is a broad concept, but according to Kirst-Ashman, “social work is the professional activity of helping individuals, groups, or communities enhance or restore their capacity for social functioning and creating societal conditions favorable to this goal,” (Kirst-Ashman, 2003, p. 6). In order to help a range of individuals or communities, there is a need for different types of social work specializations. For example there are community social workers that help with social change and hospice social workers that help people who are terminally ill. The specialization being focused in this paper is health social work also known as medical social work and companied with its employment rates, primary responsibilities,
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A medical social worker does not only work in a hospital setting, but can be assigned to rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, hospices, and home health agencies (Kirst-Ashman, 2004, p. 371). According to Bernhagen, “by connecting patients to resources and helping them make important medical decisions, this type of social worker proves invaluable on the medical scene.”
After the interview and research conducted, it was proven that Medical Social Workers need to follow the core values of the Social Work profession. The most common one is to provide their service to the patients in need of it as well as respecting and valuing the worth of the person. Since Medical Social Workers will be providing information to the patients, it is important for them to have integrity and acknowledge when a mistake was made and fix it, because it could potentially put someone at risk.
I learned that being a medical social worker plays a vital part inside and outside hospitals because they have to make sure that everything is properly set up so that the discharged patient feels comfortable. The duties of a social work does not end at the hospital but instead carries on to the patient’s home. This specialization appeals to me because it helps any person disregarding their gender, race, or age get past a difficult time in someone’s
A medical social worker does not only work in a hospital setting, but can be assigned to rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, hospices, and home health agencies (Kirst-Ashman, 2004, p. 371). According to Bernhagen, “by connecting patients to resources and helping them make important medical decisions, this type of social worker proves invaluable on the medical scene.”
After the interview and research conducted, it was proven that Medical Social Workers need to follow the core values of the Social Work profession. The most common one is to provide their service to the patients in need of it as well as respecting and valuing the worth of the person. Since Medical Social Workers will be providing information to the patients, it is important for them to have integrity and acknowledge when a mistake was made and fix it, because it could potentially put someone at risk.
I learned that being a medical social worker plays a vital part inside and outside hospitals because they have to make sure that everything is properly set up so that the discharged patient feels comfortable. The duties of a social work does not end at the hospital but instead carries on to the patient’s home. This specialization appeals to me because it helps any person disregarding their gender, race, or age get past a difficult time in someone’s