Medical Social Work

Medical Social Work

Medical social work is one of the many branches of social work, also known as hospital social work. Medical social workers work hand in hand with patients and their families in need of medical care and psychological assistance. Some of the main questions that medical social workers seek to address are who and when to intervene in connecting patients to necessary resources (Moses, 2017). According to Smalley (2018), medical social workers help patients by offering supportive counseling, preventive measures care, psychotherapy, and expanding their network of public support. All in all, the role of a hospital social worker is to reinstate balance in a patient’s personal and social life for the sole purpose of assisting him or her recovers fully, thus being able to adapt back into society. Whereas physical stress and pressure may result in adverse psychological effects on a patient, a lot of stereotypes surround the medical social work.

Medical social work is portrayed differently in each of the videos. In the first video, hospital social work is described as a worthless profession that we should neither show much of our concern nor respect the opinions of social workers. Also, in the other videos, views of social workers should be respected and allowed to air their opinions in the care planning of patients. Furthermore, I have been working as a social worker at a children’s hospital. Some of the stereotypes I have faced are social workers’ discrimination and misjudgment by society. In most scenarios, people will call you bad names such as “baby snatcher” because they think that my work is to take kids to the child protective services. However, what strikes me in the video about the daily life of a hospital social worker is the ongoing debate and struggle in decision making of whether or not to put the child into protective custody (Smalley, 2018). A quick and rational decision should be made quickly regarding this matter. In conclusion, society at large should stop the misconception of the various roles of medical social workers.

References

Moses, M. (2017). Social work dimensions in shaping medical care philosophy and practice. (1^st edition).163-187.

Smalley, R. (2018). Medical social work: A study of current aims and methods in medical social casework.