Role of the Medical Social Worker

Medical social workers are employed in hospitals, clinics and other medical settings. This job includes many diverse tasks aimed to improve the quality of life for patients and their families.

Function

• A medical social worker is part of an interdisciplinary treatment team, which can include doctors, nurses, clergy, physical therapists and other health specialists. The social worker helps the patient to understand her course of treatment, guides the patient through the process and engages in discharge planning and patient advocacy. The social worker also gives emotional support and counseling to patients and their families.

Types

• Medical social workers assist patients with a variety of different health-related issues. For instance, in a hospice setting the social worker might help a terminally ill patient make meaning out of her life and prepare for death, while a social worker in an outpatient clinic could help a person in remission from cancer find a local support group.

Benefits

• Social workers are trained to understand how a person interacts with the environment; in a medical setting, this perspective can be invaluable. Medical social workers will advocate for clients rights specifically where religious, cultural and racial differences are concerned.