ROLE OF SOCIAL WORKER IN HOSPITAL SETTING

Presented By: Akbar Ali

INTRODUCTION:The important areas of Medical Social Worker (MSW):

Hospitals

Drug Rehabilitation Centers

Community Health Agencies

Nursing Homes

Mental Health Facilitation

Most importantly a MSW works to assure that the best interests of the patients are being met.

ROLE OF MEDICAL SOCIAL WORKER:

SOCIAL COUNCELLING

CARE PLANNING

FINANCIAL ASSISTANT

ASSESSMENT

ADVOCACY

LEGAL ASSISTANT

COUNSELING:

MSWs advise &

counsel patients &

their families Related

their social issues .

CONT…..The MSWs advise them how to

effectively social deal with symptoms

and treatment.

MSWs also serves as a grief counselor

to help patients and families deal with

the trauma of experiencing a chronic

or acute illness

CARE PLANNING:

Families and

patients often do

not know where

to turn to get

medical care.

CONT….MSWs assists patients and families

in finding and arranging services

such as in home care, nursing

home care and counseling.

MSWs work with medical team &

discuss about care planning of

patients.

Financial Assistance:

As the expense for an

acute & chronic

illness is very high,

families may not be

able to financially

provide for the care of

an ill family member.

Cont.…

If the ill person is a parent, financial support

for the care of dependents must also be

dealt with.

MSWs refer and assist patients in obtaining

financial assistance, food assistance and

health care coverage through city, state and

federal programs.

ASSESMENTS:MSWs assess a patient is severely

mentally ill, is a drug addict or is a

victim of abuse with the requirement

of Doctors or Nurses.

The experienced opinion of a

medical social worker is highly

regarded by hospital staff.

CONT….

MSWs evaluates the patient and

reports back to the hospital staff.

Together, hospital staff and the

medical social worker collaborate to

find the best approach to helping

mentally ill, mentally incompetent,

drug-addicted or abused patients.

Advocacy:

MSW Serves as a patient advocate.

Acts as an intermediary between

patients and the medical community.

They are the voice for people who have

communication barriers or cultural

differences that make effective

communication challenging.

CONT….

Without the MSW, these types of

patients often fall between the cracks

their health and emotional needs

unknown.

Legal Assistance: MSWs must take legal action to protect the

patient.

MSWs should take legal actions in the followingsituations:

• Parents are unable to take care for their sickchild.

• Accident cases.

• Abuse cases.

• In these cases a conservator, a power ofattorney or a public guardian may need to beappointed.

Emotional components

MSWs DEALING WITH EMOTIONAL AND

SOCIAL COMPONENTS OF ILLNESS

BOTH IN RURAL AND URBAN SETTINGS.

Cont.…..

Stress

Anxiety.

Depression.

Abuse.

Confusion and memory problems.

Self devaluation.

SOCIAL COMPONENTS

Social isolation

Break in social relationship

Loss of family and social support.

Inability to perform social roles.

Financial problems

Cont.…..Avail good support from the family

friends relatives and society.

Save the patient and his families from

surrendering control of the future.

MSWs perform their roles perfectly to

manage the social and emotional

consequences of the illness.

Cont.…..

MSWs apply the needed methods of social

work and different therapies to deal with the

socio-emotional aspects of illness both in

rural and in urban settings.

Mobilize community resources of the

patients.