Return to Main Menu

March is Social Work Month Workers help patients to develop balance by Steve Hunt, Mary Lou Shoemaker and Jessica Rogers Institute of Psychiatry Social Workers The Institute of Psychiatry inpatient service includes four floors with five units providing services for general adult, youth, chemically dependent, geriatric and adult intensive care. Each unit has one or more treatment teams comprised of a full-time attending psychiatrist and clinical social worker, nursing staff and other trainees who rotate through on a monthly basis. A key component of the treatment team is the role of the social worker, who through support, education, advocacy and linkage to resources, can assist patients in developing and sustaining a greater equilibrium in their lives.   Social workers begin with morning rounds. The multidisciplinary team deals with all aspects of each patient’s care and treatment goals. Responses are reviewed and updated. Discharge plans and disposition issues are also discussed during this time. It is in this forum that we contribute to the treatment team’s understanding of all the dimensions of an individual’s life and its impact on re-establishing the balance.      Recognizing that our patients are here for a brief period, we quickly and thoroughly ascertain the circumstances of their lives that both maintain and disrupt their ability to function well outside of the hospital. This information comes from a variety of sources such as family members, other professionals, social agencies and the patients themselves. Compassionate understanding is imperative as our collaborative communication allows us to formulate appropriate interventions and assist the treatment team in their decision making process.      On each unit, the treatment teams are often challenged by a wide spectrum of patients exhibiting a broad continuum of issues and skills. Some patients may need a great deal of assistance such as securing safe, affordable housing or residential care, while other patients may have a strong support system intact. A knowledge base of community resources is necessary for us to orchestrate interventions in a way that will maximize a patient’s ability to continue to develop skills and maintain a healthy lifestyle after being discharged from our care.      Family meetings or conferences may be held where diagnostic information is discussed, history clarified and discharge plans finalized. Much effort is involved in locating and creatively securing sometimes scarce resources. Family therapy is directed at creating greater understanding and/or better interaction between family members, education regarding diagnosis, behavior management, resource utilization, developing realistic expectations for the immediate future, as well as support for the individual family’s emotional response to the information being shared. This work guides our role in expediting reunions between patients with their families and/or support systems.      Other activities that The Institute of Psychiatry social workers engage in include precepting small groups of first-year medical students, committee meetings and presentations to community and professional organizations. Due to our diverse roles as social workers, one day can be vastly different from the next. Each day can be a unique learning experience that affords professional growth, challenge and a rewarding opportunity to impact people’s lives. Editor's note: To honor MUSC social worker accomplishments and bring to light the issues faced by social workers every day, MUSC is celebrating National Social Work Month with a series of articles during March. Each week this month, The Catalyst will spotlight an MUSC social worker with “A Day in the Life of ……,” giving readers a glimpse into a typical medical social worker’s day.   Friday, March 24, 2006 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island papers at 849-1778, ext. 201.