The Importance of Social Workers in a Hospital

Posted by Keith Morris on January 12th, 2021

We generally underestimate the importance of social workers in the healthcare sector. But, we can’t deny the fact that they are skilled professionals who can help and convey knowledge to healthcare workers to improve their facilities and assist patients in recovering soon. Patients suffering from chronic diseases face difficulties in managing and adjusting in society while recovering from the illness. 

So, the prime aim of social workers is to assist patients and keep negativity away from them so they can gel-up in society and live happily.  There are different types of social workers specialised within a hospital, some of them are -  pediatrics, nephrology, oncology, emergency, trauma, transplant, etc. Along with performing the clinical roles, healthcare social workers are also employed in the leadership roles in the hospital. They can work as an administrator, or manager, in a specific domain of the healthcare sector. Other crucial roles and responsibilities of a social worker in a hospital are discussed below by nursing assignment help experts.

Roles and Responsibilities of Social Workers in the Healthcare Sector

Social workers employed in a hospital helps the patient and their family members to understand the disease and assist them throughout the diagnosis and treatment process. They give them counselling related to the decisions that they should make for quick recovery or if they are stuck in between the life and death situation. These workers work with the internal teams of healthcare professionals and help them in understanding the emotional and social aspects of the patient's health issues. Some of the major functions of healthcare social workers are as follows.

• They provide a comprehensive psychological assessment to patients.

• They offer initial evaluation and screening of patients and their family members.

• Healthcare social worker its decision making on behalf of the patient and his or her family members.

• They assist patients and their families to establish an easy communication relationship between them and the healthcare workers so that the interpretation of information can be done easily.

• They educate patients on different levels of healthcare, advance directives, community resources, etc.

• Social workers in the hospital educate healthcare staff about the psychological condition of the patient.

• They also promote collaboration in communication among the team members of healthcare workers.

• Social workers remote patient navigation services.

• They also assist and coordinate in the discharge process and continuity of caring plan of the patient.

• Social workers in the hospital help the patients and their families to understand the disease and the treatment options. Also, the information about the constituencies of treatments and the failure of treatments.

Along with the above-noted pointers, there are numerous other reasons that enhance the importance of social workers in the healthcare industry. Scholars learning in the realm of healthcare and social work need to understand various other roles and responsibilities of both social and healthcare workers. For learning more about different topics incorporated in the subject, learners get in touch with nursing assignment help experts for assistance.