Category: social work


  • Social factors such as socioeconomic status, educational attainment, social interactions and support, and health literacy independently influence the development and progression of illness and health outcomes. Other social determinants of health or illness are race, ethnicity, occupation, geographic location, and religion. These factors influence health through direct psychobiological processes or lifestyle modifications (Martikainen, Bartley, &…

  • Week 4 Discussion Patient–Provider Communications Post by Day 4 a description of the importance of patient–provider communication. Be sure to address the relationship between patient– provider communications and illness outcomes. Identify a minimum of three factors that might lead to poor patient–provider communications. Provide your rationale. Explain the ways patient– provider communications might be improved.…

  • Throughout the MSW curriculum, you have learned how to conduct biopsychosocial assessments. In this Week’s Assignment, you apply what you learned to a medical context where you share assessment and intervention with an interdisciplinary team. As the medical social worker charged with a client’s care, you consider the nature and progression of their illness and…

  • Discussion 1: Health Care Setting and Medical Social Work Medical social work has expanded far beyond the walls of hospitals. Medical social work is now practiced in myriad settings, including inpatient hospital units, hospital-based outpatient clinics, community-based medical clinics, mobile medical facilities, public health organizations, nursing homes, and hospice facilities. The types of treatment and…

  • Post an explanation of how you as a medical social worker would handle the case you selected. Explain the services you might offer to the family within the applicable laws and your scope of practice. Explain the methods and practices you might employ to educate this family regarding the legal issues surrounding the case. Then,…

  • Description post a description of the cultural factors that you might consider in providing service to the individual and family described in the case. Explain the course of action a medical social worker should take to address the cultural issues illustrated in the case. Be sure to support your statement by referring to the National…

  • Medical Social Work Scope of Practice As mentioned previously, medical social work is a distinct field of practice within the social work profession. It encapsulates the values, ethics, principles, practice skills, and the person-in-environment perspective that are the cornerstone of the medical social work profession. Medical social workers tend to specialize in specific disciplines (e.g.,…

  • Assignment: Medical Social Work in an Interdisciplinary Health Care Team “A team is a group with a specific task or tasks, the accomplishment of which requires the interdependent and collaborative efforts of its members” (Wise, Beckhard, Rubin, & Kyte, 1974, p. 73). Grumbach and Bodenheimer (2004, p. 1249) identified five key elements of team building…

  • Description Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.   Respond to at least two different colleagues’ postings in one or more of the following ways:   Analyze your colleague’s post about the two models in relation to the medical social work profession. Expand on your colleague’s post about the medical model and the biopsychosocial model…

  • Description Medical social workers assume various distinct roles in their practice. These roles range from educator and advocate to counselor, liaison, and mediator. The generalist intervention model (GIM) informs medical social work practice, with these roles reaching across each stage of the model. Medical social workers view patients and their problems in context, combine practice…