What are the responsibilities and job description for the Master Social Worker position at Fresenius?
About this role:
You will work as a Social Worker with Fresenius Medical Care, providing psychosocial services for our dialysis clinic patients. You will collaborate with the health care team to promote positive adjustment, rehabilitation, and improved quality of life for our patients.
How you grow or advance in your career: We offer opportunities for advancement through a social work specific career ladder ranging from pre-licensed (in states where permitted), to three potential levels of facility social work, as well as a leadership path from Social Worker to Manager, Senior Manager and Senior Director.
Our culture: We value and support our employees, offering tuition reimbursement, scholarships, disaster relief, and financial support during personal hardship.
Our focus on diversity: We have built a nurturing environment that welcomes every age, race, gender, sexual orientation, background, and cultural tradition. Our diverse workforce encourages opportunity, equity, and inclusion for all.
We make a difference in the lives of people living with kidney disease at Fresenius Medical Care. If you want to be a vital part of the future of healthcare, apply today.
Principal Duties and Responsibilities
- You will assess patients' psychosocial status, strengths, and areas of need that may affect rehabilitation and optimal treatment outcomes as part of the comprehensive patient assessment.
- Collaborate with patients and the healthcare team to identify effective interventions that will help meet rehabilitation, treatment goals, and improve quality of life.
- Utilize patient education programs, established social work theory and methods, social work focused interventions, and quality of life measurement instruments to address barriers and meet patient treatment goals.
- Provide monitoring and interventions for patients to adjust to dialysis and achieve optimal psychosocial status and quality of life.
- Assess patient knowledge of kidney disease for barriers that may affect adherence to treatment.
- Provide supportive counseling services to patients as permitted within the scope of their clinical training and state license.
- Provide information and assist the team and patient with referrals to community resources (home health services, vocational rehabilitation, etc.) to facilitate optimal treatment outcomes.
- Maintain current knowledge regarding local vocational/educational rehabilitation programs and assist patients with referral and access to vocational rehabilitation to enable them to remain employed, become employed or receive education.
- Assess patient awareness of advance directives; assist with accessing advance directive forms/information and facilitate discussion of advance directive wishes, if necessary, with the healthcare team and the patient's family/support persons.
- Participate in the discussion of patient DNR status in the facility to ensure patient and/or family understand and make an informed decision about their care.
- Report on quality indicators related to adherence, such as missed and shortened treatments, quality of life trends, and service recovery.
- Work with patient, family, and healthcare team to provide education tailored to the patient's learning style, communication barriers, and needs.
- Provide educational and goal-directed counseling to patients who are seeking transplant.
- Facilitate the transplant referral process and collaborate with interdisciplinary team on transplant waitlist management.
- Provide ongoing education to patient/family regarding psychosocial issues related to end stage renal disease (ESRD) and all support services that are available.
- Review patient rights and responsibilities, grievance information (company and network) and other facilities policies with patient and/or the patients' representative to ensure patients' understanding of the rights and expectations of them.
- Provide training to clinic staff pertaining to psychosocial topics as needed.
Education and Required Credentials
- Masters in Social Work
- Must have state required license
Experience and Skills
- 0 – 2 years' related experience
Physical Demands and Working Conditions
- The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Travel required (if multiple facilities or home visits, if applicable)
