What are the responsibilities and job description for the Medical Social Worker Associate position at Hospice of Davidson County?
Position Description
Medical Social Worker Associate
Primary Function:
In compliance with Hospice philosophy, goals, and policies, the Medical Social Worker Associate functions as a member of the interdisciplinary Hospice care team; as educator, negotiator, advocate, counselor, and home care monitor. The major focus of the Social Worker is related to medical social work and family counseling which assists patients and families with social and emotional needs and practical problems relevant to advanced illness and death. This position supports and the psychosocial needs of all caseloads by conducting visits, providing resources, and completing other tasking as directed by the primary care teams
Essential Functions:
- Must have a baccalaureate in social work from a program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.
- Maintain current unrestricted North Carolina driver’s license and maintain minimum automobile liability insurance for the duration of employment.
- Conducts psychosocial visits at the request of the primary care team Social Worker, in consultation with Social Work Mentor and Director of Support Services
- Must be physically capable of providing patient care in a patient’s home and various institutional settings to include supporting, moving, and lifting adult patients, and lifting equipment and supplies.
- Must be available for night and weekend duty when appropriate.
- Must be able to interact with patients, family members, visitors, co-workers, and medical staff under a variety of circumstances.
- Regular, reliable attendance is essential.
Supervision:
Director of Support Services
Qualifications:
- A baccalaureate in social work from a program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.
- Experience in medical social work and counseling.
- Ability to work with the team concept of patient/family care and to react to crisis situations independently.
- Ability to work interdependently.
- Knowledge of community resources.
- Ability to work with community agencies and ancillary health services.
- Ability to communicate clearly in writing and speaking.
Duties:
The Medical Social Worker Associate provides medical social services and counseling to patients and families, acts as liaison with other community resources and assists staff and other team members in under-standing significant social and emotional factors affecting a patient and family during illness and grief.
The following are the specific responsibilities of the Medical Social Worker Associate :
Family Units
- Interprets to the care team the family units’ needs and problems as these change over time.
- Participates with team in developing and implementing initial and continuing care plans.
- Ensures that patient/family care plan is reviewed at weekly team conference.
- Assists family units in coping with personal and environmental difficulties which impinge on care related to dying, death, and grief.
- Acts as referral agent to community resources required to assist with concerns, needs and problems.
- Advises and assists family units in third party reimbursement mechanisms.
- Serves as advocate between families and community.
- Records family unit’s data in Hospice records and assists/ instructs volunteers in recording.
- Aware of basic pain management including use of pain rating scales. Recognizes and communicates with the Hospice nurse the need for intervention regarding pain when indicated.
Staff
- Makes a minimum of three to four home visits daily to assist patients and families with social and emotional needs relating to terminal illness and death.
- Participates in staff and volunteer mutual support system.
- Shares psychosocial aspects of Hospice care with care team and primary social worker.
- Participates in volunteer training.
- Participates in ongoing evaluation of Hospice program and services.
- Assists with coordination of patient/family volunteer program.
- Documents services and expenditures for reimbursement purposes.
- Acknowledges importance of team awareness.
- Addresses patients, co-workers, and other healthcare professionals in a pleasant and respectful manner.
- Demonstrates the ability to remain friendly and cooperative during all work conditions.
- Conveys instructions, directions, and information to co- workers.
- Consults with immediate supervisor as issues and concerns arise while maintaining consistent and concise lines of authority.
- Attends required inservices on an annual basis:
- Risk Management
- Bloodborne Pathogens/TB
- Body Mechanics
- Fire Safety
- General Safety/Hazardous Materials
- Patient/Staff Relations
- Maintains a safe and clean work area to promote work place safety.
- Completes Employee Activity Log daily.
- Follows all policies and procedures.
- Maintains confidentiality of Protected Health Information (PHI) at all times.
Physical Demands:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, sit, use hand to finger, handle or feel objects, tools or controls; and reach with hands and arms, to talk or hear.
The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, climb, or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl and smell. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 30 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close, distance, color, peripheral and depth perception and the ability to adjust focus.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, sit, use hand to finger, handle or feel objects, tools or controls; and reach with hands and arms, to talk or hear.
The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, climb, or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl and smell. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 30 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close, distance, color, peripheral and depth perception and the ability to adjust focus.
The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
STATUS AND HOURS OF WORK
This position is classified as Non-exempt and is part time . Regularly scheduled 24 hours per week.