Ch. 4- Social Work in Hospitals

This chapter taught me a lot about social workers abilities and how they may or may not be hindered by the government or hospitals. I didn’t realize that social workers face so many difficulties from many sides of the spectrum and are constantly in a battle whether it is morally, ethically, or emotionally. I really opened my eyes to the fact that social workers have so much to do in the hospital with their patients but they have to focus a lot of their attention on which they are answering to. I feel bad for some of the patients that need social workers attention the most because there are so many other things going on. How would you like to really need to lean on a social worker but their mind was elsewhere because of budget cuts or some thing else?  Being a social worker takes so much dedication and that should be their main focus.

I now understand why social workers had to form their own organization in order to grown and learn. They have this constant battle to fight between right and wrong, cultural differences, sexuality, etc. in their own career and really don’t need any more stress from which they work for (Cowles, 2003, p. 147). It really surprised me to see that so many hospitals and care facilities depend on these workers but they take them for granted or push their salaries to the side. Social workers are not just helpers; they are the glue that holds patients, families, transplant donors, etc. together when tragedy strikes.

Cowles, L. A. Fort (2003). Social Work in Hospitals. Social work in the health field: a care perspective (2nd ed., pp. 143-185). New York: Haworth Social Work Practice Press.