Ch.4 Weekly Reflection

  Chapter four described in great detail the background of how hospitals originated, the services they provided, how they quickly spread throughout the United States and the social workers role within the setting. The chapter noted the difference in the services offered by medical and psychiatric hospitals and the roles of social workers in each setting as well as, the split between the medical and psychiatric social workers.  A background of how social workers came to exist within the hospital settings in the early 17 and 18 hundreds was also mentioned and pointed out that social services existed long before existence of the nurse appointed social worker in 1905. Social work duties and involvement with patients and their families have withstood tremendous changes from the 19 hundreds to present day. While changes continue to occur in healthcare, social workers continue to evolve and look for ways to offer resolutions and comfort for patients and their families not only while they are in the hospital, but also when and where they are discharged. Social work values and ethics are also included in the challenges and changes a social worker in the hospital setting must endure and due to agency policies and procedures a social worker must adhere to, sometimes causes ethical dilemmas to arise.The chapter notes some methods and policies to try to best divert and resolve these dilemmas, but even questions the future existing roles of social workers in the hospital setting if they continue to face such hardships that go against the teachings of its profession.
   The topics that the text bring up are serious issues that one must consider before entering the field of medical social work. It is important to know all aspects and how they relate to one another even if you are not choosing a hospital setting to work in in the future. By educating yourself, you can then consider and discuss resolutions that can contribute to you and your colleagues future as a social workers.Something that particularly stood out when one read Chapter four that was both interesting and controversial was that; there are several factors that played an important role in the care and discharge planning that a hospital CHOOSES to give a patient, instead of an individual's right to be treated as a human being who is deserving of medical attention. The social worker in the hospital setting is greatly needed although under appreciated, it is with great hope that others begin to educate themselves,understand and utilize the lasting services that hospital social workers can offer.

References:

Cowles, L. A. F. (2003). Social work in the health field: A care perspective. Routledge.