Medical Social Worker/LCSW - Specialty Programs (CCBDC)

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Provides on-going comprehensive psychosocial assessment and counseling services to chronic disease patients and their families to promote their quality of life.
• Completes mental health evaluations and makes diagnosis and recommendations as appropriate.
• Completes biopsychosocial assessments to determine a patient’s appropriateness for medical interventions.
• Provides casework services including counseling and conferences with patients, families, and support networks; crisis intervention goal-directed counseling; and discharge planning.
• Provides outpatient therapy focused on education, emotional support, self-help, chronic illness, etc.
• Maintains a small outpatient caseload as needed by identification of patient needs.
• Provides mediation between patients, families, and staff.
• Facilitates community agency referrals.
• Collaborates with schools and employers to provide medical accommodations for patients and their family.
• Participates in interdisciplinary care planning and collaboration.
• Completes needs assessments and provides resources/ intervention as appropriate.
• Advocates on patients' behalf within the setting and with appropriate local, state and federal agencies and programs.
• Provides ongoing patient and family education throughout all phases of care.
• Participates in team review of patient status and makes recommendations based on patient's current psychosocial needs.
• Collaborates with other hospitals, and programs related to chronic illness or medical need in order to affirm best practice and maximize support.
• Maintains social work recording and statistics as applicable and participates in QI activities.
• Conducts annual patient satisfaction and quality of life surveys as directed.
• Provides transition to adult care as directed by and with the medical team.
• Provides travel, accommodations, and additional support to families traveling from outside of the area to obtain medical care.
• Engages in community/ hospital activities to promote chronic illness awareness.
• Participates in professional diagnosis specific social work organizations and in other community organizations/activities serving specialty patient population.
• Keeps abreast of research/literature/developments in disease management social work and attends appropriate continuing education institutes and conferences.

Hematology/Oncology Responsibilities

• Adjustment to chronic illness and treatment as they relate to the patient's quality of life.
• Physical, sexual, and emotional relationship problems.
• Educational, vocational, and activity of daily living problems.
• Conflict resolution.
• Problems related to treatment options and setting transfers.
• Resource needs, including finances, living arrangements, and transportation.
• Decision making with regard to advance directives and end of life care.

Additional Responsibilities Within the Hospital

• Precepts and provides orientation support to new staff.
• Supports our intern program as well as taking on supervisee’s and residents once certified as a LCSW supervisor.
• Provides coverage to specialty medical clinic, inpatient, and crisis needs as per Hematology/Oncology Director.
• Completes billable mental health assessment, follow up, and ongoing care.
• Functions in an on-call capacity as needed for the Hematology/Oncology Division.