Being in a hospital equals increased stress. You remain tensed about the situation you’re in, and it’s a constant battle of frustration. That is where a social worker comes in and helps out the people in need. Where doctors and nurses handle more crucial situations when it comes to the patient suffering, a social worker helps to console and provide emotional support to the patient’s family. Social workers also educate and guide the family members about hospital finances.
A social worker is quite efficient at their job, and that’s because they are trained well to handle critical situations. However, consoling the patient’s family is not the only thing that a social worker can do well. A social work degree can open lots of other doors for you as well. During the academic journey, the degree emphasizes carrying out extensive research. That improves their ability to perform well in research-oriented tasks. Similarly, during their training to provide empathy to people in need, they develop effective communication skills.
Now, if we talk about practical solutions to the problems, social workers also gain experience in improving their critical thinking. This skill helps deal with more complicated cases. So, if you ever wonder about what can you do with a social work degree besides social work, you can make use of the other skills that you develop in your academic journey according to relevant fields.
However, if you want to know how you can contribute to the healthcare field with a social work degree, keep reading to find out.
1.Running Campaigns
Among the many other responsibilities, some social workers run public outreach campaigns. Through such campaigns, they spread awareness and advocate for patient’s rights. They also talk about public health in general. Social workers try to educate people about being a helping hand in somebody’s struggle. They teach the importance of factors like organ donation, financial aid, and other kinds of support to offer to the patients.
2.Providing Emotional Support
A social worker automatically becomes responsible for providing emotional support to the families suffering because of their exceptional training and expertise. Many people find it hard to overcome the stress and end up deteriorating their mental health. Social workers help those people out by being empathetic towards them. They offer healthy solutions to the patients to help them cope up with their struggles.
3.Assisting the Patients
A social worker’s responsibility is not limited to providing support to the patient’s family members. The patient also requires their services. When a patient is in any psychological need, it becomes the duty of a social worker to be there for them. They can discuss the problems to make the suffering person feel better. Social workers can also access the medical records of the patient. It helps them to understand the patient’s situations better and provide solutions accordingly.
4.Offering Financial Assistance
The patient and their families already undergo a lot of stress because of the injury or illness. On top of that, when the families have to pay the finances required, it becomes another source of stress for them. To help the families carry out their financial needs for paying the hospital bills, social workers assist them with financial plans that the families can consider to ease their problems.
5.Supporting the Patient’s Rights
Social workers also speak up for the patients’ rights. They work with the medical staff and keep a close eye on whether the patients are respected rightfully. They emphasize the patients receiving due treatment properly throughout their stay at the hospital. They try their best to assist the authorities so that all the patient’s needs are met rightfully.
6.Managing Patient’s Discharges
There are many social workers whose work doesn’t end when the patient is treated and discharged. They remain connected with the families to help them out with finding resources. It may include finding rehab facilities for the patients, managing patients’ follow-ups, or even providing in-home care solutions.
7.Group Counselling
While providing emotional support by discussing and offering solutions to the patients, social workers also arrange group counseling sessions. There are times when the families are in denial of the diagnosis or need help with medical treatments. That’s where social workers help them out by organizing counseling groups and helping them understand the situation better.
8.Managing Case Paperwork
Every patient comes with paperwork, and it’s usually the social workers that handle them. The paperwork may include the patient’s records, their progress throughout the treatment, or even their insurance documents. Keeping an eye on these documents ensures that the treatment is going well.
Conclusion
Social workers in the healthcare department offer multiple skills to assist the patient by all means necessary. Their academic journey trains them well enough to handle critical situations, and they do so with professionalism and develop a helpful understanding of the patients.