Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) - Outpatient Palliative Care

The role provides clinical services to patients/families that address psychosocial, environment, age specific and cultural issues to maximize emotional, social, and physical well-being and the effective use of healthcare and community resources; conducts bio-psychosocial assessments, provides intervention and treatment as indicated.

Relevant activities include, but are not limited to the following:

• Develop comprehensive bio-psychosocial assessments responsive to age appropriate and cultural needs and concerns, specific to patients with chronic and terminal illness and their families
• Assess patient-family-caregiver, physical, psychological, socioeconomic, spiritual and symptom management needs
• Employ a range of clinical interventions such as psychotherapy (individuals, couples, families, and group), psychosocial counseling, crisis intervention, care coordination, complementary therapies, information and referral and safety planning.
• Advocate on behalf of patients and families to gain access to services and resources
• Demonstrate a working knowledge of the theoretical and bio-psychosocial factors essential to caring for patients with chronic and terminal illness and their families (ALS, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, and dementia)
• Conduct and/or participate in initial palliative care consults either independently or in collaboration with medical providers, including physicians and APPs
• Provide psychosocial consultation on patient-care planning and patient/family management
• Incorporate assessments in developing and implementing intervention plans that enhance the clients’ abilities and decisions in palliative and end of life care
• Identify barriers and risk factors that may impede symptom management, response to treatment and patient/family care
• Appropriate and timely documentation of all practice with patients
• Assist the palliative care team and/or directly facilitate patient-family-team communication planning
• Work independently and collaboratively on an interdisciplinary team
• Participate in and share facilitation of Interdisciplinary Team meetings (IDT)
• Ability to work with people from diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds
• Serve as an effective liaison between the palliative care service and clinical social workers in other service areas for collaboration including handoffs as needed
• Provide guidance and psychosocial dynamics instruction to fellows (I.e.: psychosocial assessment)
• Recognize and intervene in issues of loss and adaptation along the illness continuum and through bereavement, making appropriate assessment of bereavement risk
• Collaborate with Palliative Care Division Bereavement Coordinator to address bereavement needs in the outpatient setting
• Provide liaison function between palliative care team and community hospice and long-term care facilities and other community services as needed
• Participate in formal and informal clinical case reviews and seminars
• Assist community information request specific to palliative care social work
• Attend palliative care service meetings (Business and Division meetings, Seminars, Grand Rounds, etc.)
• Attend required meetings with Department of Clinical Social Work

Additional Job Details (if applicable)

• Knowledge and a thorough understanding about palliative and end of life care
• Ability to understand the role of a palliative care social worker in a health care setting and to work independently in a complex, fast-paced environment
• Excellent organizational skills
• Effective communication skills
• Strong interpersonal skills enabling effective collaboration and teamwork
• Demonstrates initiative and leadership in developing services that respond to patient care needs