Developing roles for macro practitioners within the health field

The authors examine and describe a department of social work in a university teaching hospital where macro practitioners and students are introduced into service delivery areas at the line level. This new role for macro practitioners promotes generic practice through which both macro and micro skills can be utilized without compromising one for the other. The introduction of macro practitioners into the Department of Social Work has improved the department's status within the hospital, the school of social work, and the community.