Related Experiment Videos
Advancing social work practice in end-of-life care
1Columbia University School of Social Work, New York, NY 10025, USA.
Social Work in Health Care
|June 6, 2000
Summary
Social workers require better training for end-of-life care. Current master
Area of Science:
- Social Work Education
- Palliative Care
- Professional Development
Background:
- Insufficient training for health professionals is a barrier to quality end-of-life care.
- Social work's role in end-of-life and bereavement care has been underexplored compared to medicine and nursing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the current state of social work knowledge and skills in caring for the dying and bereaved.
- To identify training gaps and needs within social work education and continuing professional development.
Main Methods:
- Conducted a survey of social work practitioners.
- Held focus groups with social work professionals.
- Surveyed faculty from schools of social work.
Main Results:
- Social work knowledge and skills in end-of-life care are uneven and lack integration with theory and research.
- Practitioners feel unprepared by master's level training and unsupported by continuing education.
- A scarcity of recognized social work scholars in this field was identified.
Conclusions:
- Social work education and professional development programs need enhancement to adequately prepare professionals for end-of-life and bereavement care.
- There is a need for leadership development and role models to advance social work in palliative and end-of-life care.