Attitudes toward social work in family medicine: a before and after survey

An initial survey of attitudes among Family Medical Center staff rated social work as highly consistent with the values of family medicine, capable of competently addressing difficult problems, and contributing valuably to a team approach to continuous and comprehensive family medical care. After integration of a social worker into the practice, a repeat survey documented significant attitude changes, rating social work as more competent, passive, and difficult, and lowering the estimate of patients potentially helped by a social worker from 38 percent to 31 percent. Such attitudes may influence the evolution of the social worker's role in the family medicine patient care team.