Medical Social Worker

Reporting to the Principal Medical Social Worker, MSS. The candidate:

• Provides medical social services for all ages in the areas of counselling, care and discharge planning, financial assessment and assistance, psychosocial assessment for major illnesses and crisis intervention
• Identify service gaps and implement continuing service improvements for patients
• Provide access and utilise meaningful data to improve service improvement and service recovery
• Cultivate teamwork and knowledge-based organisation
• Reviews clinical history, and documents observations accurately
• Demonstrates good ability in engaging and interviewing patients and families
• Identifies and obtains thorough and crucial information and documents psychosocial events in relation to illness chronologically
• Applies theoretical and professional knowledge to formulate sound psychosocial assessment
• Identifies salient factors that inform psychosocial assessment and substantiates the assessment based on basic theoretical and professional knowledge
• Adequately assesses psychosocial situations and risks in patients and families
• Applies clinical theories in working with patients and families
• Selects best intervention strategy given a psychosocial context
• Adequately executes clinical intervention plans
• Follows up with cases as necessary
• Identifies and utilises appropriate resources in intervention

• Works with patients and families in evaluating and achieving desired outcomes
• Demonstrates adequate knowledge of social work, social policies and hospital policies
• Updates knowledge in current research evidence and policy changes
• Shows interest in learning
• Demonstrates willingness and ability to impart knowledge to others (for example, peers and social work interns)
• Demonstrates adequate verbal and written communication skills with patients and families, and other healthcare providers in most instances
• Establishes rapport with patients and families, healthcare providers (e.g. treatment team), and other departments within the hospital
• Demonstrates basic ability to address cultural differences
• Identifies impact of self on the patients and systems (and vice versa)
• Participates in and/or takes responsibility for projects and activities which support the goals of the department and hospital as assigned by MSW Lead and above
• BA or BSS in Social Work, registered MSW