Medical social work

Medical social work is a sub-discipline of social work. Medical social workers t ypically work in a
hospit al, out pat ient clinic, communit y healt h agency, skilled nursing facilit y, long-t erm care
facilit y or hospice. They work wit h pat ient s and t heir families in need of psychosocial help.
Medical social workers assess t he psychosocial funct ioning of pat ient s and families and
int ervene as necessary. The role of a medical social worker is t o "rest ore balance in an individual’s
personal, family and social life, in order t o help t hat person maint ain or recover his/her healt h and
st rengt hen his/her abilit y t o adapt and reint egrat e int o societ y."[1] Int ervent ions may include
connect ing pat ient s and families t o necessary resources and support in t he communit y such as
prevent ive care; providing psychot herapy, support ive counseling, or grief counseling; or helping a
pat ient t o expand and st rengt hen t heir net work of social support s.[2] Professionals in t his field
t ypically work wit h ot her disciplines such as medicine, nursing, physical, occupat ional, speech and
recreat ional t herapy.

History

Britain

Medical social workers in Brit ain and Ireland were originally known as hospit al almoners or "lady
almoners" unt il t he profession was officially renamed medical social work in t he 1960s.[3] In 1895,
Mary St ewart became t he first lady almoner in Brit ain wit h her appoint ment t o t he Royal Free
Hospit al in London for a t hree-mont h t rial period.[4] Lady almoners det ermined t he pat ient 's
abilit y t o cont ribut e t owards t heir own medical care at charit y hospit als.[5] Some sources credit
Anne Cummins as t he "mot her of almoners" as she had t he abilit y and t he funding t o first
est ablish a comprehensive social work service at St Thomas's Hospit al in London in 1909.[6]

In 1945, t he Inst it ut e of Almoners in Brit ain was formed, which, in 1964, was renamed as t he
Inst it ut e of Medical Social Workers. The Inst it ut e was one of t he founder organizat ions of t he
Brit ish Associat ion of Social Workers, which was formed in 1970. In Brit ain, medical social workers
were t ransferred from t he Nat ional Healt h Service (NHS) int o local aut horit y Social Services
Depart ment s in 1974, and generally became known as hospit al social workers.

China

Medical social work was st art ed in 1921 by Ida Pruit t in Beijing. In-service t raining was given t o
social workers for carrying out casework, adopt ion services and recuperat ion services.[7]

India

Dr. Clifford Manshardt an American missionary in 1936 st art ed formal t raining in social work in
India t hrough Dorabji Tat a Graduat e School of Social Work.[7] The first medical social worker was
appoint ed in 1946 in J.J. Hospit al, Bombay. In 1960s scope of medical social workers increased in
India.[8]

Ireland

In Ireland, t he origins of medical social work go back t o paediat rician Ella Webb, t he first
physician in Ireland t o appoint almoners t o work in her dispensary for sick children t hat she
est ablished in t he Adelaide Hospit al in Dublin, and t o Winifred Alcock, t he first almoner appoint ed
by Webb in 1918.[9]

Singapore

Almoners from St Thomas’ Hospit al, London, who arrived in Singapore in 1948 and 1949 are
recognized as t he forerunners of hospit al social worker's in Singapore. Medical Social Worker is a
Singapore Minist ry of Healt h recognized profession for psychosocial care and a required
professional by bylaw in every clinical specialt y depart ment .[10][11][12]

United States
The Massachuset t s General Hospit al was t he first American hospit al t o have professional social
workers on sit e, in t he early 1900s. Garnet Pelt on, Ida Cannon and Dr. Richard Clarke Cabot were
t he cent ral figures of t he hospit al social work.[13] Clarke credit ed his approach as similar t o t hat
of Anne Cummins in London.[14] Cannon st art ed specific t raining for medical social workers in
1912. The major dut ies carried out by medical social workers were case management , dat a
collect ion, follow ups, care coordinat ion, healt h educat ion, financial assessment and discount ing
pat ient medical fees.[13]

Further reading

Books
Gehlert , S., & Browne T. A. (Eds.) (2012). Handbook of healt h social work. John Wiley & Sons,
Inc.

Kerson, T. S., & McCoyd, J. L. M. (Eds.) (2010). Social work in healt h set t ings: pract ice in
cont ext . Rout ledge.

Jill Barr, & Lesley Dowding (Eds.) (2015). Leadership in Healt h Care. SAGE Publicat ions.

Harris, M. G. (Ed.) (2006). Managing Healt h Services: Concept s and Pract ice. Elsevier.

Daniel B. McLaughlin, & John R. Olson (Eds.) (2012). Healt hcare Operat ions Management .
Healt h Administ rat ion Press.

Curt is, R., & Christ ian, E. (Eds.) (2012). Int egrat ed care: Applying t heory t o pract ice. Taylor &
Francis.

James F. McKenzie, & Robert R. Pinger (Eds.) (2014). An Int roduct ion t o Communit y & Public
Healt h. Jones & Bart let t Learning.

Elizabet h D. Hut chison (Ed.) (2014). Dimensions of Human Behavior: Person and Environment .
SAGE Publicat ions.

Ann Ehrlich, & Carol L. Schroeder (Eds.) (2013). Medical Terminology for Healt h Professions.
Cengage Learning.

Marianne Neighbors, & Rut h Tannehill-Jones (Eds.) (2015). Human Diseases. Cengage Learning.

Bohle, P. & Quinlan, M. (Eds.) (2010). Managing Occupat ional Healt h & Safet y. Palgrave
Macmillan.
 Michelle A. Green, & Mary Jo Bowie (Eds.) (2011). Essent ials of Healt h Informat ion
Management : Principles and Pract ices. Cengage Learning.

Articles
Mont erio, Christ ine; Arnold, Janis; Locke, Susanna; St einhorn, Lena; Shanske, Susan (15 March
2016). "Social workers as care coordinat ors: Leaders in ensuring effect ive, compassionat e
care". Social Work in Health Care. 55 (3): 195–213. doi:10.1080/00981389.2015.1093579 (ht t p
s://doi.org/10.1080%2F00981389.2015.1093579) . PMID 26901660 (ht t ps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.
nih.gov/26901660) . S2CID 9773413 (ht t ps://api.semant icscholar.org/CorpusID:9773413) .

Judd, Rebecca G.; Sheffield, Sherry (13 Oct ober 2010). "Hospit al Social Work: Cont emporary
Roles and Professional Act ivit ies". Social Work in Health Care. 49 (9): 856–871.
doi:10.1080/00981389.2010.499825 (ht t ps://doi.org/10.1080%2F00981389.2010.499825) .
PMID 20938879 (ht t ps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20938879) . S2CID 24712431 (ht t ps://api.s
emant icscholar.org/CorpusID:24712431) .

Reisch, Michael (November 2012). "The Challenges of Healt h Care Reform for Hospit al Social
Work in t he Unit ed St at es". Social Work in Health Care. 51 (10): 873–893.
doi:10.1080/00981389.2012.721492 (ht t ps://doi.org/10.1080%2F00981389.2012.721492) .
PMID 23151284 (ht t ps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23151284) . S2CID 205474468 (ht t ps://ap
i.semant icscholar.org/CorpusID:205474468) .

Sullivan, Paul (11 Sept ember 2012). "The Tight wire Act of Living Only on Social Securit y" (ht t p
s://www.nyt imes.com/2012/09/12/business/ret irement special/living-only-on-social-securit y-i
s-a-t ight wire-act .ht ml) . The New York Times.

Gregorian, Camille (11 May 2005). "A Career in Hospit al Social Work: Do You Have What It
Takes?". Social Work in Health Care. 40 (3): 1–14. doi:10.1300/J010v40n03_ 01 (ht t ps://doi.org/
10.1300%2FJ010v40n03_ 01) . PMID 15837665 (ht t ps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1583766
5) . S2CID 25772104 (ht t ps://api.semant icscholar.org/CorpusID:25772104) .

See also

Prevent ive healt hcare

Healt h promot ion

Social det erminant s of healt h

Biopsychosocial model
Healt h behaviour

Occupat ional safet y and healt h

Healt h psychology

Public healt h

Compassion fat igue

Healt h administ rat ion

References

1. A Social Worker's Guide to Professional Practice in Hospitals (https://www.otstcfq.org/docs/archives/ch

_ang.PDF) (PDF). Ordre professionnel des travailleurs sociaux du Québec. 1999. p. 4.

2. "A Complete Guide to Medical Social Work" (https://www.onlinemswprograms.com/features/guide-to-me

dical-social-work.html) . Retrieved 2018-09-12.

3. Nottingham, Christ; Dougall, Rona (2007), "A Close and Practical Association with the Medical
Profession: Scottish Medical Social Workers and Social Medicine, 1940–1975", Medical History, 51 (3):
309–336, doi:10.1017/S0025727300001460 (https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS0025727300001460) ,
PMC 1894864 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1894864) , PMID 17603656 (https://p
ubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17603656)

4. Burnham, David (2016), The Social Worker Speaks: A History of Social Workers Through the Twentieth
Century (https://books.google.com/books?id=9xOgCwAAQBAJ&q=%22lady%20almoner%22%20%22soc
ial%20worker%22&pg=PA41) , Routledge, pp. 41–43, ISBN 978-1-317-01546-8

5. "Paying for healthcare: Life in Britain before the 'free' NHS" (https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-c
entury/nhs-history-pay-healthcare-free/) .

6. David Burnham (24 February 2016). The Social Worker Speaks: A History of Social Workers Through the
Twentieth Century (https://books.google.com/books?id=9xOgCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA43) . Routledge.
pp. 43–45. ISBN 978-1-317-01546-8.

7. Lynne M. Healy, International Social Work: Professional Action in an Interdependent World, Oxford
University Press, 2001, ISBN 9780195124460, p.24 (https://books.google.com/books?id=e5AFjjff8HUC
&pg=PA24)

8. G.R. Madan, Indian Social Problems (Vol-2): Social Disorganization and Reconstruction, Allied
Publishers, 1967, ISBN 9788184244601, p.351 (https://books.google.com/books?id=RdAIBAAAQBAJ&
pg=PA351)
 9. Kearney, Noreen; Skehill, Caroline (2005), "Chapter 8: An Overview of the Development of Health-Related
Social Work in Ireland" (https://books.google.com/books?id=jC2IcX513UMC&q=%22medical%20social%
20work%22%20british%20history&pg=PA165) , Social Work in Ireland: Historical Perspectives, Institute
of Public Administration, pp. 165–170, ISBN 978-1-904541-23-3

10. "MOH | Career & Practices" (https://www.moh.gov.sg/hpp/allied-health-professionals/career-practices/C

areerNPracticesDetails/medical-social-worker) .

11. Goh, Soon Noi (2020). "Development of Social Work in Health Care in Singapore" (https://www.worldscie
ntific.com/doi/pdf/10.1142/9789811227493_0001) . Medical Social Work in Singapore. pp. 3–26.
doi:10.1142/9789811227493_0001 (https://doi.org/10.1142%2F9789811227493_0001) . ISBN 978-
981-12-2748-6. S2CID 225288400 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:225288400) .

12. "Home" (https://www.sgh.com.sg/patient-care/specialties-services/Medical-Social-Services) .

13. Sarah Gehlert, Teri Browne, Handbook of Health Social Work (https://books.google.com/books?id=LRT
GZTa3Gb4C) , John Wiley & Sons, 2011, ISBN 9781118115916

14. "Cummins, Anne Emily". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press.
doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/75263 (https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fref%3Aodnb%2F75263) . (Subscription or UK
public library membership (https://www.oxforddnb.com/help/subscribe#public) required.)

External links

Profession related
NASW - Medical Social Workers (ht t ps://web.archive.org/web/20150319014425/ht t p://www.s
ocialworkers.org/pract ice/st andards/naswhealt hcarest andards.pdf)

Societ y for Social Work Leadership in Healt h Care (ht t p://www.sswlhc.org/)

Social Work in Healt h Care (ht t ps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/journals/soc-work-healt h-care/)

Practice related
San Diego St at e Universit y Test Finder (ht t p://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~mst over/t est s/)

Inst it ut e of Medical Social Workers (ht t p://www.warwick.ac.uk/services/library/mrc/ead/378I

MSW.ht m) on record at Warwick Universit y

U.S. Depart ment of Healt h and Human Services (ht t ps://www.hhs.gov/)

Basic Epidemiology, WHO (ht t p://apps.who.int /iris/bit st ream/10665/43541/1/9241547073_ en

g.pdf)

The Healt h Foundat ion Resources (ht t p://www.healt h.org.uk/publicat ions)

 Qualit y Improvement : Theory and Pract ice in Healt hcare, NHS, UK (ht t p://www.nhsiq.nhs.uk/do
wnload.ashx?mid=9125&nid=9127)

Social Work Psychosocial Assessment - York College (ht t ps://www.york.cuny.edu/wac/for-st u

dent s/discipline-specific-infosheet s/social-work-psychosocial-assessment )

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