Clinical Social Worker, Tertiary Hospice Palliative Care Unit

Reporting to the Manager, Clinical Services for administrative issues and Professional Practice Chief, Social Work for practice issues, works as a member of the Tertiary Hospice Palliative Care Unit (THPCU) Team to provide therapeutic counseling services to assigned patients and families; conducts comprehensive social work and psycho-social assessments and liaises with community agencies to ensure optimal continuity of care for patients and families for an assigned area; develops, coordinates and delivers in-services and presentations in collaboration with the interdisciplinary team; collaborates with the Manager and the THPCU team on the planning, development, delivery and evaluation of policies, services including outcomes for improved quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of services.

1. Provides comprehensive therapeutic counseling services for patients and families admitted to the THPCU experiencing complicated circumstances relating to the illness and/or end-of-life issues; participates in team meetings, care conferences and interdisciplinary treatment teams to coordinate clinical services.
2. Conducts comprehensive social work and psychosocial assessments of THPCU patients and families by interviewing the patient and/or family, obtaining relevant information, gathering social data regarding the patient and/or family and interpreting the data using a variety of modalities, in accordance with professional standards, clinical policies and practices.
3. Follows up and provides ongoing monitoring of complex psychosocial situations and evaluates patient's response to clinical interventions; follows THPCU patients throughout the continuum of care within the healthcare system.
4. Acts as a clinical resource for patients and their families by providing information regarding community resources and access to those resources, facilitating referrals where appropriate and facilitating the development of community resources by identifying services needed to support the health of families; provides consultation to patients, families and staff on issues related to high risk factors, recovery and current social work practice relevant to hospice/palliative care.
5. Assists in the development of provision of relevant educational programs for Fraser Health staff, clients, their families and community agencies on psychosocial issues related to illness and disability, grieving and loss, including in-services, presentations, psycho-educational and support groups and/or training for staff regarding psychosocial issues related to grief, loss and bereavement facing palliative care patients and their families.
6. Maintains patient records by documenting patient assessments, charting patient information, preparing progress notes and reports in accordance with established standards, policies and procedures.
7. Communicates with other healthcare and service providers such as hospice societies and family physicians by collaborating in the assessment and management of individuals at risk and making referrals to appropriate resources when longer term treatment of follow up is required.
8. Participates as a member of the THPC consultation team in the coordination and evaluation of assigned programs; develops and assists in coordinating the bereavement component of the THPCU for families, staff, and volunteers.
9. Maintains a variety of records by recording information on approved formats, collating data, analyzing trends, accounting for variances and preparing reports in accordance with program standards and procedures.
10. Initiates and carries out research activities, program planning and development relevant to the needs of hospice/palliative care patients, their families and other staff by collaborating with interdisciplinary teams to identify current trends and writing research proposals; follows up using established research methodologies and disseminates research finds.
11. Establishes measurable performance goals and objectives by maintaining and updating own knowledge for clinical expertise within area of practice, developing professional development plans in collaboration with the Manager ensuring goal and objective plans are achievable.
12. Performs other related duties as assigned.

Education and Experience

Master's Degree of Social Work from an approved school of Social Work. Two (2) years' recent related clinical experience working with hospice palliative care patients and their families in an acute care environment, including completion of a recognized course in hospice palliative care, or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience.

Current full registration with the BC College of Social Workers.

Skills and Abilities

• Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of emotional and mental health issues related to illness and injury, family and family cultural dynamics
• Demonstrated knowledge in the field of palliative care
• Comprehensive counseling skills including crisis counseling, brief therapeutic interventions and loss/grief applicable to families, young adults and seniors including the ability to conduct social and psychosocial assessments
• Demonstrated ability to educate and provide consultation to patients, their families and other healthcare professionals
• Demonstrated understanding of the scope of practice of other health care disciplines.
• Ability to make effective referrals, reflecting in depth knowledge of community resources and strong collaborative skills in working with community health and social agency personnel
• Demonstrated ability to educate and provide consultation to patients, families and health care professionals
• Demonstrated ability to make effective referrals reflecting in-depth knowledge of community resources and strong collaborative skills
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing with patients/clients, families, staff and community agency personnel
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with others including working effectively in a multi-cultural environment
• Demonstrated ability to organize and prioritize workload in a complex environment with changing priorities
• Ability to operate related equipment including applicable software applications
• Physical ability to carry out the duties of the position

Applicants with a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree from an accredited School of Social Work, and a demonstrated equivalent combination of education, training and experience may be considered. If you are applying under equivalency, please clearly outline in your application how your knowledge, education, skills and experience meet Master of Social Work (MSW) equivalency.

Fraser Health is the heart of health care for over two million people in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley in British Columbia, Canada, on the traditional, ancestral and unceded lands of the Coast Salish and Nlaka'pamux Nations and is home to 32 First Nations within the Fraser Salish region.
 
People - those we care for and those who care for them - are at the heart of everything we do. Our hospital and community-based services are delivered by a team of 54,000+ staff, medical staff and volunteers.
 
We are committed to planetary health and value diversity in the work force. We strive to maintain an environment of respect, caring and trust. Fraser Health's hiring practices aspire to ensure all individuals are treated in an inclusive, equitable and culturally safe manner.
 
Together, we are the heart of health care.
 
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