Description

Serves as an integral member of emergency department/CDU care team. Provides psychosocial assessments, coordination and implementation of age appropriate social medicine services to meet the needs of patients/families/significant others in the emergency department and CDU.

• Participates as a member of the ED/CDU care team providing social medicine expertise in response to care team referrals and case finding of high need populations (e.g. new diagnosis, terminal illness, loss of function, lack of social support, grief and bereavement, homeless, complex finances, etc.)


• Completes psychosocial assessments of patients in ED/CDU. Identifies psychosocial needs, develops, and implements plan of care. Documents according to departmental standards, Federal and State regulations. Assures medical record documentation of patient interaction and related tasks performed in a timely manner.


• Upon ED/CDU referral or case finding, assists patients and their support system (e.g. friends, family) with coping strategies related to illness.


• Conducts social medicine consultation and assistance for cases invloving abuse, neglect, advance care planning, and legal decision making (e.g guardianship)


• Provides information and referrals to community resources for post discharge support.


• Applies knowledge base, theoretical concepts, specific functional skills, and essential social values used to effect change in human behavior, emotional responses, and social conditions.


• Contributes to the patient discharge planning process by assessing patient and support systems choices and educating them on the risks and benefits of their choices to facilitate discharge.


• Assists in coordination of discharge plan and assures patients placement in approrpiate community based settings from ED/CDU.


• Provides information, resource identification and referral services, mediation services, advocacy services, and education to patients and their support system.


• Plans for and participates in development activities to keep abreast of current trends in medical social work. Participates in performance improvement. Implements Quality Improvement processes. Assists with development and implementation of departments annual work-plan. Performs clinical record audits. Maintains educational record and provides evidence of competency. Participates in departmental functions such as staff meetings, staff in-services, and committees, as assigned. Participates in orientation of new personnel.