You can tell a lot about a job and the people doing it by asking them to describe their best day at work. For Ali, a 28-year-old pediatric cancer social worker, that day occurred one year ago. A 17-year-old cancer patient who had been given two months to live made a bucket list. On her list were graduating from high school and getting accepted into college. So Ali and her colleagues arranged a graduation ceremony in the hospital, at which they read off a list of the colleges to which she had been accepted.
Ali and other social workers savor such opportunities to make a difference. They got to know the patient and her family well, reached out to a variety of school officials and community leaders to make the event happen, and enabled many friends and hospital employees to participate in it. Though the ultimate outcome was heartbreaking – the patient died just days after the event – Ali cherished the opportunity to stage such a meaningful event and help make a better death possible.
This is just one example of how medical social workers so often play the role of the “glue” that holds health care together. Doctors, nurses and other health professionals typically have their hands full with patients’ medical needs. My medical colleagues and I know that performing a surgical procedure or prescribing medicines for the patient is only a part of a comprehensive plan of care, and even the best medical care may fail if it is not well integrated into the patient’s life.
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