Educating Social Workers in Palliative and End-of-Life Care: Development and Implementation of a New National Training Program.

Background: Educating Social Workers in Palliative and End-of-Life Care (ESPEC) is a nationally scalable continuing education program designed to improve the knowledge and skills of frontline health social workers caring for patients with serious illness. Objectives: This article describes ESPEC's rationale, development, and initial implementation. Design: Following the creation of consensus-derived core primary palliative care competencies for health primary care social workers based on the eight domains of palliative care outlined in the National Consensus Project Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care, an evidence-based curriculum was developed. This was used to develop a hybrid training model with a self-study component, synchronous instructor-led skills-based training, leadership training, and mentorship. The interactive curriculum incorporates patient scenarios highlighting the health social work role. Training targets high-impact skills-the biopsychosocial-spiritual assessment, advance care planning, family meetings, and interprofessional communication-and professional development. Settings/Subjects: ESPEC was launched in the United States in collaboration with the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network (SWHPN). Results: The preliminary launch demonstrated high user acceptability, positive ratings for content and format, and gains in knowledge and competence. Conclusions: Data suggest that ESPEC can increase health social workers' knowledge and confidence as providers of palliative care interventions. National dissemination is ongoing.

Mapeamento das pesquisas sobre o mercado de trabalho do serviço social brasileiro: características e contradições / Mapping of research on the Brazilian social service labor market: characteristics and contradictions

A proposta deste artigo consiste em apresentar resultados parciais de pesquisa sobre o mercado de trabalho do Serviço Social no Brasil. A pesquisa objetiva mapear e analisar a produção bibliográfica relativa ao tema, tendo como recorte temporal os anos de 2000 a 2019. Para tanto, recorre à metodologia estado da arte e à técnica de análise de conteúdo temática ou categorial das produções. Os resultados apontam a prevalência de pesquisas desenvolvidas nas regiões Sudeste, Sul e Nordeste do país, pelos Programas de Pós-Graduação da área, com destaque para a PUCSP, no Sudeste; a PUC-RS no Sul; e a UFRN e UFPB, no Nordeste; sendo que 81,2% das produções foram publicadas a partir de 2010. Além disso, a concentração das pesquisas, nessas regiões, não tem garantido a predominância de análises agregadas entre elas, ainda assim é possível identificar duas dimensões centrais e interligadas na análise do mercado de trabalho do Serviço Social: a) sua determinação estrutural, vinculada à sociedade do capital e configurada por transformações sócio-políticas e histórico-conjunturais; e b) suas manifestações objetivas, por meio das áreas de atuação, dos tipos de contrato, do vínculo de trabalho, do salário, da carga horária de trabalho e dos índices de desemprego, dentre outros

The purpose of this article is to present preliminary results of Brazil's Social Work labor market research. The research aims to map and analyze the bibliographic productions related to the theme, having as temporal cut the years from 2000 to 2019. For this purpose, we use state-of-art methodology and thematical or categorical content analysis technique. The results point towards the prevalence of researches developed in Southeast, South and Northeast regions of the country by Postgraduate programs in the area, with emphasis on PUCSP, in Southeast; PUC-RS, in South; UFRN and UFPB, in Northeast; albeit 81.2% of the productions were published from 2010 onward. Furthermore, the concentration of research in these regions has not ensured the predominance of aggregated analysis between them. Nonetheless, it is possible to identify two central and interconnected dimensions in the analysis of Social Work labor market: a) its structural determination, associated to the capitalist society and configured by sociopolitical and historical-contextual transformations; and b) its objectives expressions, through fields of action, type of contract, employment relationship(s), salary, working load, unemployment rates, among other things

Defining Core Competencies and a Call to Action: Dissecting and Embracing the Crucial and Multifaceted Social Work Role in Pediatric Palliative Care.

While social workers are a well-established, part of the pediatric palliative care team, this manuscript presents the first published definition of the core competencies of a pediatric palliative care social worker. National experts in the field, guided by the pediatric special interest group of the Social Work Hospice and Palliative Network (SWHPN), worked together to articulate, and define core competencies. As the field of pediatric palliative care (PPC) continues to grow and develop, these competencies will help to better delineate the specific skill base of social workers in PPC. Such competencies may also create clearer role definition for emerging PPC social workers, guide training, clinical supervision, and mentorship in the field. They can also support improved interdisciplinary practice by assisting interprofessional colleagues in understanding and articulating the critical role of social workers as part of the PPC team. Additionally, such competencies may contribute to the growing development of role descriptions necessary for the hiring of social workers onto growing PPC teams, while also providing a framework for the creation and support of curricula centered on the subspeciality education and training of the next generation of PPC social workers.

Asistencia sanitaria y servicios sociales: enseñanza y aprendizaje significativo en talleres técnicos por el método de proyecto / Healthcare and social services: meaningful teaching and learning in technical workshops by the project method

Los derechos humanos, incluyendo la concreción del derecho a la salud, en Perú, contempla el mandato dirigido a los poderes públicos para que organicen la asistencia sanitaria, como elemento causal, específico y adopten el conjunto de medidas necesarias para lograr la prevención de las enfermedades o la mejora de las condiciones sanitarias generales, mediante el método de proyecto en el proceso enseñanza-aprendizaje se abordan los principios rectores de la política social y económica, contenidos del Estado social, y los mecanismos de justiciabilidad y exigibilidad. Se estudió el proceso enseñanza y aprendizaje significativo sobre asistencia sanitaria y servicios sociales en los talleres técnicos, en la Facultad de Derecho y Ciencias Políticas, de la Universidad Peruana Los Andes, durante el periodo lectivo 2019-II. En el egresado conlleva la interacción entre los conocimientos y la información nueva que recibe, en este proceso se construye un nuevo conocimiento o profundiza en los ya existentes. Este conocimiento es organizado y sistemático con conexiones interdisciplinarias entre ideas, se promueve desde el trabajo en equipo y colaborativo, capaz de vencer ambigüedades, complejidades y a lo impredecible; y aprovecha los recursos o herramientas de la vida real, por lo que el método de proyecto es una herramienta pedagógica aplicable a la formación del abogado(AU)

Human rights, including the realization of the right to health, in Peru, contemplates the mandate directed to the public powers to organize health care, as a causal, specific element and adopt the set of measures necessary to achieve the prevention of diseases or the improvement of general sanitary conditions, through the project method in the teaching-learning process, the guiding principles of social and economic policy, contents of the social State, and the mechanisms of justiciability and enforceability are addressed. The teaching and meaningful learning process on health care and social services was studied in technical workshops at the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, Universidad Peruana Los Andes, during the 2019-II school period. In the graduate, it involves the interaction between knowledge and the new information received, in this process a new knowledge is built or deepens existing ones. This knowledge is organized and systematic with interdisciplinary connections between ideas, it is promoted from team and collaborative work, capable of overcoming ambiguities, complexities and the unpredictable; and it takes advantage of the resources or tools of the real life, reason why the project method is a pedagogical tool applicable to the training of the lawyer(AU)

Is It "Aging" or Immunosenescence? The COVID-19 Biopsychosocial Risk Factors Aggravating Immunosenescence as Another Risk Factor of the Morbus. A Developmental-clinical Social Work Perspective.

COVID-19 has proliferated ageism. The impetus of this article is to show that immunosenescence is a risk factor to COVID-19 and not aging per se. Based on the idea that some older people are also healthier than younger ones, the emphasis of this article is on immunosenescence and not aging as a risk factor of COVID-19 complications. The paper utilizes a biopsychosocial approach to expound on the link between immunosenescence and COVID-19 risk factors. The article explores biological factors such as malnutrition, comorbidities, substance abuse, and sex. It also expands on psychosocial factors such as mental health disorders, homelessness, unemployment, lack of physical exercises, stigma, and discrimination. The article calls for gerontological social work to assume a developmental-clinical social work perspective to prevent the early onset and progression of immunosenescence. It calls for gerontological social work to prevent factors that promote unhealthy aging. The article promotes a preventative stance to practice and not just curative approaches. Treatment involves primary prevention which emphasizes on avoiding the onset of unhealthy aging. It is this approach that gerontological social work should aim also to address in building resilience in the face of pandemics.

O serviço social na universidade comunitária de Santa Cruz do Sul: aspectos históricos e atuais da formação / Social service at the community university of Santa Cruz do Sul: historicaland current aspects of formation

O presente artigo apresenta a história do Curso de Serviço Social da UNISC, que está completando vinte anos de existência, além de tecer articulações com a formação em Serviço Social na contemporaneidade. Entendemos que construir uma abordagem sobre a historicidade formativa do Serviço Social nesta instituição de ensino superior, implica realizar um aprofundamento daquilo que o Serviço Social possui de acúmulo, de trajetória, de experiência, tecendo articulações acerca da formação em Serviço Social. Para tanto, organizamos este itinerário em três momentos: primeiro, buscamos mobilizar a memória da qual o momento atual do Curso de Serviço Social da Unisc é herdeiro, enfatizando sua trajetória histórica, sua gênese, seus desafios, os profissionais formados pelo curso, as pesquisas de Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso realizadas, os docentes envolvidos neste percurso de praticamente duas décadas; em seguida, focalizamos na formação, nos Projetos Político Pedagógicos que fizeram parte desta história e nos campos de estágio; e, por fim, argumentamos acerca das contribuições do Curso de Serviço Social para o contexto regional, com base nos projetos de extensão e nas pesquisas realizadas. Como sintetizações, reiteramos as diferentes contribuições do Curso de Serviço Social, durante vinte anos, em âmbito local e regional, por intermédio da formação de inúmeros acadêmicos, de projetos interventivos, de pesquisas, de projetos de extensão que incidiram diretamente nas diferentes realidades sociais.(AU)

This article presents the history of the Social Work Course from Unisc, which is about to celebrate its twenty years of existence, on top of weaving articulations with the formation in Social Work in contemporary times. In this sense, to build an approach on the formative historicity of Social Work in this higher education institution, it implies a deepening of what Social Work has accumulated in trajectory, experience, weaving articulations about the formation in Social Work. To this end, we organized this itinerary into three moments: first, we seek to mobilize the memory from which the current moment of the Unisc's Social Work Course is heir, emphasizing its historical path, its genesis, its challenges, the professionals graduated from the course, the researches for the Completion of the course Essays, the teachers involved in this journey of almost two decades; as a second emphasis, we focused on training, on the Pedagogical Political Projects that were part of this history and the internship fields; and finally as a third element, we reasoning about the contributions of the Social Work. Course to the regional context in which it is inserted based on extension projects and researches made. As synthetizations, this article reiterates the different contributions from the Social Work Course during twenty years at local and regional level through the training in Social Work of innumerous academicians, intervention projects, researches, extension projects that directly affected the different social realities.(AU)

O serviço social numa experiência de universidade comunitária / Social service in an experience of community university

Na entrevista, a professora Mirian Neves da Silva relata aspectos de sua trajetória profissional na Universidade de Santa Cruz do Sul, em especial sua participação enquanto professora e coordenadora do Curso de Serviço Social. Trata-se de um relato que propõe reflexões acerca das dificuldades e das ações implicadas na construção de um curso de Serviço Social numa Universidade Comunitária. Mas vai além, expressando também preocupações necessárias com as mudanças que ocorrem na organização do ensino universitário do Serviço Social, num contexto de inovações tecnológicas e de tendência de aumento da participação da modalidade de EAD na Universidade.(AU)

In the interview, the teacher Mirian Neves da Silva reports aspects of her professional career at the University of Santa Cruz do Sul, especially her participation as a teacher and coordinator of the Social Service Course. It is a report that proposes reflections about the difficulties and actions involved in building a Social Service course at a Community University. But it goes further, also expressing necessary concerns about the changes that occur in the organization of university teaching in Social Work, in a context of technological innovations and a tendency to increase the participation of distance education at the University.(AU)

Food Insecure Students' Perceptions of Campus Climate: Implications for Social Work Educators and Practitioners.

An increasing number of college students are experiencing food insecurity. This study seeks to examine food insecurity through a campus climate lens. The campus climate lens is particularly relevant since extant literature indicates a positive correlation between perceptions of campus climate and academic outcomes. Survey data was collected from 1,295 students at one Midwestern university in order to measure experiences with food insecurity and campus climate. Findings indicate that food insecure students have significantly less favorable perceptions of campus climate as compared to their food secure counterparts. These less favorable perceptions could place food insecure students at risk for compromised academic outcomes. Universities are encouraged to address food insecurity. Social work educators/practitioners in universities are well-positioned to lead this charge, thereby promoting the social and economic well-being of the increasingly diverse student body. Current and proposed social work efforts related to this topic are discussed.

A fundamentação marxiana para a formação e trabalho do assistente social no Brasil / The marxian foundation for the academic education and labor of the social worker in Brazil

O presente artigo versa sobre a formação e o trabalho profissional do assistente social no Brasil cuja orientação se pauta no paradigma marxiano. Aporta algumas reflexões sobre o contexto histórico em que esse processo se configurou no país e os desafios enfrentados pelos profissionais para a consolidação das diretrizes curriculares. Busca também explicitar as características do referencial marxista que as fundamenta e sua mediação no processo de formação dos assistentes sociais incidindo sobre a constituição de sua identidade e trabalho profissional

This article deals with the training and professional work of the social worker in Brazil whose orientation is based on the Marxian paradigm. It provides some reflections on the historical context in which this process was set up in the country and the challenges faced by professionals for the consolidation of curricular guidelines. It also seeks to explain the characteristics of the Marxist framework that supports them and their mediation in the process of training social workers focusing on the constitution of their identity and professional work.

A longitudinal study of multiple lifestyle health risk behaviours among nursing students and non-nursing peers.

AIM: The aim of this paper is to compare the evolution of health risk behaviours between undergraduate nursing and social work students. BACKGROUND: Nursing includes the promotion of health and the shaping of healthy behaviours. An important determinant for providing lifestyle advice is the lifestyle of nurses themselves. DESIGN: Longitudinal comparative study. MEASUREMENTS: We compared lifestyle risk behaviours (binge drinking, cannabis/hashish/marijuana use, smoking, oral hygiene/toothbrushing, breakfast/fruit/vegetable consumption, physical activity and screen time/sedentary behaviours) using a self-administered standardized questionnaire in nursing (n = 121) and social work (n = 140) students at the beginning (2012) and the end of their studies (2015). Adjusted multivariable logistic/Poisson regression models were performed. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences between the departments in most risk factors in both assessments. However, in relation to their first year, both nursing and social work students displayed higher relative risk of engaging in more behavioural risk factors at the end of their studies (in delivery/junk food consumption, sunburns, hashish/marijuana use and multiple sexual partners). Social work students displayed better behaviours in physical activity and breakfast intake. CONCLUSION: Nursing students share the patterns of their nonnursing peers in behavioural risk factors compromising their future health and health-promoting role. We need strategies to safeguard the professional nursing practice.

Insights and experiences of chaplain interns and social work interns on palliative care teams.

Interdisciplinary palliative care teams provide critical, comprehensive end-of-life care, although the accumulated literature points toward barriers that impede their effectiveness. The current phenomenological qualitative study presents perceptions of chaplaincy interns (N = 24) and social work interns (N = 23) after a semester-long end-of-life clinical training experience with interdisciplinary palliative care teams. Analysis of the end of semester reflections resulted in seven themes, which are fairly consistent with the literature base. The described experiential learning and reflections in the current study are powerful and can inform how to prepare practitioners for teamwork and compassionate end-of-life care.

Processo de doação e transplante de órgãos e tecidos: conhecimentos de acadêmicos de enfermagem, psicologia e serviço social / Process of donation and transplant of organs and tissues: knowledge of nursing, psychology and social service academics / Proceso de donación y trasplante de órganos y tejidos: conocimiento de estudiantes universitarios de enfermería, psicología y servicio social

Objetivo: Avaliar o conhecimento de estudantes dos cursos de Graduação em Enfermagem, Psicologia e Serviço Social sobre o conceito de Morte Encefálica e aspectos do processo de doação e transplante de órgãos e tecidos. Métodos: Estudo de campo, exploratório, descritivo e prospectivo, quantitativo. Realizado em Instituição de Ensino Superior privada. Utilizou-se contendo 10 questões, sobre o processo de doação de órgãos e perguntas relacionadas ao perfil da amostra. Participaram do estudo, acadêmicos de Enfermagem, Psicologia e Serviço Social. Realizada análise descritiva e quantitativa dos dados. Resultados: Participaram do estudo 449 acadêmicos. Constatou-se que os participantes possuem conhecimento a respeito do processo de doação e transplante de órgãos, porém com lacunas, que reverberam a importância destes futuros profissionais buscarem aprofundar os saberes sobre esta temática. Conclusão:Ressalta-se a importância dos profissionais da área da saúde conhecerem o processo de doação e transplante podendo contribuir com o aumento do número de doações

Objective: Evaluate the knowledge of students of undergraduate courses in Nursing, Psychology and Social Work on the concept of Brain Death and aspects of the donation process and organs and tissues transplantation. Method: Field study, exploratory, descriptive and prospective, quantitative. The research was realize in a Private Higher Education Institution. We used 10 questions about the organ donation process and questions related to the profile of the sample. Participating in the study academics of Nursing, Psychology and Social Work. Descriptive and quantitative data analysis. Results: The study included 449 students. It was verified that the participants have knowledge about the process of donation and organ transplantation, but with gaps, which reverberate the importance of these future professionals to seek to deepen the knowledge on this subject. Conclusion: Emphasizes the importance of health professionals knowing the donation process and organ transplantation because that may contribute to the increased number of donations

Objetivo: Evaluar el conocimiento de estudiantes de las carreras de grado en Enfermería, Psicología y Servicio Social sobre el concepto de muerte encefálica y proceso de donación y trasplante de órganos y tejidos. Métodos: Estudio de campo, exploratorio, descriptivo y prospectivo, cuantitativo. Realizado en Institución de Enseñanza Superior privada. Se utilizó cuestionario con 10 preguntas, sobre el proceso de donación de órganos y preguntas relacionadas al perfil de la muestra. Participaron del estudio, académicos de Enfermería, Psicología y Servicio Social. Resultados: Participaron del estudio 449 académicos. Se constató que los participantes tienen conocimiento acerca de donación y trasplante de órganos, pero con lagunas, que reverberan la importancia de estos futuros profesionales buscar profundizar los saberes sobre esta temática. Conclusión: Se resalta la importancia de que los profesionales de salud conozcan el proceso de donación y trasplante de órganos con vistas a que puedan contribuir al aumento del número de donaciones

Educating Our Future Colleagues: Creating an MSW Palliative Care Practicum.

As the number of older adults and those with chronic medical conditions continues to rise, the need to train social work students in palliative and end-of-life competencies becomes critical. To address this growing need, the social work team at a large urban academic medical center in the Midwest developed an MSW concentration practicum in palliative and end-of-life care. During the practicum, students receive immersive training in palliative care social work values and the skills required for these specialized assessments, interventions, and evaluations. Their training culminates in their participation on an interdisciplinary team to provide psychosocial support to patients and families receiving palliative and end-of-life care throughout the medical center. This article describes the curriculum, practice immersion, training manual, teaching modules, and structure of student supervision which is applicable to and adaptable for other palliative care social work field instructors.

Widening Access; Developing an eLearning Resource for Health and Social Care Professionals Caring for Children and Young People with Cancer.

Cancer is a key priority worldwide, and caring for children and young people with cancer requires a range of specific knowledge, skills and experience in order to deliver the complex care regimes both within the hospital or community environment. The aim of this paper is to disseminate work undertaken to design and develop pedagogical practice and innovation through an eLearning resource for health care professionals caring for children and young people with cancer across the globe. The work undertaken evaluated an existing cancer course (which has been withdrawn) that was developed and delivered through the Paediatric Oncology Nurses Forum, Royal College Nursing (Nurse Educators) and Warwick University. The evaluation consisted of 26 open and closed questions relating to the previous resource and was circulated to all health and social care professionals involved directly within specialist oncology services through the Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group. Questionnaires were sent out to a convenience sample of 773 health care professionals and the response rate was 14%. The findings identified that the course was predominantly accessed by nurses, but other health care professionals also found it useful. Participants highlighted several areas where they believed content could be developed or was lacking. This included areas such as palliative and end of life care, nutrition, sepsis and teenagers and young people. This feedback was then used to develop a site dedicated to the care of children and young people with cancer.

Práticas grupais no ensino do estado da arte com residentes multiprofissionais em saúde / Prácticas grupales para la enseñanza del estado del arte con residentes multiprofesionales en salud / Group practices for teaching the state of the art with multiprofessional residents in health

Resumo OBJETIVO descrever o desenvolvimento de práticas grupais com residentes multiprofissionais em saúde para o ensino do estado da Arte. MÉTODOS Relato de experiência do uso das práticas grupais World Café e Árvore do conhecimento- Método criativo sensível, para o ensino do estado da arte, etapa fundamental para a construção do trabalho de conclusão de curso da Residência Multiprofissional em Saúde da Mulher. RESULTADOS as atividades destacam-se como uma importante estratégia de fixação das etapas de realização do estado do estado da arte. Além disso, favorece uma reflexão sobre a amplitude de aplicação do estado arte, incluindo o ensino, assistência, pesquisa e a extensão. CONCLUSÕES A experiência demonstrou que as práticas grupais proporcionam um momento dinâmico de aprendizado e fortalece as interações entre eles.

Resumen OBJETIVO Describir el desarrollo de prácticas grupales con residentes multiprofesionales en salud con el objetivo de enseñar el estado del arte. MÉTODOS Relatos de experiencias del uso de prácticas grupales World Café y dinámica del árbol del conocimiento, el método creativo - sensible, para enseñar el estado del arte, etapa fundamental de la construcción del trabajo de finalización del curso en Residencia Multiprofesional em Salud de la Mujer. RESULTADOS Las actividades constituyen una estrategia importante para aprender las etapas de implementación del estado del arte. Además, favorecen una reflexión sobre el alcance de la aplicación del estado del arte, incluida la enseñanza, la assistência, la investigación y la extensión. CONCLUSIONES La experiencia demostró que las prácticas grupales brindan un momento dinámico de aprendizaje y fortalecen las interacciones entre los residentes multiprofesionales.

Abstract OBJECTIVE Describing the development of group practices with multiprofissional residents in health with a view to teaching the state of the art. METHODS Experience reports of the group practices World Café and Tree of Knowledge dynamics, the creative-sensitive method, for teaching the state of the the art, an essential stage in the construction of the end of course paper in the Multiprofessional Residency in Women's Health. RESULTS The activities are an important strategy for learning the stages of implementation of the state of the art. Furthermore, they favor a reflection on the extent of the application of the state of the art, including teaching, assistance, research, and extension. CONCLUSIONS The experience showed that group practices provide a dynamic moment of learning and strengthen the interactions among multiprofissional residents.

La multitemporalidad como trabajo práctico: una experiencia sobre la utilidad de la enseñanza de la historia en la carrera de Trabajo Social / Multitemporality as practical work: an experience about the usefulness of history teaching for the career of Social Works / A multitemporalidade como trabalho prático: uma experiência sobre a utilidade do ensino de História na carreira de Trabalho Social

En el siguiente trabajo nos proponemos presentar una propuesta pedagógica, en el marco de la asignatura de Historia de la carrera de Trabajo Social, para la comprensión de la existencia de diferentes temporalidades en la intervención profesional de un/a trabajador/a social. Puesto que esta profesión estuvo fuertemente vinculada con la medicina, nos preguntamos, a fin de realizar un diagnóstico, de qué modo es percibida por los estudiantes esta relación, en particular entre la historia y el Trabajo Social, con el objetivo de avanzar en mejores estrategias didácticas en la construcción del conocimiento histórico.(AU)

This article presents a pedagogical proposal for the framework for a history teaching to be part of the career of Social Work. The aim of this course is to shed light on the existence of different temporalities within the professional interventions of social workers. Because of the profession's link with the field of medicine, we question how this relationship is perceived by students, especially that between history and Social Work, in order to discover the best didactic strategies to construct historical knowledge.(AU)

No presente trabalho nos propomos apresentar uma proposta pedagógica para o ensino de História na carreira de Trabalho Social, para a compreensão da existência de diferentes temporalidades na intervenção profissional do trabalhador/a social. Posto que a profissão vinculou-se à Medicina, nos perguntamos sobre o modo que esta relação é percebida pelos estudantes, em particular a relação entre a História e o Trabalho Social, com objetivo de procurar melhores estratégias didáticas para a construção do conhecimento histórico.(AU)

The multidisciplinary pediatric psycho-oncology workforce: A national report on supervision for staff and training opportunities.

OBJECTIVE: This paper presents data on licensure/certification status, supervision of multidisciplinary pediatric psychosocial staff, and training opportunities in pediatric cancer programs in the United States, data that are critical to provide care aligned with the Standards of Psychosocial Care in Pediatric Cancer (Psychosocial Standards). METHODS: An online survey of psychosocial care consistent with the Psychosocial Standards was completed from a national sample of pediatric cancer programs (144/200). Licensure/certification status, availability and format of supervision for multidisciplinary staff (social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, child life specialists/recreational therapists), and types and number of psychosocial trainees were reported. RESULTS: Nearly all pediatric psychosocial providers were licensed/certified. Peer consultation was the most frequently endorsed form of staff supervision although a sizeable group of centers reported no systematic ongoing supervision. Trainees in social work and child life were most common although the size of trainee cohorts is generally small. Psychosocial trainees are more prevalent in sites with pediatric hematology/oncology medical fellowship programs and in larger programs. CONCLUSIONS: A properly trained and supported psychosocial workforce is essential to providing evidence-based care consistent with the Psychosocial Standards. Psychosocial providers are appropriately licensed. However, supervision opportunities are variable and may be inadequate for the intensity of the work. It is important to address the limited opportunities for trainees in pediatric cancer programs, which may influence the pipeline for ongoing and future work in this area.

Defining Core Competencies for Generalist-Level Palliative Social Work.

CONTEXT: Care provided to seriously ill patients by frontline social workers is a component of generalist-level palliative care. The core competencies for high-quality generalist-level palliative social work are necessary to promote training curricula and best practices but have not yet been defined in the U.S. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to develop consensus-derived core competencies for generalist-level palliative social work. METHODS: Fifty-five proposed social work competencies were categorized by the eight domains of palliative care identified by the National Consensus Project for Quality Palliative Care. The competencies were rated by 41 regionally dispersed, Master's level social workers selected through purposive and snowball sampling using a Delphi method. Each was rated as essential for generalist-level palliative social work, acceptable with modifications, or rejected based on the judgment that it was not essential for generalist-level palliative social work or was outside the scope of practice. Consensus was defined as >70% agreement to accept or reject a competency. Three review rounds were needed to achieve consensus on all competencies. RESULTS: Two competencies were added to the original list. Of the 57 proposed competencies, 41 were accepted (19 after modification) and 16 were rejected. Competencies in the social, spiritual, cultural, and ethical/legal aspects of care domains were relatively more likely to be accepted compared with those in structure and processes of care, physical care, psychological care, and care of patient at the end of life. CONCLUSION: The 41 consensus-derived competencies for generalist-level palliative social work may inform the development of training curricula and standards for high-quality care.

Implementing and evaluating an interprofessional minority health conference for social work and healthcare professionals.

Interprofessional education (IPE) is one strategy for addressing health inequities; however, little attention has been paid to continuing IPE for practicing social work and healthcare professionals. This article offers guidance to faculty in social work and health-related academic units on offering continuing IPE on the topic of minority health. An interprofessional group of faculty offered a day-long conference on minority health, ethics, and social justice. The conference goal was to promote interprofessional communication in a co-learning environment and promote dialogue on social determinants of health and health equity in the state. Data were obtained from surveys and analysis of work plans developed during the conference. Workshop participants were majority White (62%), social workers (79%), and practiced for 14 years on average. The most useful topics were dementia and polypharmacy. Takeaway strategies included interprofessional work, being mindful of access to resources, and engagement in continuing education. Lessons learned include plan in advance for all professions; recruit faculty and students from multiple departments to increase interprofessional diversity; offer strategies and incentives to increase student participation; be strategic about conference location and format; and identify a strategic format and theme. IPE is a means of preparing learners for working together in their future careers to provide high-quality patient-centred care and reduce health disparities. Professional development can provide an opportunity to enhance skills to address health disparities, and learning can be significantly enhanced when participants connect with colleagues from different professions, discuss diverse opinions, and share successful practices.