Research On The Role Dilemma Of Medical Social Workers In Hospice Care Services

In order to implement the national strategy of actively coping with population aging,the State Council recently issued the "14th Five-Year Plan for National Aging Development and Senior Care Service System",which proposes to develop Hospice Care Services and strengthen the construction of hospice multidisciplinary teams.This has put forward higher requirements for all professionals in the team,and medical social workers are facing many difficulties in this new situation because the development of localization is still immature,among which the role dilemma of medical social workers is the most critical and is the basis of whether the practical work can be effective.Therefore,this study will focus on the role dilemma of medical social workers and explore the following three questions:What are the aspects of the role dilemma of medical social workers in Hospice Care Services?What are the main factors that lead to the role dilemma?What measures can be taken to alleviate the role dilemma of medical social workers?Based on the social role theory and role distance theory,this study adopted the case study method,selected a typical case of Jinan S nursing home,used participant observation and semi-structured interview method,collected first-hand information and conducted in-depth analysis.The ideal role and role practice of medical social workers in Hospice Care Services were sorted out,the gap between the two was compared,the specific manifestations of the role dilemma were outlined,the causes of the dilemma were analyzed in depth,and feasible countermeasures were proposed to break the role dilemma of medical social workers in the light of the real situation.The study found,the ideal roles of medical should be:assessors of patients’psychological and social problems,supporters of patients and patients’ families,collaborators of medical staff,trainers and leaders of volunteers,and policy researchers and advocates.In practice,however,all kinds of role practices fail to meet the role expectations,and the role dilemma is mainly manifested in three aspects:role confusion,limited role and role deficiency;Through in-depth analysis,I found that the role dilemma was mainly due to five reasons:insufficient knowledge and ability of medical social workers,lack of recognition and cooperation from clients,low recognition of hospice team members,weak support from medical institutions with unclear job settings,and the prevalence of "uselessness of social workers" in the society.Approaches to Solving the Role Dilemma of Medical Social Workers:to improve the professional level of medical social workers and enhance their self-awareness;to improve college courses and increase on-the-job training to enhance the professionalism of medical social workers;to improve the professional recognition of medical social workers by medical staff and service recipients;to clarify the job settings of medical social workers and improve promotion channels;to increase social publicity and Promote the construction of social work system.