By Karen Costello, MSS, LSW, OSW-C, and Chelsea Kroll, MSW, LMSW, OSW-C 

The Association of Oncology Social Work (AOSW) offers Special Interest Groups (SIGs) to its members. Yet some members might not know what a SIG entails and so might not join. This can mean a lost opportunity to network, learn and have fun! I am new to SIGs and have already found great value in being with other oncology social workers interested in patient navigation. 

SIG membership is a great way to meet other members of AOSW especially those who work in similar settings or have interests in the same areas of oncology social work that you do. In addition, SIGs host meetings that can be a source of education, inspiration, connectedness and even support. This year, many AOSW SIGs are hosting virtual meetings on a regular basis. These weekly, monthly, quarterly or annual meetings mean those who attend will get to know each other well and this then opens the opportunity to learn from one another and make new colleagues and friends.  

In addition, anyone who attends the AOSW annual conference this June in New Orleans can drop into an in-person SIG meeting. The SIG meetings are being held on Tuesday, June 20, and Wednesday, June 21. You can check out the complete schedule of SIG meetings found in the annual conference section of our website.  In case you are not able to attend a SIG meeting and still want to connect with a SIG leader while you’re at the conference, the Whova conference app will allow you to directly connect with a SIG leader via messaging.


There are so many amazing topics covered at our Annual Conference this year and many are relevant to the SIG topic areas. The conference organizers have worked very hard to follow each SIG meeting with a topic-related session. This is a great way to immerse yourself in the subject matter and get the most from learning at the Conference. For example, if you’re interested in Research, you’ll be able to locate sessions on the schedule that have the RES tag. For those interested in Blood/Bone Marrow, sessions will be tagged BMT, etc. 
 
You can find SIG leaders everywhere during the Annual Conference – we’ll be wearing name badges with ribbons to indicate that we are SIG leaders. Come up to us and ask us more about how to visit or become a member! You can also stop by the SIG table in the exhibit hall to learn more, ask questions and/or sign up!  
 
On behalf of the SIG leaders, please consider attending a SIG meeting while at the conference -we look forward to meeting you in New Orleans!