Learning from the Past & Looking Forward to the Future
By Nicole Marcouiller, LICSW, OSW-C

It is hard to believe that another conference is already upon us. As I was reflecting on the theme of this issue of Connections, “The Impact of Technology on Psychosocial Oncology Care,” while writing about our upcoming conference, I was struck by the timing. Though it was a difficult decision for our board, the decision was made this year to offer a virtual conference. In this 40^th year of the AOSW conference, the goal and vision for this year’s conference was to expand access to social workers that may not otherwise have the opportunity to participate. Many don’t have institutional support, or they may be sole social workers that can’t easily leave their clinics to participate in a conference. Many of us have families and loved ones that can’t afford to have us step away.

But what the last four years have given us, is a new way to look at how we connect. Our experience going into the conference, parallels changes in how we provide care. Expanding our reach to patients that may not otherwise have the opportunity, and wanting to be sure we are providing the same quality care no matter the distance. The conference planning and engagement committees have worked hard to build a conference we think will meet those connection goals and give many more people the opportunity to participate in this learning experience. We invite you to join us May 21-23. Here’s just a glimpse of what we have to look forward to.

Our pre-conference trainings are robust and represent the range of experiences AOSW members have. We encourage those of you new to our field to join the Oncology Social Work 101 session to help you grow your skill set and gain confidence in your work. Register for that session today! Although we were able to partner with wonderful facilitators from Mount Sinai to lead Hypnosis for Cancer Pain, and a stellar group of presenters will be facilitating Advancing Clinical and Leadership Skills with ESPEC: Education Social Workers in Palliative and End-of-Life Care, those two sessions are sold out.

As the conference gets started, we invite you all to take the opportunity to join other oncology social workers at our welcome breakfast on Tuesday, May 21, from 9:30-10 a.m. ET. This will be a chance for our large cohort of first-time attendees to get a feel for what the coming days may entail and for all of us to get a sense of the breadth of the places we represent. Find a fun background to represent your home state and grab your coffee as we kick off the conference.

We were fortunate this year to be able to coordinate with and hear from the State Representatives (find your state rep) about what you need from trainings. With that in mind we are looking forward to some excellent sessions that not only offer those needed ethics CEUs, but also cultural competency, IPV, financial toxicity, leadership, trauma informed care, and of course how to harness technology for best patient outcomes. The conference schedule also includes information on the corresponding BOSWC Domains, supporting you in your work towards obtaining and maintaining your OSW-C. Our Special Interest Groups (SIGs) continue to help provide leadership in the growth of our field and many will be active during the conference introducing speakers and making connections between the research and the work. And a big highlight this year, because of our virtual format we will be able to record sessions and offer the ability to continue to collect CEUs digitally for sessions you may miss live. We know how hard it can be to choose between multiple concurrent sessions and hope this will give you the chance to learn from all our speakers.

We continue to engage with some generous sponsors and look forward to offering the lunch panels that you are used to and opportunities for connection. And on Wednesday, May 22, please join us to celebrate the contributions of our poster presenters. We invite you to grab your mocktail or cocktail and meet us to hear them speak about the work they are doing.

This is a new experience for many of us, an opportunity to connect virtually with social workers all over the country who are engaging in the work and grappling with challenges that are familiar to all of us. This conference mirrors the experiences that our patients are having as we find the balance between the traditional supports we have always offered and ever-expanding technological connections. How poignant as we “Harness the Past for Growth in the Future.” It can feel frustrating to not have the type of connections we may have anticipated, but how privileged we are to be able to offer opportunities to patients and ourselves that may not typically have had access. The conference planning committee is ready and our presenters have been working hard. We look forward to connecting more with you all soon. Not registered yet? Visit the Registration page of the website