AOSW Connections
Editorial Team
Editor-in-Chief
Amy Colver, MSSA, MA, LISW
AOSW Communications Director
Jeanice Hansen, LCSW, OSW-C
Managing Editor
Patricia Sullivan
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To submit a story or information for inclusion in a future issue of AOSW Newsletter, contact Amy Colver or Melody Griffith on the list above.
Learning Opportunities Abound in 2024
By Teresa van Oort, MHA, MSSW, LCSW-S, and Catherine Cassingham, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C
What an exciting year for learning! 2024 has only just begun and AOSW is excited to offer several opportunities to engage in learning, professional development, growth and networking!
Annual Conference
AOSW’s 40th Virtual Annual Conference: Harnessing the Past for Growth in the Future, will take place May 21-23, utilizing the Zoom virtual platform. This virtual format will allow members who have historically been unable to attend in-person conferences due to disabilities and accessibility challenges, financial constraints and/or a lack of support from their institutions to participate in this milestone event. The 2024 Conference Committee is thrilled to share a wide variety of topics, and the ability to showcase so many new speakers. Registration is open now!
In addition to a robust conference, we are really excited to offer pre-conference workshops, on May 20, that range in skill level from new to oncology to advanced skills building. Newer offerings will meet the needs and interest level of everyone! The Pre-Conference workshop, Oncology Social Work 101: Growing Your Professional Self and Your Programs, will provide an opportunity for those newer to our profession and organization to learn from a panel of experts. For those looking to gain skills in leadership and development, the committee is excited to offer Advancing Clinical and Leadership Skills with ESPEC: Educating Social Workers in Palliative and End-of-Life Care (PPEOLC).
For those looking to add to their clinical toolbox, we are excited to feature a team from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai leading an e-learning training and virtual pre-conference session on Hypnosis for Cancer Pain. The course has six modules, each of which has a lecture, quizzes and optional enrichment activities. In addition, you will be required to complete two learning activities – one scenario-based, where you’ll be asked to write how you’d address patients’ questions and concerns about hypnosis, and one where you will be asked to submit a recording of yourself reading a scripted hypnosis session. To be eligible to participate in this pre-conference workshop, you will need to successfully complete all Modules of the Hypnosis for Cancer Pain E-Learning program by April 30, 2024. The online program is free and is funded by the National Cancer Institute. For social workers in all states, except New Jersey, you can receive up to 8.25 continuing education credits for participating.
We are most excited to share that when you register for the conference, you are now able to review the sessions via recording at any time to gain CEU credits at no additional cost to registration. That means you can gain CEUs from the sessions you attend and the sessions that are presenting at the same time! This is an amazing opportunity to attend a session live, while not having to miss out on the content and credits for those sessions at the same time.
AOSW CEU Webinars
Another great way to earn CEU credits for both your state licensure and OSW-C is through AOSW’s webinars, which are offered throughout the year! You can find future webinars scheduled here. Keep checking the website as more webinars are in the pipeline and will be added as they are scheduled. You will also see AOSW webinars advertised on SWON, email blasts, and social media (LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram).
Calling All Potential Speakers!
As 2024 gets underway, we have been working to streamline the application process for webinar speakers. Are you interested in presenting? Or have you recently been to a talk locally that your national AOSW members could benefit from? We have a new online form speakers can fill out that can be found on our website under “Webinars.” It is also linked at the end of this article! If you have questions about the process, feel free to email Catherine Cassingham, our CEU webinar chair, at Catherine.cassingham@nm.org. She would be happy to talk to anyone who is interested in speaking or she can reach out to speakers you have seen and enjoyed.
AOSW Webinar Form:
About the Authors
Catherine Cassingham, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C
Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern UniversityChicago, IL USA
Catherine.Cassingham@nm.org
Catherine Cassingham, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C, is a licensed clinical social worker who serves as the Solid Tumor social worker for the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. She received her BA in Psychology from the Un...
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Catherine Cassingham, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C
Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern UniversityChicago, IL USA
Catherine.Cassingham@nm.org
Catherine Cassingham, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C, is a licensed clinical social worker who serves as the Solid Tumor social worker for the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. She received her BA in Psychology from the University of St. Thomas and an MSW from Loyola University Chicago. During undergrad, Catherine had the opportunity to work on a research team looking at treatment options for breast cancer survivors. She continued on to pursue a career in oncology social work and is passionate about supporting patients and their families. In addition to oncology, Catherine has a limited private practice and is currently the chair of AOSW’s Webinar Committee.
Articles
AOSW Education NewsLearning Opportunities Abound in 2024
Teresa van Oort, MHA, MSSW, LCSW-S
Sr. Project ManagerUniversity of Chicago Medicine
Teresa van Oort, MHA, MSSW, LCSW-S, received a bachelor of business administration (BBA) at Texas Tech University, a master of healthcare administration (MHA) at Texas State University and a master of science in social work (MSSW) degree from the ...
Read Full Author Bio
Teresa van Oort, MHA, MSSW, LCSW-S
Sr. Project ManagerUniversity of Chicago Medicine
Teresa van Oort, MHA, MSSW, LCSW-S, received a bachelor of business administration (BBA) at Texas Tech University, a master of healthcare administration (MHA) at Texas State University and a master of science in social work (MSSW) degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Teresa worked in consulting with Advisory Board Company after completing an Executive Fellowship and becoming Assistant Market Administrator with Kindred. After which she obtained her MSSW completing her clinical internship in the critical care step down unit with Seton. She then transitioned to MD Anderson Cancer Center where Teresa first worked on the Lymphoma/Myeloma unit as a Social Work Counselor providing coordination of patient’s bio-psycho-social needs, comprehensive assessment and counseling services. After which she transitioned to leadership as the Clinical Program Manager in a hybrid clinical/administrative capacity focusing on departmental and institutional operational priorities & strategy (suicide, ACP, SDOH, and patient needs assessment), analytics & metrics, information technology, process & standards improvement. She’s spoken at local and national conferences on ACP, suicide assessment, MAID and productivity metrics. Teresa currently works as a Sr. Project Manager at University of Chicago Medicine with the Quality Performance and Improvement team, primarily focused on partnering with surgical teams to improve their patient care through enhanced clinical pathways and institutional ACP. She is also currently a Lecturer at The University of Chicago, Crown School of Social Work, Policy and Practice teaching classes focused on social work’s role in healthcare settings and ethics.
Articles
Learning Opportunities Abound in 2024