By Sarah Conning, LCSW, OSW-C, APHSW-C

The Association of Oncology Social Work (AOSW) recently convened for our first in-person conference since 2019. This thrilling event took place June 15-17 in Raleigh, North Carolina, just days after the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) held its in-person return in Chicago. In Raleigh, there were many happy reunions, many new faces, and time for reflection about the challenges and changes we have endured through these past two years of the global pandemic. 

In meetings, breakout sessions, keynote presentations, and the in-between spaces where so much of the best collaboration takes place, we saw many examples of engagement and partnership between three essential arms of the social work profession: direct practice, research and advocacy.   

Being together in the large space of the Raleigh Convention Center created the opening for many smaller spaces of collaboration to pop up. In one room, we saw an energetic meeting organized by the Research Special Interest Group (SIG) and the Research Committee meet, bringing clinicians and researchers together in creative dialogue. Down the hall, members of the AOSW Advocacy Committee engaged participants in reflection about “crossing the line” between clinical and policy practice; they facilitated a panel presentation featuring social work policy advocates from NASW North Carolina, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and oncology practice settings. Around the corner, colleagues from Memorial Sloan Kettering offered a presentation exploring how to implement antiracist practices in our clinical work. Upstairs in the general session room, participants were inspired by an opening keynote from Dr. Karen Bullock and later by the American Cancer Society Quality of Life lecture from Elizabeth Franklin pointing us toward the “north star” of oncology social work advocacy.

The full practice of social work requires all three elements—direct practice, research and advocacy—working together in tandem. It requires partnership and collaboration between different corners of the profession. Being together in person in Raleigh made physical space to nurture these partnerships—through conversation, connection and creative engagement. Even laughter, friendship and fun (of which there was plenty!) serve the purpose of preparing us to work better together. 

We have returned to our individual work settings, but these partnerships are poised to continue through the work of our Association. That means committees and workgroups! Through our Research Committee, for example, we will pursue a research agenda to advance the field and build capacity through practice-research collaborations. Likewise, our Advocacy Committee will pull from the experience of practitioners around the country to set and pursue advocacy priorities for the coming year. Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee will help us build a more diverse workforce capable of addressing inequities in cancer care. And that is only to name a few.

As clinicians, researchers, educators, administrators, and policy practitioners, we belong in dialog together. The interplay is essential to advancing our work, no matter which corner is home for us individually. Only in partnership, in association, can we see the full expression of the social work profession.