AOSW Connections

On Vision

“Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.”
 – Japanese proverb

Children’s Mercy is one of the largest pediatric hospitals in the Midwest. Located in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, it is a thriving hospital that is constantly changing and growing to meet the unique needs of the continuously expanding population of Kansas City and the surrounding area. Patients come to Children’s Mercy not only for the routine bumps and bruises of childhood, but also for the specialists who are advancing medicine every day.

AOSW will be celebrating its 35th conference in 2019. While we have no way of knowing all the lives our organization has touched, the careers it has launched or the social change it has affected, we do know that it is a privilege and honor to be a part of this legacy of service. At our 2018 conference in May, 24 of us were honored to be recognized not only as past presidents but also as members of the Inaugural Class of AOSW Fellows. The opportunity to continue to give to our profession and AOSW in this capacity is one we take humbly and seriously. As we all know, leadership is about the greater why, and finding a new way to contribute and lend our institutional history is an exciting prospect.

It is well documented that burnout in medical providers is common (Chen, 2012) and even higher in oncology (Whippen & Canellos, 1991). Self-care is a critical component to sustain a career in the medical field or helping profession. What is less well documented is self-care as a team-based approach. Research supporting a team-based approach for self-care is primarily found in the fields of organizational and industrial psychology. The suggestions offered here come from personal experience in working as an oncology social worker as part of both a medical team and a larger psycho-oncology department within a hospital system. I hope these suggestions will act as a springboard for other departments or groups to explore group self-care practices, in addition to individual self-care approaches.

Recent changes in cancer care standards have led to increased distress screening in oncology social work. This has had many positive outcomes; screening itself, however, without effective follow-up services is not enough.

Oncology social workers move up and down the dial of intensity from crisis counseling to the mundane taxi voucher. While we may be rushed, we want to be especially attentive to our patients’ deeper, emotional needs and their strong desire to cope.