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.
April 2017
Volume 3 | Issue 2
President's Message
President's Message: Around AOSW
We have a short lull between the excitement of Social Work Month and the start of AOSW’s Annual Conference. Let me catch you up on some of the activities that are going on behind the scenes. We want AOSW to be transparent and accessible to our members, so I will use our Strategic Plan as a framework to help you understand the context and impact of our work.
Meet a Former AOSW Leader: Susan Stensland, LCSW
Do you have memories of having been inspired by great leaders in AOSW you have not heard from in a while? Well, we are reaching out to AOSW’s former leaders and asking them to share news about where they are and what they are doing now. We begin this new feature with Past President and amazing OSW Susan Stensland, LCSW, who recently retired from Nebraska Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska.
AOSW Conference
AOSW Welcomes Distinguished Guest Speakers
The theme for the 2017 AOSW Annual Conference — “Oncology Social Work: Elevating Compassion, Experience and Vision”— reminds us of the qualities and expertise that oncology social workers possess and apply to enhance the quality of life for patients with cancer, their families and communities. This year, we are honored to have three distinguished guest speakers: Julia Rowland, PhD; Yvette Colón, PhD, ACSW, BCD; and Patrice Al-Shatti, MSW, LMSW. These three embody the compassion, experience and vision that is the hallmark of our field.
Get Your Rocky Mountain High
This year’s Annual Conference is being held in Denver, Colorado, an amazing city with the heartbeat of old westerns, new generation and some of the best libations, food and enjoyment to be had!
Donations Support the AOSW Awards and Scholarships Program
There's still time to donate to the Silent Auction being held at the 2017 Annual Conference in Denver.
Your tax-deductible donations to the auction support the AOSW Awards and Scholarships program, which make it possible for social workers and social work students in need to attend an AOSW Annual Conference.
Education
Resources: Wish Fulfillment For Our Cancer Patients
As a new oncology social worker, I had to learn too quickly about the many challenges that advanced stage cancer patients face throughout the duration of their disease. In my position at Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Newnan, Georgia, I envisioned work days filled with providing the “Mother Standard of Care” to all patients who walked into our center. I planned on delivering cheer, reciting stories of hope, faith, encouragement and comfort while also providing practical support.
Book & Film Reviews: Handbook of Oncology Social Work: Psychosocial Care for People with Cancer Grace Christ, Carolyn Messner, & Lynn Behar (Eds.)
The AOSW Navigator Book & Film Reviews column has dedicated 2016 and early 2017 to reviewing the inaugural Handbook of Oncology Social Work: Psychosocial Care for People with Cancer. This is an exceptional publication that has already become a “go-to” resource for oncology social workers across the globe. More than 20 AOSW members have and will participate in reviewing individual chapters while sharing insights, information and passages from this important work.
Clinical Content
Ethical Wills: Helping Our Clients Create a Work of Legacy
Every one of us receives and passes on an inheritance. The inheritance may not be an accumulation of earthly possessions or acquired riches, but whether we realize it or not, our choices, words, actions and values will impact someone and form the heritage we hand down. — Ben Hardesty
Resources: Wish Fulfillment For Our Cancer Patients
As a new oncology social worker, I had to learn too quickly about the many challenges that advanced stage cancer patients face throughout the duration of their disease. In my position at Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Newnan, Georgia, I envisioned work days filled with providing the “Mother Standard of Care” to all patients who walked into our center. I planned on delivering cheer, reciting stories of hope, faith, encouragement and comfort while also providing practical support.
Book & Film Reviews: Handbook of Oncology Social Work: Psychosocial Care for People with Cancer Grace Christ, Carolyn Messner, & Lynn Behar (Eds.)
The AOSW Navigator Book & Film Reviews column has dedicated 2016 and early 2017 to reviewing the inaugural Handbook of Oncology Social Work: Psychosocial Care for People with Cancer. This is an exceptional publication that has already become a “go-to” resource for oncology social workers across the globe. More than 20 AOSW members have and will participate in reviewing individual chapters while sharing insights, information and passages from this important work.
SIG Updates
New Research Activities and Events
For this column, I want to share some of the very exciting recent AOSW activities related to research. These include the establishment of a new Research SIG, the launch of the new PCORI-funded (Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute) Patient-Centered Research Collaborative of Psychosocial Oncology (PCRC) and some terrific research-oriented events taking place at the Denver conference. I hope you will be interested in getting involved in some of these opportunities.
Integrative Oncology SIG: From the Inside Out
When writing this article, we were unsure of what we could add that would resonate with our oncology social work colleagues around the country. Immediately, each of us could visualize the other, a colleague, someone we’d never met in person, on the other end of the email smiling, laughing and doing a little bit of fretting. Mainly, we were both excited about what integrative oncology has to offer our patients. And we knew we could help each other get down on paper what we love about integrative oncology, in order to share that with other AOSW members.
Research
New Research Activities and Events
For this column, I want to share some of the very exciting recent AOSW activities related to research. These include the establishment of a new Research SIG, the launch of the new PCORI-funded (Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute) Patient-Centered Research Collaborative of Psychosocial Oncology (PCRC) and some terrific research-oriented events taking place at the Denver conference. I hope you will be interested in getting involved in some of these opportunities.
Book Review
Book & Film Reviews: Handbook of Oncology Social Work: Psychosocial Care for People with Cancer Grace Christ, Carolyn Messner, & Lynn Behar (Eds.)
The AOSW Navigator Book & Film Reviews column has dedicated 2016 and early 2017 to reviewing the inaugural Handbook of Oncology Social Work: Psychosocial Care for People with Cancer. This is an exceptional publication that has already become a “go-to” resource for oncology social workers across the globe. More than 20 AOSW members have and will participate in reviewing individual chapters while sharing insights, information and passages from this important work.
Kudos
Achievements of AOSW Members
Kudos is back and we are excited to share some of our members’ accomplishments over the past few months. This edition’s list is small but mighty with news of certifications, elections, publications, interviews, Hall of Fame inductions and promotions. For those of you who have not read a KUDOS column before, this is a space where we celebrate our members and all the challenging, creative, professional growing things we are doing. We honor our members’ hard work and inspire others to continue to promote excellence within the oncology social work profession.
Join me in congratulating and being inspired by the news from these members…
Member Spotlight
Meet a Former AOSW Leader: Susan Stensland, LCSW
Do you have memories of having been inspired by great leaders in AOSW you have not heard from in a while? Well, we are reaching out to AOSW’s former leaders and asking them to share news about where they are and what they are doing now. We begin this new feature with Past President and amazing OSW Susan Stensland, LCSW, who recently retired from Nebraska Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska.
Member Spotlight: Teri Freeman, LCSW
How long have you been an oncology social worker?
11 years.
Where do you currently work?
University of Tennessee Cancer Institute in Knoxville, Tennessee.
What is your position?
Outpatient oncology social worker.
Achievements of AOSW Members
Kudos is back and we are excited to share some of our members’ accomplishments over the past few months. This edition’s list is small but mighty with news of certifications, elections, publications, interviews, Hall of Fame inductions and promotions. For those of you who have not read a KUDOS column before, this is a space where we celebrate our members and all the challenging, creative, professional growing things we are doing. We honor our members’ hard work and inspire others to continue to promote excellence within the oncology social work profession.
Join me in congratulating and being inspired by the news from these members…