AOSW Connections
Editorial Team
Editor-in-Chief
Amy Colver, MSSA, MA, LISW
Editor
Katherine Easton, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C
AOSW Communications Director
Brittany Hahn, LCSW
Managing Editor
Patricia Sullivan
Contribute Today!
To submit a story or information for inclusion in a future issue of AOSW Newsletter, contact Amy Colver or Katherine Easton on the list above.
2025 Themes
February: Workplace & Culture
May: Therapeutic Techniques
August: Palliative Care
November: Caregivers
February 2018
Volume 4 | Issue 1
President's Message
President's Message: Around AOSW
Many faces come to mind as I think about what led me to this role as your president. Like all of you, these faces are easy to call to mind, they are the reason for our work. One of these faces belongs in a support group I facilitate for women living with advanced, metastatic cancer that I have been co-facilitating since 1999. It is a group that meets every two weeks—year-round—and we do not limit the number of sessions because these women never get over their cancer. They may be a part of the group for a few years until their cancer prevents them from coming. This is the clinical aspect of my work that I hold onto in order to inform my life, my teaching and my research. These women teach me much. They are my purpose, and the reason for my vision and mission.
From the President-Elect: Challenging Social Injustice
News headlines the past calendar year have forced me to think about social justice quite often. The NASW Code of Ethics tells us that social justice is a value of our profession:
Social workers pursue social change, particularly with and on behalf of vulnerable and oppressed individuals and groups of people…activities seek to promote sensitivity to and knowledge about oppression and cultural and ethnic diversity. Social workers strive to ensure access to needed information, services, and resources; equality of opportunity; and meaningful participation in decision making for all people.
Committee Updates
Director's Report: Research
I am humbled by the opportunity to serve as your new AOSW Research Director. The support you have demonstrated by your confidence and enthusiasm in my appointment means the world to me. Please trust that I will work tirelessly to address the needs of our cancer community in this role as your research director and more broadly in my academic role at the Duke University School of Nursing.
Clinical Content
Film Review: "patient, a surgeon’s journey"
On Feb 1, 2014, Dr. Jeffrey Piehler‘s article, “Ashes to Ashes, but First a Nice Pine Box,” was published online in The New York Times. The subsequent film, “patient, a surgeon’s journey,” was inspired by Piehler’s message, “No one wants to talk about dying, but everyone wants to talk about dying.”
SIG Updates
Radiation Oncology SIG: Support Programs in Our Radiation Clinic
As oncology social workers, one of our biggest roles is finding ways to support our patients. This can mean offering supportive counseling, providing access to financial resources and building support programs that allow patients to connect with their peers.
Research
Director's Report: Research
I am humbled by the opportunity to serve as your new AOSW Research Director. The support you have demonstrated by your confidence and enthusiasm in my appointment means the world to me. Please trust that I will work tirelessly to address the needs of our cancer community in this role as your research director and more broadly in my academic role at the Duke University School of Nursing.
Advocacy & Health Policy
From the President-Elect: Challenging Social Injustice
News headlines the past calendar year have forced me to think about social justice quite often. The NASW Code of Ethics tells us that social justice is a value of our profession:
Social workers pursue social change, particularly with and on behalf of vulnerable and oppressed individuals and groups of people…activities seek to promote sensitivity to and knowledge about oppression and cultural and ethnic diversity. Social workers strive to ensure access to needed information, services, and resources; equality of opportunity; and meaningful participation in decision making for all people.
Book Review
Film Review: "patient, a surgeon’s journey"
On Feb 1, 2014, Dr. Jeffrey Piehler‘s article, “Ashes to Ashes, but First a Nice Pine Box,” was published online in The New York Times. The subsequent film, “patient, a surgeon’s journey,” was inspired by Piehler’s message, “No one wants to talk about dying, but everyone wants to talk about dying.”
Member Spotlight
Member Spotlight: Marie Lavigne, LCSW, OSW-C
How long have you been an oncology social worker?
10 years