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.
June 2018
Volume 4 | Issue 3
President's Message
Around AOSW—Going Forward Financially
We want to include each of you in an important discussion about the financial viability of our organization. Attendees at the Business Meeting at the 2018 AOSW 34th Annual Conference in Atlanta heard a summary of this information. We are repeating this discussion in several formats, including the official business meeting and AOSW Navigator in order to be fully transparent with all of our members.
From the President-Elect: Defining Our Role in Crucial Moments
“I’m here because my doctor sent me, but I don’t need a social worker. What do you even do?”
AOSW Conference
AOSW Meets the Biden Cancer Initiative
Each year as spring approaches, I start impatiently looking forward to the AOSW Annual Conference and the inimitable experience of spending time with the other attendees. Each year, without fail, that time together is enough to remind me that I am part of an extraordinary and fierce community. During those three days I see glimpses of the possible better futures that may result from the collaboration of so many hearts and minds and it fuels my hope.
Committee Updates
Director-at-Large Report: An Update on the SIGs
As Director-at-Large, I have the pleasure of overseeing AOSW’s Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and the SIG Leaders. We have been busy working together to plan new ways to enhance the meaningfulness of the SIGs. In the past few years there have been many changes to the ways SIG information is provided to members. And—we have been diligently working to orient new SIG leaders while also supporting longtime leaders through these changes.
Clinical Content
Engaging Research to Inform Practice: Legacy-Building Literature Review
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
-Mary Oliver
Resources: The Importance of Field Instruction - Shaping the Next Generation of Oncology Social Workers
When asked why they joined this profession, I’ve heard many social workers answer that this career felt like a calling. It is something intangible within us, a desire to contribute to a greater good that draws us to pursue this path. As oncology social workers, we do this every day. Whether we are supporting patients and families at diagnosis, survivorship or end of life, we are doing meaningful work that reaches many.
SIG Updates
Patient Navigation SIG: Oncology Social Workers - Are we Patient Navigators?
The American Cancer Society’s 1989 "Report to the Nation on Cancer and the Poor" framed the basis for providing help for poor people who meet significant barriers when they attempt to seek diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The report states that “poor people often do not even seek care if they cannot pay for it and poor people experience more pain, suffering and death because of late stage disease” (p. 263). As a result of this report, Dr. Harold P. Freeman initiated the Patient Navigator Program at Harlem Hospital in New York City. He trained “lay navigators” to work with women of color with the hope of reducing the time from suspicious finding to confirmation of diagnosis and completion of treatment.
Ethics SIG: A New Focus and a New Co-Chair
Hello from Philadelphia! Last summer I came on board as the Ethics SIG leader. I have been interested in ethics for much of my career, with much of my clinical experience focused on ethical decision making and end-of-life care. In 2012, I completed my Masters degree in Bioethics (MBE) from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. I focused much of my bioethical training on narrative bioethics, mediation and social media/technology usage in medical settings. I teach bioethics as part of the healthcare specialization at the Penn School of Social Policy and Practice and will also be teaching this topic in Penn’s new-post masters advanced certificate program in oncology social work. I’m hoping to bring energy and leadership to the SIG and AOSW! I’m also thrilled to introduce our new SIG co-chair, Lind Roberts, LCSW, OSW-C, MSW, Masters in Divinity (M.Div).
Ambulatory/Fee for Service SIG: Providing Support to Underserved Populations
The cancer process is different for everyone, no matter their race or ethnicity. Unfortunately, minority populations seem to face a greater cancer burden compared to others (American Cancer Society, 2014). Much of this difference is due to factors such as poverty and “lack of access to prevention, education, and high-quality treatment” (Moody & Mannix, 2011, p. 1403). African Americans and Hispanics in the United States are “less likely to have health insurance, making it harder for them to access the care and support they need” (Moody & Mannix, p. 1404).
Director-at-Large Report: An Update on the SIGs
As Director-at-Large, I have the pleasure of overseeing AOSW’s Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and the SIG Leaders. We have been busy working together to plan new ways to enhance the meaningfulness of the SIGs. In the past few years there have been many changes to the ways SIG information is provided to members. And—we have been diligently working to orient new SIG leaders while also supporting longtime leaders through these changes.
Research
Research Report: Why the Sexual Medicine Society of North America Works For Me And Could Work For You
I asked Research Committee member Daniela Wittmann to write about her experience getting involved with the Sexual Medicine Society of North America. Making connections with other organizations (from simply checking out their websites, to attending a meeting, to joining and getting involved in leadership) can strengthen your research knowledge and perhaps even lead to exciting interdisciplinary research opportunities.
Julianne S Oktay, PhD, MSW
Kudos
KUDOS! AOSW Members Achievements
Please congratulate and cheer on the AOSW members who are featured in this KUDOS column! We are excited about the wonderful work that is being highlighted and look forward to showcasing more members in our next issue.
Member Spotlight
Member Spotlight: Erin Price, BS, MSW
How long have you been an oncology social worker?
I became an oncology social worker in 2017, but I have been working and volunteering in the field of psychosocial cancer support since shortly after my own cancer diagnosis in 2010. Being diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 27 significantly impacted me, and I felt strongly that I wanted to help other patients with cancer find resources and tools for getting through the process. I believe in the power of community and strive to help those faced with cancer connect to other survivors so that no one has to go through it alone.
KUDOS! AOSW Members Achievements
Please congratulate and cheer on the AOSW members who are featured in this KUDOS column! We are excited about the wonderful work that is being highlighted and look forward to showcasing more members in our next issue.