tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77296981873020143912024-03-13T22:56:41.485-07:00Adventures of a (not so) Cheap Social WorkerCheap Social Workerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985504460374894779noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729698187302014391.post-4346158967441270412017-01-30T13:51:00.003-08:002017-01-30T13:51:25.229-08:00Discrimination Against Patients by Healthcare ProvidersRedirect: <a href="http://cheapsocialworker.blogspot.com/2017/01/discrimination-against-patients-by.html" target="_blank">(not so ) Cheap Social Worker: Discrimination Against Patients by Healthcare Providers</a>Cheap Social Workerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985504460374894779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729698187302014391.post-82961324076435514702015-06-25T22:39:00.002-07:002017-01-30T13:52:04.395-08:00Social Workers Are Ridiculously UnderpaidRedirect: <a href="http://cheapsocialworker.blogspot.com/2015/06/social-workers-are-ridiculously.html">http://cheapsocialworker.blogspot.com/2015/06/social-workers-are-ridiculously.html</a>Cheap Social Workerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985504460374894779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729698187302014391.post-76373004199769998202015-04-01T20:36:00.001-07:002015-04-01T20:36:23.024-07:00Santa Clara County Social Worker Reclassification: Fight for Title Protection!Redirect: <a href="http://cheapsocialworker.blogspot.com/2015/04/santa-clara-county-social-worker.html">http://cheapsocialworker.blogspot.com/2015/04/santa-clara-county-social-worker.html</a>Cheap Social Workerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985504460374894779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729698187302014391.post-65021906842512324502015-03-10T22:49:00.002-07:002015-03-10T22:49:36.637-07:00VA Social Worker Mocks Veterans SuicidesRedirect: <a href="http://cheapsocialworker.blogspot.com/2015/03/va-social-worker-mocks-veteran-suicides.html">http://cheapsocialworker.blogspot.com/2015/03/va-social-worker-mocks-veteran-suicides.html</a>Cheap Social Workerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985504460374894779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729698187302014391.post-6163018568725290622015-01-21T22:02:00.001-08:002015-01-21T22:02:16.934-08:00New Year, New GoalsRedirect: <a href="http://cheapsocialworker.blogspot.com/2015/01/new-year-new-goals.html">http://cheapsocialworker.blogspot.com/2015/01/new-year-new-goals.html</a>Cheap Social Workerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985504460374894779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729698187302014391.post-41449208954977928022014-10-05T08:59:00.003-07:002014-10-05T16:55:18.423-07:00Joking About Low Social Worker PayRedirect: http://cheapsocialworker.blogspot.com/2014/10/joking-about-low-social-worker-pay.htmlCheap Social Workerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985504460374894779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729698187302014391.post-2623882788508730252014-06-20T19:06:00.003-07:002014-06-20T19:07:07.400-07:00TSG.TV's Pokemon Marathon for St. Jude Children's Research HospitalRedirect: <a href="http://cheapsocialworker.blogspot.com/2014/06/tsgtvs-pokemon-marathon-for-st-jude.html">http://cheapsocialworker.blogspot.com/2014/06/tsgtvs-pokemon-marathon-for-st-jude.html</a><br />
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TSG.TV's Pokemon Marathon for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
- See more at: http://cheapsocialworker.blogspot.com/2014/06/tsgtvs-pokemon-marathon-for-st-jude.html#sthash.xBLlHUa4.dpuf</div>
Cheap Social Workerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985504460374894779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729698187302014391.post-28244405464339585272014-06-16T19:48:00.003-07:002014-06-16T19:48:43.915-07:00The Best/Worst Graduation Speech I've Ever HeardRedirect: <a href="http://cheapsocialworker.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-bestworst-graduation-speech-ive.html">http://cheapsocialworker.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-bestworst-graduation-speech-ive.html</a>Cheap Social Workerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985504460374894779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729698187302014391.post-2154784441456452542014-06-15T07:36:00.003-07:002014-06-15T07:37:38.047-07:00Obama Says He Wants More People to Become Social WorkersRedirect: <a href="http://cheapsocialworker.blogspot.com/2014/06/obama-says-he-wants-more-young-people.html">http://cheapsocialworker.blogspot.com/2014/06/obama-says-he-wants-more-young-people.html</a>Cheap Social Workerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985504460374894779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729698187302014391.post-35486095043275193902014-02-12T21:21:00.000-08:002014-02-12T21:21:01.972-08:00What Social Workers MakeRedirect: <a href="http://cheapsocialworker.blogspot.com/2014/02/what-social-workers-make.html">http://cheapsocialworker.blogspot.com/2014/02/what-social-workers-make.html</a>Cheap Social Workerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985504460374894779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729698187302014391.post-78707024272964517092014-01-23T21:40:00.000-08:002014-01-23T21:40:16.795-08:00Models of Social Work Practice In a HospitalRedirect: <a href="http://cheapsocialworker.blogspot.com/2014/01/models-of-social-work-practice-in.html">http://cheapsocialworker.blogspot.com/2014/01/models-of-social-work-practice-in.html</a>Cheap Social Workerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985504460374894779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729698187302014391.post-46348521496636897302014-01-08T14:15:00.001-08:002014-01-08T14:15:21.215-08:00MOVING!Hello and Happy New Year!<br />
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After much though and time, I have decided to once again change the format of my blogs in an attempt to blog more frequently. This morning, I have merged the contents of this blog with <a href="http://cheapsocialworker.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">(not so) Cheap Social Worker</a>. All new posts can be found there. This site will still be around for a while, but I will no longer be updating it.<br />
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Thank you for your continued support of my blog, and see you on my other page!Cheap Social Workerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985504460374894779noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729698187302014391.post-33012440739384134282013-01-10T23:06:00.000-08:002013-01-10T23:06:26.854-08:00Why Nurses Make More Than Social WorkersOn social worker blogs and among my peers, I often hear about how unfair it is that nurses get paid more than social workers. A common catchphrase is, "Social workers have twice the education, but half the salary!" A while back, this same issue came up on a <a href="http://www.socialworkersspeak.org/cheers-and-jeers/social-work-low-pay-high-stress.html" target="_blank">social worker salary post</a> on <a href="http://socialworkersspeak.org/">SocialWorkersSpeak.org</a>. I wrote a rather long comment in response and thought it would be good to repost it here. It's my take on this controversial and recurring issue in our field.
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<i>I can only theorize as to why nurses make more than social workers. While I don’t necessarily agree with everything on this list, here’s what I’ve brainstormed:<br />
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-Liability: Perhaps nurses are paid more because they directly impact the lives of patients. Injecting the wrong medication dosage, not using proper sanitation methods, and other such mistakes can severely hurt of kill a patient. Furthermore, nurses face many occupational hazards such as direct exposure to diseases, bodily fluids, needlesticks, etc. I did not go to nursing school because I did not want to handle wounds, clean bodily waste and commodes, and whatnot. I’m willing to pay the nurses to let them deal with that.<br />
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-Curriculum: My social worker friends me that they cannot handle nursing curriculum because it is too difficult and rigorous. I do not know if this is true, but I can attest that curriculum-wise, my MSW program was significantly easier than any science class I took as an undergrad (though my brain is probably just not wired for science). At work, I am frequently impressed by the breadth of knowledge the nurses have, even the ones with an AA degree. These nurses are individuals that make recommendations to doctors as to how to treat the patient. Even with an MSW, I find myself feeling like an idiot at work due to my utter lack of medical knowledge compared to nurses. Furthermore, I feel as if I apply very little of my grad school curriculum at work.<br />
Where I work, RN case managers lead the discharge planning process. This seems to make sense to me because RNs are capable of obtaining psychosocial information while also being knowledgeable about the medical aspects of the patient. It’s much more efficient, as social workers like myself often have to defer to RN case managers when getting insurance authorizations, explaining why a patient needs a certain treatment, reading lab/PT/OT/x-ray results, and even determining if a patient is discharging. When coordinating care between the various allied health fields, I’d trust the nurse to do it over myself because I simply don’t have the medical knowledge a nurse does. I feel I work best when brought in as a consultant to handle the psychosocial aspect of care affecting discharge.<br />
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-Unions: Nurses have a very powerful union and are able to bargain for their wages. I know of hospitals with nurses that threaten to strike every year unless their demands are met. If social workers were to do the same, I’m sure the wages would go up.<br />
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-Economics: Nursing schools are severely impacted. At some schools in my area, there is a 5 year wait list to get in. By keeping nursing schools capped, this keeps the number of nurses entering the workforce low. With such a high demand for nurses, these hospitals with snatch up these new nursing grads and pay pretty generous salaries too.<br />
Unfortunately the field is saturated with social science type majors who can get hired to perform “counseling” type work. Until social workers can ensure national title protection, we’ll have high school/college grads doing our work for cheap and driving down our wages. Nursing does not have this problem.<br />
It seems like the high paying jobs these days are in health and hard sciences: engineering, computer programming, technology, medicine, etc. If you look at salary figures, those who studied the health/hard sciences tend to make more than humanities/social sciences. That’s because those in the former tend to work in profit-driven companies. Most social workers on the other hand end up in the non-profit sector.<br />
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I’m not trying to say that nursing is better than social work. However, I don’t think we should be talking about an AA in nursing like it’s cake. Many RNs I know with AA degrees are as knowledgeable than BSNs. Also, nurses should be our allies, not our rivals. At my job, the bedside nurse spends significantly more time with the patient than the social worker, and is hence an excellent resource when it comes to psychosocial issues.<br />
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Instead of comparing ourselves to other professions, we should look without our own field and see how we can improve. If we must compare ourselves to nursing, remember than decades ago, nurses were as overworked underpaid as social workers. By unionizing, advocating, and empowering themselves, they have grown to be a powerful profession in the medical field. Nurses have worked their way up since the days of Florence Nightingale. Social worker have the capacity to do the same.<br />
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Hope this explanation helps!</i></blockquote>
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Thoughts?Cheap Social Workerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985504460374894779noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729698187302014391.post-23795627780026113442012-10-26T18:41:00.000-07:002012-10-26T18:44:11.275-07:00San Francisco Giants in the World Series: So Much Love in the City!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've already touched on the World Series on <a href="http://cheapsocialworker.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Cheap Social Worker </a>(don't forget to get your <a href="http://cheapsocialworker.blogspot.com/2012/10/steal-base-get-free-taco.html">free tacos</a>), but after last night I felt the need to expand on it on this blog! My apologies to Detroit Tigers fans!<br />
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Yesterday, I decided to take a trip to AT&T Park. Being the cheap social worker that I am, I didn't have $500 to spare for World Series tickets. I also didn't wake up early enough to camp out for a spot at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT%26T_Park#Right_field_and_McCovey_Cove">right field keyhole</a>. Instead, I figured I would walk around, get a shirt, get some food, take in the sights, and find a TV to watch the game. Boy, was it an experience!<br />
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Outside the park was a party in itself. Mobs of people were congregated behind makeshift sportscaster sets in an attempt to get on TV. Radio stations were handing out free signs. Various companies were handing out free lanyards, black and orange beads, and coupons. Artists and other vendors were milling around trying to sell Giants gear.<br />
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The crowds thinned out a little by game time, but you didn't have to be inside the park it take in the World Series experience. Following the National Anthem, four fighter planes flew directly over my head. While I wasn't able to get into the right field keyhole, I got to see some of the action from the gates leading into it. The vacated sportscaster sets all had televisions tuned into the game, with crowds of people watching and cheering on the Giants. The only issue was that the broadcast was roughly 15 seconds delayed from what was happening inside the stadium, so every time a roar erupted everyone outside would pull out their phones or run to the nearest television.<br />
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The magic didn't end with the game. As I was walking home with my Giants shirt and hat, I was stopped my numerous people from all walks of life asking about the score. It was nice giving people something to smile about for a change.<br />
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Professional sports tends to get a bad rap these days. However, no one can argue value of sports in uniting a community. I've lost track of the number of strangers I've high-fived these past few days. The shared euphoria that comes with watching your city's team succeed definitely transcends political, cultural, and linguistic differences. I know it's temporary and will screech to a halt if things don't go well for Giants. Let's not forget that elections are in less than two weeks, which will likely bring about divisiveness all over again. Hence, I'm enjoying this sense of community and love while it lasts!<br />
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Here are a few pictures from my day in San Francisco. GO GIANTS!!!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Gkzzua-hPDI/UIs0W4Q-mnI/AAAAAAAAC9I/xKiYZkZ5Quw/s1600/20121025_190808.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="McCovey Cove San Francisco" border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Gkzzua-hPDI/UIs0W4Q-mnI/AAAAAAAAC9I/xKiYZkZ5Quw/s320/20121025_190808.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vFG6XzOqH-E/UIs13HOqOoI/AAAAAAAAC9U/juArznxbvFg/s1600/attpark.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="AT&T Park San Francisco" border="0" height="206" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vFG6XzOqH-E/UIs13HOqOoI/AAAAAAAAC9U/juArznxbvFg/s320/attpark.png" title="" width="320" /></a></div>
<iframe bordercolor="#000000" frameborder="0" height="250" hspace="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/adi/N7433.148119.BLOGGEREN/B6628327.117;sz=300x250;ord=[timestamp]?;lid=41000000000342669;pid=1274410;usg=AFHzDLsyxnvWgLSMh7Ai7jWL0oA-nB5tHA;adurl=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.kohls.com%252Fupgrade%252Fwebstore%252Fproduct_page.jsp%253FPRODUCT%25253C%25253Eprd_id%253D845524893075132%2526pfx%253Dpfx_shopcompare%2526cid%253Dshopping3;pubid=590150;price=%2425.00;title=Majestic+San+Francisco+Giants+2012+National+League+Champions+Tee+-+Men;merc=Kohl%27s;imgsrc=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.kohls.com.edgesuite.net%2Fis%2Fimage%2Fkohls%2F1274410%3Fwid%3D500%26hei%3D500%26op_sharpen%3D1;width=135;height=135" vspace="0" width="300"></iframe>Cheap Social Workerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985504460374894779noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729698187302014391.post-29273166331711658202012-10-15T14:07:00.002-07:002012-10-15T14:16:55.129-07:00Happy National Case Management Week!October 14-20 marks National Case Management Week, acknowledging the efforts of case managers working in the healthcare setting. Case managers provide a multitude of services, including resource management, clinical assessment/review, discharge planning, counseling, and patient advocacy. These individuals include physicians, nurses, social workers, and other allied fields.<br />
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This year's slogan for National Case Management Week is "Patient-Oriented, Outcome-Driven". As hospitals face changing laws and increasingly complex patients, case managers are becoming more important in ensuring that individuals and families receive high quality yet cost-effective services.<br />
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The case managers I work with are some of the most dedicated people I know. These hardworking individuals can be found behind the scenes working long hours with high case loads to ensure that patients receive the care they need. Case management is indeed a thankless job that is not always acknowledged or seen by those on the floors.<br />
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This week, please don't forget to thank your friendly case managers for the integral services they provide to patients, families, and hospital staff on a daily basis!
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Cheap Social Workerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985504460374894779noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729698187302014391.post-21980464538038240332012-08-16T11:55:00.001-07:002012-08-16T11:55:52.460-07:00A Return to BloggingWow, almost four months have passed since my last post! Seems like so much time has passed that even Blogger has changed its interface... I've definitely been doing a bad job at blogging. Between work, sitting in traffic several hours a day, trying to exercise, and trying to relax after a long day, I really don't have time for much.<br />
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I've been thinking about the format of my blogs and what to do with them. Since I don't blog frequently enough, one option is to recombine them into a single blog again. I suppose I could also keep them separate and find a way to connect them into a bigger site at some point. My blogs will always be works in progress, so expect changes in the future!<br />
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Quick life update: Still working the same jobs, living at home, and not having much luck with the Bay Area housing market. Seriously, who wants to pay $1000/month to live in a room in a house? Doesn't help than my parents expect me to live at home until I either get married or buy a house. Given my home situation, I wonder if I would have a better life if I did go to medical/law/engineering school. Then I realize that my doctor friends have debt in the six figure range (and make less than expected after malpractice insurance/taxes/overhead), my lawyer friends are mostly unemployed and in six figure debt , and my engineering friends only make slightly more than I do. I suppose it's sad times for everyone right now.<br />
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The positive thing about all of this is having extra money to do a little traveling. It's quite addicting and a motivating factor in finding a career that lets me travel all over the place. I'll talk about my trips at some point.<br />
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Well, that's all for now. I'll also be updating <a href="http://cheapsocialworker.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Cheap Social Worker</a>, so please feel free to check that out too!Cheap Social Workerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985504460374894779noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729698187302014391.post-57316673603552579162012-04-10T22:38:00.003-07:002012-08-16T15:55:06.241-07:00Comfort Food: Pancakes!Just wanted to share a pancake recipe I found on social work blog <a href="http://www.kmareka.com/">Kmareka.com</a>. Looks tasty and easy to make. The ingredients are also things I happen to keep around my house (minus the berries). Definitely a comforting thing to eat when you want to have a slow, relaxing morning.<br />
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<a href="http://kmareka.com/2012/04/10/46970/">Oatmeal-Yogurt Pancakes with Blackberry Crush</a></div>
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Cheap Social Workerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985504460374894779noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729698187302014391.post-24121710263560598552012-04-07T19:39:00.001-07:002012-04-10T22:47:11.756-07:00I Need More Self-CareIt's ironic that I wrote a post on <a href="http://cheapsocialworkeradventures.blogspot.com/2012/01/not-so-cheap-social-workers-guide-to.html">self-care</a> since I've been working so much lately! With my continued long commute and 5-6 day work weeks, work really took a toll on me these past few months. Things I experienced include:<br />
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<b>Poor eating habits:</b> I certainly engaged in lots of emotional eating this past month, mostly chocolate.<br />
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<b>Increased acne:</b> Probably from stress and lack of sleep.<br />
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<b>Increased irritability and poor mood:</b> Likely from lack of sleep and exhaustion from work.<br />
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<b>Increased sleepiness:</b> I've actually had to pull over and nap in my car several times during my afternoon commute. Not good!<br />
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<b>Lack of productivity:</b> This is demonstrated by things like my messy room and lack of blog updates!<br />
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This month, I'm definitely going to take a few days from work and perhaps take a trip somewhere. Self-care is something that should not be neglected by social workers. I know that I was not giving my best during these past few weeks. Hopefully after some recharging I'll come back refreshed and do better!Cheap Social Workerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985504460374894779noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729698187302014391.post-35064120945847769732012-02-16T11:41:00.000-08:002012-02-16T11:41:48.090-08:00Women’s Pay More Equal to Men in Social Work | Social Workers SpeakThis morning, I found this <a href="http://www.socialworkersspeak.org/media/womens-pay-more-equal-with-men-in-social-work.html">promising article</a> that reported that women "only" make 2% less than men in the field of social work. While initially encouraging, I was reminded of some articles I've read in the past that stated otherwise.<br />
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After some searching, I found an old <a href="http://www.naswdc.org/pressroom/2010/051310.asp">NASW press release</a> and <a href="http://www.socialworkersspeak.org/media/huffington-post-prints-nasw-response-to-salary-article.html">Social Workers Speak article</a> that criticized the fact that Payscale only collected data from bachelors of social work majors. They referred readers to the <a href="http://www.naswdc.org/pressroom/2010/salarystudy2010.pdf">National Association of Social Workers Compensation and Benefits Study</a>, which provided a more accurate picture of social worker salaries since it included data from masters of social work graduates.<br />
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Unfortunately, this NASW study shows that the median salary of female social workers is $11,000 lower than male social workers ($53,000 and $64,000, respectively). This difference is significantly higher than 2%. One can only speculate why the gender pay disparity increases so much between bachelors and masters graduates. However, we do know that much work still needs to be done within the profession to reduce and ultimately eliminate this inequality.<br />
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<a href="http://www.socialworkersspeak.org/media/womens-pay-more-equal-with-men-in-social-work.html">Women’s Pay More Equal to Men in Social Work | Social Workers Speak</a>Cheap Social Workerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985504460374894779noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729698187302014391.post-85910683978013276272012-02-15T20:36:00.000-08:002012-02-16T11:42:46.296-08:00Becoming a Counselor: Addiction counselingHere is an excellent post from <a href="http://newcounselor.blogspot.com">Becoming a Counselor</a> that talks about addiction. My favorite parts of this post are the pictures, which would make great educational handouts during individual or group counseling sessions. Definitely worth the read, especially for people like me who don't do much drug counseling.<br />
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<a href="http://newcounselor.blogspot.com/2012/02/addiction-counseling.html?spref=bl">Becoming a Counselor: Addiction counseling</a>: Quite some time ago after attending a few weekend courses related to addiction I became interested in working with this population of peopl...Cheap Social Workerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985504460374894779noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729698187302014391.post-36789071051912906522012-02-15T19:18:00.000-08:002012-02-15T19:20:07.205-08:00Going MobileI've created mobile versions of my blogs for fellow social workers with smartphones. Hopefully they're much easier to view than the old non-mobile format! Check them out using your cell phone: <br />
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<a href="http://cheapsocialworker.blogspot.com/?m=1">Cheap Social Worker</a><br />
<a href="http://cheapsocialworkeradventures.blogspot.com/?m=1">Cheap Social Worker Adventures</a><br />
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Enjoy!Cheap Social Workerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985504460374894779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729698187302014391.post-3342022897164422542012-02-12T10:33:00.000-08:002012-02-12T10:37:28.882-08:00About Social Services at a Hospital<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tpxJWfyVY4E/TzgEOaMNMUI/AAAAAAAAC78/Zk6ONqtt45g/s1600/about-social-services.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="160" width="160" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tpxJWfyVY4E/TzgEOaMNMUI/AAAAAAAAC78/Zk6ONqtt45g/s320/about-social-services.jpg" alt="about social services" title="about social services"/></a></div>Medical social work is an expansive field, encompassing areas such as hospice, home health, skilled nursing, and acute hospitals. After a few <a href="http://cheapsocialworkeradventures.blogspot.com/2011/08/social-work-where-workplace-violence-is.html">scary moments in home health</a>, I've decided to stay in the acute setting until I experience complete <a href="http://cheapsocialworkeradventures.blogspot.com/2011/03/burnout-happens-in-different-ways.html">medical social worker burnout</a>.<br />
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Though considered a specific area of practice, hospital social work is actually relatively broad. Social services departments vary in function from hospital to hospital, with individual social workers performing correspondingly diverse roles. I've found that certain tasks I perform at one hospital might be performed by a completely different profession at another, or just omitted entirely.<br />
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When asked what I do at work, I often have a hard time explaining due to the variety of tasks I perform every day. However, after some thought, I've manage to divide my roles into five categories. These categories are not mutually exclusive, and some hospitals may not even have social workers performing tasks in all of them.<br />
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<b><u>Assessing</u></b><br />
The psychosocial assessment is fairly universal not only in medical social work, but the social work field as a whole. Obtaining information on someone's health, mental status, social environment, and living situation prior to admission helps to provide a more holistic picture of a patient, instead of simply focusing on the admitting diagnosis. From here, social workers can determine if patients have needs for discharge planning, community resources, and/or end-of-life support.<br />
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<b><u>Discharge Planning</u></b><br />
The purpose of discharge planning is to ensure patients leave the hospital safely, so as to reduce the probability of readmission. Discharge planning is the role that most often overlaps with that of RN case managers and discharge planners. It is also one of the more time-consuming ones due to the paperwork required and the importance placed on it by the hospital administration, which is keenly interested in keeping costs down. Discharge planning is the role many social workers consider the most frustrating, as they feel that they didn't pursue masters degrees to perform "secretary work".<br />
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Discharge planning tasks include the following:<br />
-Arranging skilled nursing placement for patients<br />
-Arranging home health services for patients<br />
-Ordering durable medical equipment for patients<br />
-Arranging transportation to a skilled nursing facility or home<br />
-Arranging follow-up appointments with medical doctors<br />
-Copying/faxing patient charts to complete the aforementioned tasks<br />
-Pulling strings, performing magic tricks, and making miracles happen so that a patient discharges safely and in a timely manner<br />
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<b><u>Counseling</u></b><br />
Social services give emotional support to patients and their families during hospitalization. Situations social workers may face include the following:<br />
-Helping patients adjust to new illnesses/diagnoses<br />
-Helping patients cope with chronic illnesses<br />
-Supporting patients who are dealing with mental illness<br />
-Counseling patients with substance addictions<br />
-Comforting patients and family members in crisis situations<br />
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<b><u>Providing Community Resources</u></b><br />
Patients often do not know what community services are available to help them. This is especially the case for new parents and the elderly. Hospital social workers are well-versed in local community agencies and can provide information on the following:<br />
-Applying for government assistance (Medicare, Medicaid, SSI, etc.)<br />
-Low cost medical clinics<br />
-Discounted prescription medication<br />
-Caregiver assistance<br />
-Board and care/assisted living placement services<br />
-Resources for new parents<br />
-Community support programs for seniors<br />
-Food banks<br />
-Homeless shelters<br />
-Support groups for cancer/substance use/grief/etc.<br />
-Paratransit<br />
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In some cases, social workers may also refer patients to the following agencies:<br />
-Child protective services<br />
-Adult protective services<br />
-Public guardian (for conservatorships)<br />
-The police<br />
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<b><u>Addressing End-of-Life Issues</u></b><br />
End-of-life is a sensitive topic that most medical professionals - including doctors - have difficulty discussing with patients. As a result, social workers are often called on to do the following:<br />
-Participate in hospice/palliative care team consultations<br />
-Arrange hospice care<br />
-Educate patients on advanced healthcare directives<br />
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Hopefully this post provides a decent breakdown about social services in a hospital setting. While social workers at different hospitals may vary in function, their purpose in providing compassionate psychosocial assistance to patients remains universal.Cheap Social Workerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985504460374894779noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729698187302014391.post-56936916397826467652012-02-07T17:35:00.000-08:002012-02-07T17:35:51.687-08:00Proposition 8 Ruled UnconstitutionalGreat news coming from California today! <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/02/07/BA1H1N3T1H.DTL&tsp=1">A U.S. appeals court ruled 2-1 against Proposition 8</a>, a ballot initiative banning same-sex marriage in California. While the ban will still be in effect until the Supreme Court rules on the case, this is certainly a step in the positive direction.<br />
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To quote Judge Stephen Reinhardt, "Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples."<br />
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I come from a Catholic family, with a number of family members who don't believe in same-sex marriage. Most of them voted yes on Proposition 8. Arguments I've heard from my family members against same-sex marriage include them not liking gays and lesbians personally, questions about how same-sex couples can biologically give birth and raise families without "mothers" or "fathers", homosexuality being against Catholic teaching, and not wanting sex-sex couples to get married in a Catholic church. As a social worker, I know that I am supposed to respect these perspectives, as most of them are ingrained through culture and upbringings in a country that doesn't respect diversity as much as the United States. Similarly, I have family members who only believe I should date within my religion and race, and spurn any argument made otherwise.<br />
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Trying to be the understanding one can be frustrating, as these arguments against sex-sex couples are not reasons to deprive an entire group of legal rights. However, cultural beliefs are extremely powerful and hard to change. I know the best I can do for now is to continue to be understanding and try to educate.<br />
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Change is slow, but this ruling in California gives me hope that the oppression of LGBTs will end someday. I can only imagine what it's like being in their shoes right now. Thank you, US. appeals court!Cheap Social Workerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985504460374894779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729698187302014391.post-25976378065163043562012-02-07T16:22:00.000-08:002012-02-07T16:22:48.620-08:00Salaried vs. Hourly: Which is better?Cross-posted to <a href="http://cheapsocialworker.blogspot.com/2012/02/salaried-vs-hourly-which-is-better.html">Cheap Social Worker</a>Cheap Social Workerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985504460374894779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729698187302014391.post-22338891002036275082012-02-06T00:08:00.000-08:002012-02-06T00:14:55.538-08:00Social Work Career Development: Art Therapy and Social WorkI ran across this post while perusing <a href="http://www.socialworkblogs.info/">Social Work Blogs</a> (and putting off sleep in the process). I think it provides some great ideas for developing rapport with young individuals. Unfortunately, since I work in a medical setting doing discharge planning, I often don't have the time to develop strong rapport with my patients. However, if I ever see children in the future, the techniques described in this blog post are definitely worth a shot. <br />
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<a href="http://www.dorleem.com/2012/02/art-therapy-and-social-work.html?spref=bl">Social Work Career Development: Art Therapy and Social Work</a>: Have you ever wondered how to incorporate art therapy in a session with a client? To make the most of my Unplanned Detour , I'm taking...Cheap Social Workerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08985504460374894779noreply@blogger.com1