Tools for Practice

Description:

The profession of social work brings a unique perspective to end-of-life care that reflects and supports the holistic philosophy of Hospice Palliative Care. Despite the prominent and longstanding position of social work in Hospice Palliative Care, the role and functions of social workers had not been clearly defined. Therefore, a national task group of social work practitioners and educators came together to identify competencies that are essential to social work practice in Hospice Palliative Care. They used a modified Delphi process to consult front line clinicians across Canada, and thereby achieved consensus regarding the identification and description of eleven core competencies.