Dialysis Social Workers: An In-Depth Look
Posted in Articles by Dialysis Clinic, Inc.
March is Social Work Month, and we want to ensure our social workers get the appreciation they deserve by highlighting things you may not know about the profession. Social workers have many roles in the dialysis clinic.
Social workers are counselors. They provide support to patients and their families, discuss treatment goals and goals for life outside of dialysis. These conversations can help motivate patients to keep up with their treatments and other aspects of their overall health, even when it is difficult. Social workers want patients to return to or resume their quality of life, similar, or as close as possible to what they had pre-diagnosis.
Social workers are advocates. They advocate for patients at the clinic level, community level, state and federal level.
Social workers are a resource. They provide patients with whatever they need during the course of their dialysis journey. They must be knowledgeable about all of the resources available for dialysis patients.
Social workers are educators. They teach patients, families and other employees about the impact of kidney disease. Social workers provide education to patients and their families about the treatment modalities available to them.
Ultimately, the dialysis social worker is a patient’s biggest champion. Social workers are there to provide support for all treatment options, including dialysis, transplant and even end-of-life care.
This Social Work Month, we want to recognize and honor our social workers, above all, for the care and compassion they provide for our patients, our clinics and DCI. Thank you!