Promoting Excellence in Pain Management and Palliative Care for Social Workers

ABSTRACT

Social workers, like other health care providers, may lack the necessary skills for effective pain and symptom management and to competently address the complex yet critical bio-psychosocial-spiritual needs facing seriously ill patients and their families. The purpose of this article is to describe the development of a national educational program designed to promote excellence in pain management and palliative care for social work professionals. Initial evaluation data (N = 276) are presented to demonstrate the feasibility of this innovative educational program.

KEYWORDS:

• pain management
• palliative care
• Social work education

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Shirley Otis-Green

Shirley Otis-Green, MSW, LCSW, ACSW, OSW-C, is Senior Research Specialist at City of Hope, Duarte, CA.

Sharon Lucas

Sharon Lucas, MSW, LCSW, is President of Compassionate Care Consulting, Thousand Oaks, CA.

Maren Spolum

Maren Spolum, BA is Research Coordinator at City of Hope, Nursing Research and Education Department, Duarte, CA.

Betty Ferrell

Betty Ferrell, RN, PhD, FAAN, is Research Scientist at City of Hope, Nursing Research and Education Department, Duarte, CA.

Marcia Grant

Marcia Grant, RN, DNSC, FAAN, is Director and Professor at City of Hope, Nursing Research and Education Department, Duarte, CA.