Hospital Social Work: The Interface of Medicine and Caring

Hospital Social Work introduces the reader to the world of medicine and social work as seen through the eyes of actual social workers. An essential reference for both students and professionals.

Over 100 social workers in dozens of hospitals were interviewed to provide the reader with first-hand experiences and discussions of practice principles, policy considerations, and theoretical treatments to provide each chapter with a unique blend of theory and practice.

Joan Beder, a professor of social work and a practicing social worker, recently noted an apparent lack of empirical discussion of the actual role and day-to-day functioning of the medical social worker. Hospital Social Work is the result, a unique supplemental text for both studying and practicing medical social workers.

Joan Beder, DSW, is a Professor at the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University in New York. She has been a social worker, specializing in areas of medical social work for 30 years, with particular interest in working with those who are terminally ill/dying. She is the author of Voices of Bereavement: A Casebook for Grief Counselors.