The Clinical Challenge of Hospital-Based Social Work Practice

Abstract

This paper describes and analyzes the complexity, intensity and variety of hospital-based social work practice in the rapidly changing, fiscally driven climate of acute health care in the United States. The professional guidelines which enable workers to master this challenging environment are enumerated and discussed. It is suggested that hospital-based social work calls for highly skilled, creative clinical practitioners who can be recruited to the field through a balanced, accurate portrayal, both in schools of social work and the media, of acute health care as a field of practice.