At Dana-Farber Cancer Institute I provide individual, group, and family counseling to optimize coping skills relative to cancer diagnosis. Provide emotional support and resource navigation to patients and families. Serve as patient advocate on multidisciplinary team. Present appropriate challenging cases to collaborative care meetings with psychiatry, palliative care physician, and psychology.
Messiah's social work department prepared me for clinical documentation via diligent coursework. Field placements allowed for a wide variety introduction to the field and gain clinical experience prior to grad school. The most impactful experiences were definitely my classmates in the social work department. What drew me to Messiah was the small classes and opportunity to form close relationships with other social workers which then became lifelong friendships.
Burnout is real! It is important to use this time to explore what fills your cup at the end of the day. I think the reason that professors push the importance of self care so much early on in coursework is because without it, it is so easy to burn out in this field. And college is the perfect opportunity to craft hobbies and grow deep in your spiritual journey. Get involved, take risks, do things that you may not have the chance to do after graduation!
Would you recommend Messiah's BSW program to future social workers?
Yes, I would recommend the BSW program because the foundation of the classes and support leads to success in grad school and the field. I found that it made me introduction to the field a lot "smoother" than most of my MSW classmates and I am grateful for that to this day!