Medical social workers are often called upon to communicate with and assist patients, families, and other co-workers when complex medical decisions need to be made on behalf of a patient. They are expected to communicate effectively in medical crises, advocate for the patient, and have diverse approaches to addressing the dilemmas at hand. This can be especially challenging when a patient is critically ill and families need to make end-of-life decisions. Through the use of lecture, group discussion, and small group activities, participants will explore successful approaches to effective communication and interventions when faced with these ethically challenging situations. Participants will be able to determine when support of other inter-disciplinary team members or an ethics committee needs to be utilized and be able to recognize ethical distress, conflicts of interest, and boundary issues in patients, families, co-workers, and, most important, oneself.

Instructor: Barbara Eklund, MS, APN, CHPN

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