Childhood Systems Perspective: A Case Study

‘“Cancer is like a home invasion, once it has invaded your life you will never feel safe again”’ (Adal yn's... 6). Cancer wipes out what a family knew before cancer; it wipes out their version of normal and replaces it with something that can not be controlled. When childhood cancer takes a hold of the family and never lets go. While going through cancer, it is important that a family sticks together and builds each other up through this difficult time. Childhood cancer affects everyone it comes in contact with, but it mainly affects the family, including the child suffering from cancer, as well as the parents or caregiver and siblings.

The role of the social worker in this setting is to perform duties as an informed clinician based on evidence based practice to provide individualized case management to all clients. The social worker will complete a comprehensive intake assessment which includes demographics of the client, address presenting problem, and a risk assessment. Client’s also receive mental health screenings and individual and group counseling to gain new coping skills and address any triggers to prevent relapse utilizing interventions as CBT and Motivational Interviewing. The social worker will discuss limits of confidentiality and a signed informed consent from the client to receive services.

Four families are told their child has cancer each day in Australia. Their lives are turned upside down. Redkite charity offers help and support for families and children going through this challenging journey. It provides the essential support through:

1. Most cancers incidence peak among children occurs during the first year of life. Some of the most well-known nationwide childhood cancers are leukemia, brain cancer, and other central nervous system cancers. The side effects of treatment, which range from heart disease to brain

This document is used to view client’s progress. The evidence base Research measurement used in this evaluation was entered into the social worker’s intake procedures and also their six-month evaluation procedure. An online copy from the (EB) is uploaded on the IRB Intranet to capture the results of each client’s (EB) measure. The social worker can follow the revised client’s intake and six month’s progress procedure was evaluated during the program’s quarterly internal audits. These quarterly internal audits found social workers complied with the procedures 100% of the

This reference explains the interdisciplinary team approach a new hospice case is the best scenario and explains the benefits of the MD speaking with individuals about hospice. It is essential for the members of the team communicate about the plan of care. This has to happen with between hospice staff and non-hospice

Interdisciplinary team work is extremely important to ensure patients receive quality care that meets their individual needs (Nancarrow, et al, 2013). To achieve this a group of health care professionals work together by bringing their different professions, assessments and evaluations together in order to design a care plan for treatment of the patient (Korner, 2010). For example if a patient is dealing with a mental health disorder such as depression or schizophrenia, the interdisciplinary team would consist of the doctor, nurse, psychologist, psychiatrist, pharmacist and neurologist. The roles and responsibilities of each team member must be based on their scope of practice including the assessment of the patient, the treatment to be given,

World Health Organization (2010) affirms that the interprofessional education play key role in enhancement of patient outcome with collaborative practice. In Oncology floor where the multi systems of the body affected by the disease itself as well as due to the chemotherapy and radiation, one could witness the need for the interprofessional collaborative care is unavoidable. Timely provision of formulated care plan in action by the various professionals definitely yield the benefit of early recovery and positive patient outcome. Recently we started having the interprofessionals huddle at the bedside of the patient with primary nurse, respiratory therapist, physiotherapist, and occupational therapist for further care planning and implementing

In order to assess those two areas, the researchers asked the peers, teachers, and parents of each patient to evaluate the patient’s social and emotional wellbeing. Subsequently, the patients also completed a self-report. Contradicting their hypothesis, the children with cancer were found to be more sociable than their counterparts. The results also revealed that children with cancer were more socially accepting and possessed high levels of leadership. With demographic variables being accounted for, children with cancer did not display any significant differences in emotional and social health in comparison to their peers.

In the past century, the scope of practice and competency of Human Services has developed and devised astronomically alongside its counterparts who include Social Work, chemical dependency research, and most importantly; Psychology. There have been numerous of advocates, social workers, researchers, and psychologists that have contributed to the progress and functionality in this delicate but crucial field of work. Although all of these people influenced and shaped what the vast field of human services looks like today, there is one psychologist in particular that played an important role in the creation of his aiding work has evolved into today.

Change is a part of life cycle. Individuals change, organizations evolve, and the nature surrounding us transforms through seasons. Whether we embrace it, or resist it, change will occur anyway. The tragedy of some people is denial of its existence, rigidity of their views or actions. Social work profession is especially predisposed to accept and be open to change. However, when working with involuntary clients, it is wise to assess their readiness for change, to learn from them where they are at the present moment. Some of our clients may never go beyond pre-contemplation or contemplation stage. Some may reach preparation or even action. Some may proceed to the maintenance stage. All of them deserve our respect and understanding.

As established in the National Cancer Institute, “Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide for children and adolescents in America, accounting for more than 91,250 children that lose their lives to this disease” (National Cancer Institute). Cancer is not considered a terminal illness, but more of a chronic illness because of the intense treatment that the individual has to endure. As a result of this treatment the chances of survival for children suffering from pediatric cancer has increased around 80 percent. The increment in the survival rate has made it possible for many parents to not have to go through the acceptance that they are about to lose their child to a terminal illness, but have coping strategies that will make them adapt to the fear of the reoccurrence of that illness. This illness has a great impact on the patient as well as the family because not only do they have to adapt to this illness physically, but also mentally. Research has shown that there are both short term and long term effects that come into effect when the child is both in treatment and also years after the treatment. The type of cancers that these adolescents have to endure range from leukemia, brain tumors and other cancerous tumors that have appeared in recent medical studies. These tumors can either be benignant, an acute case that is non-cancerous or malignant, a cancerous case that will need intense treatment over an extended period of time.While many would say there is more of a

Individuals’ mental status or physical/ behavioral recovery or medical treatment cannot persist in a healthy phase if their social roles in relationships are unaccounted or if their family is homeless, or they are living in a toxic social environment. I believe, even with the integration, of healthcare professional, the primary focus of social work should not only encompass psychological forces, the environment, or the social structure but on the boundary or the relationship between the person and the social

In social work practice, client assessments are important because they allow social workers to gather information from clients. This information helps the acting social worker better understand clients presenting problems. The assessment also helps social workers evaluate a client’s progress and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions used. In this paper, a multidimensional assessment will be performed on a client I have been working with at my internship placement, Urban Ministries of Durham. Once all relevant information is presented, and intervention and treatment plan will be discussed.

When working with a new client, it is important to have as much information as you can obtain to help determine what services may or may not be needed. The multidimensional approach can assess all areas of a person’s life. This helps the social worker not just look at a single facet, but the entire person as a whole. People are not one dimensional hence their treatment shouldn’t be one dimensional. In many instances, treating the presenting problem will only put a Band-Aid on the situation. As social workers, we should look at the underlining cause of the problem in order to give the best treatment available.