social workers in hospitals

1. INTRODUCTION :-
The term Social refers to a characteristic of living organisms (humans in particular, though biologists also
apply the term to populations of other animals). It always refers to the interaction of organisms with
other organisms and to their collective co-existence, irrespective of whether they are aware of it or not,
and irrespective of whether the interaction is voluntary or involuntary
People take on roles for different reasons. Sometimes it's because it's what is expected of you. Other times
it's because you think it will help you get ahead. If you're playing a role that doesn't suit your natural
talents, you could be undermining your own success.
SOCIAL ROLES:-
But every day, you actually play all kinds of social roles in your relationships with others. A "social role"
is the part played by a person in a given social context, including typical or expected patterns of
behavior.
For example, as part of a family you're a father or mother, sister or brother, son or daughter, cousin, etc.
You're a friend, mentor or role model to someone, or if you have a career you maybe an employee, or
boss, or both.
Some social roles, like wife and husband or employee and boss, are determined by the relationship you
have to others in your life.
But there are other social roles you play that are often not as obvious to you or even to those around
you. These roles are usually ones you've chosen, based on your personality profile and they play an
important part in determining how much you're enjoying life. Simply put, while you can play many
different social roles, you have a natural predisposition for some over others.
For example many people can learn to sell, but not all are naturally gifted at being a salesperson. Some
people find that managing people comes easily and is very rewarding, while others have no idea how to
oversee and direct other people's work.
Personal growth always involves change. Sometimes it means changing the roles we play, other times
it's a change in how we play a role. But it always begins with a conscious understanding of who we are
and the roles we play on a daily basis.
Discovering how well your natural skill sets support the roles you play is an important step to attaining
success for life. This knowledge allows you to have the all important element of choice.
Carry a small notebook with you for the next 3-5 days and make a note of every role you play in your
own and someone else's life.
Once you have your list, categorize the roles into ones you enjoy and do well, and ones you don't take
pleasure in. Decide what actions to take to either let go of the unpleasant roles or what behaviors you
can adopt to increase your enjoyment of them.
There are many ways that people can influence our behaviour, but perhaps one of the most
important is that the presence of others seems to set up expectations. We do not expect people to
behave randomly but to behave in certain ways in particular situations. Each social situation
entails its own particular set of expectations about the “proper” way to behave. Such
expectations can vary from group to group.
One way in which these expectations become apparent is when we look at the roles that people
play in society.
Social roles are the part people play as members of a social group. With each social role you
adopt, your behaviour changes to fit the expectations both you and others have of that role.

2. In the words of William Shakespeare:-
All the worlds a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have there exits, and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts.
These lines capture the essence of social roles. Think of how many roles you play in a single day,
e.g.:-son,daughter,sister,brother,students,worker,friend etc.Each social role carries expected
behaviours called norms.
Social Norms are unwritten rules about how to behave. They provide us with an expected idea of how to
behave in a particular social group or culture. For example we expect students to arrive to lesson on
time and complete their work.
Social roles are the accepted standards of behaviour of social groups.These groups range from
friendship and work groups to nation states. Behaviour which fulfils these norms is called conformity,
and most of the time roles and norms are powerful ways of understanding and predicting what people
will do.
There are norms defining appropriate behaviour for every social group.For example, students,
neighbours and patients in a hospital are all aware of the norms governing behaviour.And as the
individual moves from one group to another,their behaviour changes accordingly. Norms provide order
in society.It is difficult to see how human society could operate without social norms.Human beings
need norms to guide and direct their behaviour, to provide order and predictability in social
relationships and to make sense of and understanding of each other’s actions.These are some of the
reasons why most people, most of the time, conform to social norms.
There is considerable pressure to conform to social roles.Social roles provide an example of social
influence in general and conformity in particular.Most of us,most of the time, conform to the guidelines
provided by the roles we perform.We conform to the expectations of others, we respond to their
approval when we play our roles well, and to their disapproval when we play our roles badly. But the
question is how far will conformity correspond to our social role?
ROLE OF A SOCIAL WORKER:-
A social worker generally spends their time improving the lives of others. So that may mean visiting a
persons home to investigate their living conditions and finding something better for them.
: A social workers usually handles family problems. They are usually court assigned and deal mainly
with children. They might take children out of violent or unfit homes.
Social work is a profession for those with a strong desire to help improve people's lives. Social workers
assist people by helping them cope with issues in their everyday lives, deal with their relationships, and

3. solve personal and family problems. Some social workers help clients who face a disability or a life-
threatening disease or a social problem, such as inadequate housing, unemployment, or substance
abuse. Social workers also assist families that have serious domestic conflicts, sometimes involving child
or spousal abuse. Some social workers conduct research, advocate for improved services, engage in
systems design or are involved in planning or policy development. Many social workers specialize in
serving a particular population or working in a specific setting.
Social workers usually spend most of their time in an office or residential facility, but they also may
travel locally to visit clients, meet with service providers, or attend meetings. Some may meet with
clients in one of several offices within a local area. Social work, while satisfying, can be challenging.
Understaffing and large caseloads add to the pressure in some agencies. To tend to patient care or client
needs, many hospitals and long-term care facilities employ social workers on teams with a broad mix of
occupations, including clinical specialists, registered nurses, and health aides. Full-time social workers
usually work a standard 40-hour week, but some occasionally work evenings and weekends to meet
with clients, attend community meetings, and handle emergencies. Some work part time, particularly in
voluntary nonprofit agencies.
Social casework process is a scientific technique to solve such problems of persons which
obstruct the effective social adjustment of the person. Following steps are involved in the
Social casework process:-
1. Phycho-social study of the problem of the individual.
2. Assessment/diagnosis of the problem of the individual.
3. Treatment of the problem.
4. Followup.
COMPONENTS:-
I. PERSON:
The person’s behaviour has this purpose and meaning: to gain satisfactions, to avoid
or dissolve frustration and to maintain his balance-in-movement.
Whether a person’s behaviour is or is not effective in promoting his well-being
depends in large part upon the functioning of his personality structure.
The structure and functioning of personality are the products of inherited and
constitutional equipment in continuous interaction with the physical, psychological
and social environment the person experiences.
A person at any stage of his life – not only is a product of nature and nurture but is
also and always in process of being in the present and becoming in the future.
The person’s ‘being and becoming’ behaviour is both shaped and judged by the
expectations he and his culture have invested in the statussocial role he carries. and
the major
The person who comes as a client to a social agency is always under stress.
To understand human behaviour and individual difference, Grace Mathew has given
the following propositions:

4. 1. An individual’s behaviour is conditioned by his/her environment and his/her
experiences. Behaviour refers to reacting, feeling, thinking, etc. the conditions and
influences surrounding the person constitutes the environment.
2. For human growth and development it is essential that certain basic needs should
be met. (Maslow’s hierarchy of needs)
3. Emotional needs are real and they cannot be met or removed through intellectual
reasoning.
4. Behaviour is purposeful and is in response to the individual’s physical and
emotional needs.
5. Other people’s behaviour can be understood only in terms of ones own emotional
and intellectual comprehension.
II. PROBLEM:
The problems within the purview of social casework are those which vitally affect
or are affected by a person’s social functioning.
The multifaceted and dynamic nature of the client’s problem makes necessary the
selection by caseworker and client some part of it as the unit for work. The choice of
problem depends on (1) whether the problem is the client’s problem (2) leadership
given by case worker depends upon the professional knowledge and judgment and
(3) agency’s function e.g. hospital, etc.
Problems in any part of a human being’s living tend to have chain reactions. …..>
cause > effect > cause..
Any problem which a person encounters has both an objective and subjective
significance – quality and intensity of our feelings.
Not only do the external (objective) and internal (subjective) aspects of the problem
co-exist, but either may be the cause of the other.
Whatever the nature of the problem the person brings to social agency; it is always
accompanied and often complicated by the problem of being a client.
Problems can be categorized as follows (Grace Mathew):
1. Problems related to illness and disabilities
2. Problems due to lack of material resources.
3. School related problems.

5. 4. Problems related to institutionalization.
5. Behaviour problems.
6. Problems of marital discord.
7. Problem situations needing a follow-up service.
8. Needs related to rehabilitation of people.
9. Clients caught up in social problems like gambling, prostitution, alcoholism,
drug addiction and unmarried motherhood.
III. PLACE:
The social agency is an organization fashioned to express the will of a society or of
some group in that society as to social welfare – community decides the need of the
agency.
Each social agency develops a program by which to meet the particular areas of need
with which it sets out to deal. It depends on factors like money, knowledge and
competence of the agency staff, the interest, resources available and support of the
community.
The social agency has a structure by which it organizes and delegates its
responsibilities and tasks, and governing policies and proceduresHierarchy – roles
and responsibilities clear, designated and delegated – collaborationprocedures and
policies, understand the usefulness. by which it stabilizes and systematizes its
operations. – among workers –
The social agency is a living, adaptable organism susceptible to being understood and
changed, much as other living organisms. – Past, present and future – not static and
fixed.
Every staff member in an agency speaks and acts for some part of the agency’s
function, and the case worker represents the agency in its individualized problem
solving help. – Case worker not an independent professional practitioner – case
worker speaks and acts for the agency – psychologically identified with its purpose
and policies
The case worker while representing his agency is
first and foremost a representative of his profession. – must know and be
committed with feeling to the philosophy that guides the practice of the social work
profession.

6. Agency – Private e.g. funding agencies and Public e.g. family welfare orgs.
Primary e.g. NGO and Secondary e.g. Hospitals, schools, etc.
Based on functions – child welfare, family welfare, education, specialization based.
Also differs based on Source of support, Professional authority, Clientele they serve,
Services they offer, Goals of the agency, etc.
IV. PROCESS:
In order to understand what the case work process must include in its problem-
solving help, it is necessary to take stock first of the kinds of blockings which occur
in people’s normal problem-solving efforts. The six are:
1. If necessary tangible means and resources are not available to the person.
2. Out of ignorance or misapprehension about the facts of the problem or the facts
of existing ways of meeting it.
3. If the person is depleted or drained of emotional or physical energy.
4. Some problems arouse high feelings in a person – emotions so strong that they
overpower his reason and defy his conscious controls.
5. Problem may lie within the person; he may have become subject to, or victim of,
emotions that chronically, over a long time, have governed his thinking and
action.
6. Haven’t developed systematic habits or orderly method of things and planning.
The intent of the case work process is to engage the person himself both in working
on and coping with the one or several problems that confront him and to do so by
such means as may stand him in good stead as he goes forward in living. The means
are
1. The provision of a therapeutic relationship
2. The provision of a systematic and flexible way and
3. Provision of such opportunities and aids.

7. All competent problem-solving, as contrasted with trail-and-error method, contains
three essential operations. Urgent pressures will often dislodge their sequence, but
any conscious effort to move from quandary (difficulty) to solution must involve
these modes of action:
1. Study (fact-finding)
2. Diagnosis (thinking about and organizing facts into a meaningful goal-pointed
explanation) and
3. Treatment (implementation of conclusions as to what and how of action upon
the problem).
Finally, for the solution or mitigation of many problems there must exist certain
material means or accessible opportunities which are available to the needful
person and which he can be helped to use. Kinds of resources that a person may
need are money, medical care, nursery schools, scholarships, foster homes,
recreation facilities, etc.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:-
google.com (social role,components refered by Helen harris Perlman) and some
library books.