1.You are a hospital social worker who works with patients in the geriatric unit. The unit typically addresses issues such as broken bones, increasing mental confusion, the onset of diseases such as diabetes, and other accompanying physical difficulties. Patients usually remain hospitalized anywhere from two days to two weeks. Most arrive at the hospital from their homes, and your job often involves placing patients in more structured settings on their release because injuries or diseases have restricted their ability to function independently. Many are placed in health care centers (nursing homes).
You have been assigned Olga, 82, who fell and broke her hip. She also has diabetes and is increasingly incontinent. Prior to her fall, she barely subsisted in a second story one-room apartment, dependent on her monthly Social Security check for survival. She has consumed all of her meager savings. Olga is an extremely pleasant woman who emphasizes that she doesn’t want to be a burden on anyone. All of her family are deceased. You worry that placement in an inferior setting will be tortuous for her if she doesn’t receive the relatively intensive care she needs.
You notice that nursing homes vary dramatically in their levels of care, their appearance, the attention they give to patients, their ratios of staff to patients, the activities they offer, and their overall cleanliness. Patients with private insurance can easily enter one of the better facilities, while impoverished patients on Medicaid must go to inferior settings. You consider this both unfair and unethical.
You see yourself as a possible change agent. At least three of your colleagues in the hospital’s social work unit have similar concerns about their own clients and the hospital’s older adult clients in general. Your immediate supervisor is not really an “eager beaver” when it comes to initiating change, but you think you might be able to solicit some support from her. You are not certain whether upper levels of hospital administration believe that nursing home conditions are any of their business. In your state, all nursing homes must be licensed, but licensing regulations require the maintenance of only the most minimal standards.
Suppose you were to conduct an environmental scan. Identify at least three general categories of factors you might assess and a specific example for each category.
2.You are a hospital social worker who works with patients in the geriatric unit. The unit typically addresses issues such as broken bones, increasing mental confusion, the onset of diseases such as diabetes, and other accompanying physical difficulties. Patients usually remain hospitalized anywhere from two days to two weeks. Most arrive at the hospital from their homes, and your job often involves placing patients in more structured settings on their release because injuries or diseases have restricted their ability to function independently. Many are placed in health care centers (nursing homes).
You have been assigned Olga, 82, who fell and broke her hip. She also has diabetes and is increasingly incontinent. Prior to her fall, she barely subsisted in a second story one-room apartment, dependent on her monthly Social Security check for survival. She has consumed all of her meager savings. Olga is an extremely pleasant woman who emphasizes that she doesn’t want to be a burden on anyone. All of her family are deceased. You worry that placement in an inferior setting will be tortuous for her if she doesn’t receive the relatively intensive care she needs.
You notice that nursing homes vary dramatically in their levels of care, their appearance, the attention they give to patients, their ratios of staff to patients, the activities they offer, and their overall cleanliness. Patients with private insurance can easily enter one of the better facilities, while impoverished patients on Medicaid must go to inferior settings. You consider this both unfair and unethical.
You see yourself as a possible change agent. At least three of your colleagues in the hospital’s social work unit have similar concerns about their own clients and the hospital’s older adult clients in general. Your immediate supervisor is not really an “eager beaver” when it comes to initiating change, but you think you might be able to solicit some support from her. You are not certain whether upper levels of hospital administration believe that nursing home conditions are any of their business. In your state, all nursing homes must be licensed, but licensing regulations require the maintenance of only the most minimal standards.
Based on the description of the social worker in the case, what do you see as the relevant aspects of “personal reality?”
3.You are a hospital social worker who works with patients in the geriatric unit. The unit typically addresses issues such as broken bones, increasing mental confusion, the onset of diseases such as diabetes, and other accompanying physical difficulties. Patients usually remain hospitalized anywhere from two days to two weeks. Most arrive at the hospital from their homes, and your job often involves placing patients in more structured settings on their release because injuries or diseases have restricted their ability to function independently. Many are placed in health care centers (nursing homes).
You have been assigned Olga, 82, who fell and broke her hip. She also has diabetes and is increasingly incontinent. Prior to her fall, she barely subsisted in a second story one-room apartment, dependent on her monthly Social Security check for survival. She has consumed all of her meager savings. Olga is an extremely pleasant woman who emphasizes that she doesn’t want to be a burden on anyone. All of her family are deceased. You worry that placement in an inferior setting will be tortuous for her if she doesn’t receive the relatively intensive care she needs.
You notice that nursing homes vary dramatically in their levels of care, their appearance, the attention they give to patients, their ratios of staff to patients, the activities they offer, and their overall cleanliness. Patients with private insurance can easily enter one of the better facilities, while impoverished patients on Medicaid must go to inferior settings. You consider this both unfair and unethical.
You see yourself as a possible change agent. At least three of your colleagues in the hospital’s social work unit have similar concerns about their own clients and the hospital’s older adult clients in general. Your immediate supervisor is not really an “eager beaver” when it comes to initiating change, but you think you might be able to solicit some support from her. You are not certain whether upper levels of hospital administration believe that nursing home conditions are any of their business. In your state, all nursing homes must be licensed, but licensing regulations require the maintenance of only the most minimal standards.
Based on the information in the case, what sorts of goals might you formulate? Remember to address the three concepts that are relevant to goal selection as discussed in your text.