Chapter 10: Additional Careers in Allied Health
Karen Piette
A rewarding career that focuses on helping individuals, families and communities with their well-being is social work. Social work utilizes various disciplines such as sociology, psychology, healthcare, community development and policy to conduct assessments, develop interventions and improve social functioning within the community. The focus on well-being may include improving and empowering the lives of individuals and communities as well as advocating for social justice.
Social work is a practice-based profession. Social workers focus on three levels of social work: 1) micro-work, 2) mezzo-work and 3) macro-work. At the micro level, social workers work directly with individuals and families. This work may include housing, social services to treat various disorders (mental, emotional, behavioral) and healthcare access. The next level, mezzo, occurs when social workers target organizations (neighborhoods, nonprofits, schools/colleges and other small communities) to incorporate change for a larger population. The last level targeted by social workers is the macro level. The macro level involves the implementation of systemic change. This may occur with the implementation of laws, government petitions, and the changes to social policy. Each of these three levels are interrelated and wide-reaching. A social worker needs to have a comprehensive understanding of all three levels to perform their jobs to the best of their ability.
Specific to allied health, social workers may work in hospitals and medical centers. These qualified social workers may work in settings such as pediatrics, oncology, nephrology and transplant specializations. They may also be employed in hospital administrator roles or serve as managers for allied health programming, mental and behavioral health settings, and/or community outreach.
Skill Stitch: Motivational Interviewing
A common evidence-based approach to behavior change is Motivational Interviewing. motivational interviewing is a style of communication focused on respectful guidance and empowerment. The healthcare professional must have good listening skills and refrain from giving unsolicited advice. The professional engages the patient, or client, as an equal partner. This collaborative practice focuses on partnership, acceptance, compassion and evocation (providing resources for change).
Motivational interviewing encompasses evidence-based approaches across extensive settings (health, human services, education), populations (age, ethnicity, gender identities), and languages. Patients or clients may present in the behavioral health clinic, physician’s office or hospital with concerns of medication adherence, substance use, illegal behaviors, gambling, parenting, risky sex behavior, and mental health conditions.
Motivational interviewing core skills utilized by healthcare professionals include using open ended questions to delve into the individual’s experience