Job Description

The St. Joseph\xe2\x80\x99s Health Centre site of Unity Health Toronto is opening up a state of the art Palliative Care Unit. This 10 bed unit will support patients with a palliative care diagnosis who require pain and symptom management and end of life care in a tranquil environment. This position offers a unique opportunity to be a part of this units foundational care team. The social worker is responsible for the biopsychosocial assessment, intervention and psychosocial support for patients and their families. This work may include individual and/or group modalities and is rooted in best practice and the provision of patient and family centered care. Counseling, discharge planning, resource referral, consultation and collaboration, teaching, research/quality improvement and patient and family education are required elements of the position.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Works effectively as a member of an inter-professional team;
• Contributes to regular clinical team rounds, ALC rounds, clinics and patient/family conferences. Communicates Social Work assessment and plan of care to team;
• Collaborates with other disciplines to provide comprehensive patient care and ensures correlation of the Social Work intervention with the overall health care plan for the patient;
• Co-ordinates and communicates with appropriate facilities and community services for patient care transitions;
• Provides case management by completing referrals to services, programs and community agencies (housing/food/financial/benefit/drug coverage/mental health/addiction support) as appropriate and in accordance with the continuing care plans;
• Facilitates and monitors a risk reduced, timely and sustainable discharge and/or care plan process;
• Maintains current knowledge about relevant legislation and community resources;
• Advocates for and educates patients and their families in navigating complex health and social service systems;
• Facilitates discussions with patients and families on goals of care, end of life care etc;
• Participates in the development and implementation of educational initiatives for patients and families;
• Implements group modalities (e.g., psycho educational, peer support, psychotherapeutic, supportive) as appropriate to meet identified patient and family needs;
• Develops and implements methods of evaluation to continually modify the intervention/plan in order to be responsive to the needs of patients and families.
• Engages and gathers pertinent data on patient/family biopsychosocial history (e.g. health status, cultural and spiritual needs, coping style, physical and social environment and interpersonal status etc);
• Identifies high-risk patients with significant unmet needs and prioritizes accordingly; (e.g. risk of harm to self or others, abuse/neglect, substance use or other high risk behaviours);
• Identifies patient/family\xe2\x80\x99s needs, goals and concerns regarding provision of care and adjustment to illness;
• Identifies pertinent resources needed to address these current and changing needs;
• Analyzes complex psychosocial needs of patients and families and their impact on safe and sustainable transition to community;
• Formulates comprehensive assessment, intervention, continuing care and discharge plans;
• Provides ongoing evaluation and adjustment of interventions, care and discharge plans to reflect changing needs.

Qualifications:

• Must have a (MSW) Master\xe2\x80\x99s Degree or equivalent in Social Work;
• Must be currently registered and in good standing with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW);
• Eligible to engage in student education with academic partners;
• Current CPR/BLS certification;
• Proven ability to act both independently and as an active member of an inter-professional team;
• Demonstrated excellent communication, critical thinking and interpersonal skills;
• Experience with marginalized patients and knowledge of how to access and link patients to appropriate community resources and services such as OW, ODSP, Trillium, Community Housing, HACC, etc.
• Current palliative care experience is preferred;
• Related palliative care or oncology courses from recognized institution preferred;
• Ability to work collaboratively with other professions/disciplines in a team environment;
• Excellent communication skills;
• Proven planning, time management, organization and coordination skills.

Note:

As a condition of employment, all external hires will be required to submit proof of COVID-19 vaccination or documentation unless a valid accommodation under the Ontario Human Rights Code exists. Please note, if you are extended an offer of employment, you will be required to provide proof of vaccination in Ontario QR Code format. All internal candidates must be in compliance with Unity Health Toronto\xe2\x80\x99s COVID-19 Vaccination Policy.

Unity Health Toronto