Supporting grieving patients and their families within the intensive care and palliative care units

Abstract

This report reviews my practicum experience as a medical social work student at St. Paul’s Hospital in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan within the Intensive Care and Palliative Care units. The ultimate goal of the practicum was to support grieving patients and family members as they encountered experiences of death, dying, and loss. First, a reflection is shared on how my personal experiences, social location, and values impacted my professional growth followed by a literature review on death and dying, the concept of grief, a feminist lens, narrative therapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), and prevalent themes within a medical social work assessment. Second, I discuss the practicum objectives, goals, and activities that I accomplished from January 2019 to April 2019 with further examination of how I integrated a feminist lens, narrative therapy, and CBT when supporting patients and families. Next, I present the challenges I experienced within the practicum placement that undoubtedly enhanced my time management and therapeutic skills. Lastly, the report analyzes a few ethical considerations I encountered in skill-building situations. Clinical examples are found in many sections of the report in order to highlight my learning achievements.