Ep. 67 - A Good Death in Hospital and the Social Work Role

Death and dying... how do you prepare for the end of life?

Join Mim & Lis as we listen to a long-view story of death in a hospital. We explore what the social worker does over the course of two admissions, firstly helping to facilitate conversations with the elderly patient and his family members about what a good death looks like; and secondly exploring the actual end-of-life journey. This is a fantastic and compelling story told by a very experienced social worker - there are many practice lessons to be learned no matter what area of social work you happen to be in.

After the story, Mim and Lis break down some of the bigger picture ideas and thoughts from their own experience. We discuss the role of a hospital social worker in the death space, and how we can take steps in our personal life to help us prepare to walk alongside families as they say goodbye to their loved ones.

As mentioned in the episode, you can read more about the work of Dr Alan Wolfelt here.

You can also explore the End of Life planning kits on the NSW Health website.

Have any burning thoughts after listening, or just want to say hello? Send us an email on socialworkstoriespodcast@gmail.com - we'd love to hear from you!

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Credits:

Hosts - Lis Murphy and Mim Fox

Producer - Justin Stech

Editing - Dave Scilly

Contact us online at www.socialworkstories.com, follow our facebook page or use the handle @SOWKStoriesPod on twitter or instagram.