An RN social worker has a wide range of skills that they use to understand various patient needs. Their expertise comes in handy to help deliver relationship-based support. RN nurses understand the importance of guaranteeing their patient’s security, significance, purpose, and significance. The primary role of a social worker nurse is to balance social care with health. Let’s learn more about these crucial individuals in society.
RN social worker contributions and responsibilities
Nurses in other departments have assumptions about being a social worker nurse, with many associating it with skill drop. Working as an RN social worker does not take away your skills. The role covers a wide range of nursing disciplines making each day different. What is the role of RN social workers in patients hosted in social care homes?
There has been an increasing demand for skilled workers in the adult social care industry, with the workforce hitting approximately 1.4 million. However, the industry still struggles with a shortage of support workers and nurses. The rising population that requires social care is associated with the increasing number of patients displaying more sophisticated needs. RN social work can be overwhelming.
Reducing the number of patients admitted to hospitals
An RN social worker is tasked with doing everything possible to prevent patients from getting admitted to hospitals. When that is impossible, RN social workers help support the patients throughout the discharge process to accelerate healing and take them back home as soon as possible.
The social workers will then help the patient manage long-term health complications. Here, the magnitude of care required differs. The structure of a social worker nurse’s job differs based on the setting they prefer working in. These settings include nursing and care homes, mental health, disabilities, eating disorders, recovery, and addiction.
Social work in nursing homes
This type of care differs from clinical nursing because the nurse transitions to the patient’s home, making them their new workplace. Out of the nearly 50,000 RN social workers in the social care industry in the UK, nearly 40,000 work in care homes or collaborate with independent care providers.
The CQC (Care Quality Commission) rates care homes from zero to four, from insufficient to striking, recognizing the great work that social work nurses do. RN social workers can work in privately owned, local council-overseen, or charity-managed homes.
Sometimes, one RN social worker will work in a facility alone and assume management roles. In some areas where nursing care is offered, an RN social worker will be hands-on in providing continuous care while overseeing other staff members’ care.
RN social work can be an all-purpose role.
Regardless of the work setting, social work nursing is an all-around role. The diversified roles of social work nurses help them develop numerous transferable skills like adaptability. However, it also requires nurses to move through a sophisticated organizational and regulatory environment, comply with training and procedures, and acknowledge any changes.
Relationship-based concept
Some academic institutions use the term relationship-based concept to explain the roles of an RN social worker. It demonstrates nurses’ critical roles in setting up and developing relationships with the community and the people they care for. They enforce this concept case-by-case to help provide the most excellent support to every patient.
The support RN social workers provide is not only about what the nurse does but how they do it. To handle patients best, social workers must possess excellent communication skills. Nurses often apply these skills daily to ensure patients easily navigate daily activities.
Doing so is also an excellent way of developing a relationship with them and other service providers serving them. This concept is also known as the person-centered approach, and it’s more effective as nurses continue offering care over time.
Misconceptions of RN social work
Here are some common myths that people have about social work nursing.
- Being a social work nurse makes RNs less practiced
- It required minimal academic qualifications
- It’s the beginning of their retirement
Conclusion
While being an RN social worker can be rewarding and fulfilling, it’s also challenging sometimes. The ideal social work nurse should possess specific attributes and skills to do the task well. For example, they should be confident, caring, and good communicators.