Medical social workers: 7 surprising facts about the critical role they have in patient care

Social workers can be found in nearly every medical unit at UAB: from trauma to transplantation, from psychiatry to oncology. They help patients and their families at every step of their hospital journey: from initial assessments to care transitions to discharge planning. A medical social worker’s key functions are assessments, resource connection, counseling and therapy, advocacy, crisis intervention, and program development.