This elective course is open only to Master of Social Work (MSW) students.
This elective course is designed for social work students interested in further expanding their knowledge and skills in practice with clients/families confronted by life-limiting illnesses and about the field of palliative care. Social workers in many practice settings will encounter individuals and families facing situations involving life-limiting illness, dying, death, grief, and bereavement.
Social work practice in hospice palliative care (HPC) is founded on an approach to care that considers individuals and their families in the full context of their lives and appreciates the physical, psychosocial and emotional, spiritual, and practical dimensions of their experience. This course will explore the interprofessional nature of palliative care delivery, and social work’s unique contributions to care of those facing dying. Perspectives of other disciplines involved in palliative care delivery will also be examined. Students in this course will have the opportunity to explore and understand their perceptions and beliefs of dying and dying and how individual cultural differences influence that experience.