2026 Social Work & Chaplain Series

In order to provide optimal patient/family care, we cannot afford to have “invisible” team members – or those who go about providing care absent much involvement with or from the interdisciplinary team. Do you believe you are undervalued by the team and/or the organization? Then show up with value! That means making sure everyone knows who you are – your role, your skillsets, what you are capable of. To accomplish this you need to be assertive – not aggressive. This webinar will be about assuring hospice social workers and chaplains are clear about the pathway to becoming essential, and well-understood, members of the interdisciplinary team.

Medicare requires that counseling services be available to help patients and families manage the stress and challenges of terminal illness, related conditions, and the dying process. Are your interventions truly “counseling,” or are they more “supportive” in nature? Does your documentation specifically reflect counseling interventions? What does counseling look like in hospice, and how does it align with your scope of practice? Which theoretical frameworks work best — and which should be avoided? This webinar will provide practical guidance, tools, and insights to help social workers and chaplains deliver high-level, compliant, and impactful counseling in the hospice setting.

What?! Social workers and chaplains don’t do pain and symptom management! Actually, yes they do, and as a matter of fact, from a true interdisciplinary perspective, we are all responsible for all of the goals on the plan. We do this within our scopes-of-practice of course, yet chaplains and social workers play a critical role in pain and symptom management specifically as well as addressing suffering in all of its forms. This webinar will provide important information and skills development work related to the psychosocial/spiritual components of pain and symptom management. We will also explore the interconnectedness of pain and suffering and specific counseling approaches we can take to intervene.