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Avoiding case management/social work turf battles

Case Management Weekly, April 18, 2007

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Despite the good intentions, talent, and passion of case mangers and social workers, turf battles often exist among these two professional groups due to case management models that foster hazy expectations, undefined roles, and task dissatisfaction, says Shawna Kates, MSW, MBA, CMAC, consulting associate for the Center for Case Management in Natick, MA.

Case management departments with the best practices are the ones that have clearly defined roles for both case managers and social workers and appropriately match a task with a skill, says Kates.

"Departments where the director says, 'Somebody go into the room and do an assessment and somebody go fix this situation, and somebody work on the discharge', is a recipe for chaos," says Kates. "Especially because the patient and the staff have no idea who to turn to when they have a question or task."

While every organization is different and should make structural decisions based on its unique needs, Kates believes that patient assessments should be done by both professionals. She believes case managers should focus on the clinical situation to make sure there are no delays and that appropriate treatment is being delivered on a timely basis, while the social worker should be in charge of presenting referrals for community services, and will look at the situation from the family's perspective.

Source: Case Management Monthly, May 2007

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