John's Case Summary

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Pages: 4

Teamwork between the social worker, physicians, and nurses is an integral component to the success of John’s case. When considering children in healthcare, Matzo & Sherman (2015) discuss the importance of considering parents and children as one unit. John and his parents are on two separate paths. John is approaching the end of his life, but his parents are denying what is happening to him. This is causing a fragmentation of the healing process (Matzo & Sherman, 2015). Part of the social worker’s responsibility is to help the physician and nurses understand how the lack of communication (and secrecy) in this family can have detrimental consequences to John’s end-of-life experience (Callanan & Kelly, 2012). By explaining to the care team …show more content…
However, prior to a family conference two separate meeting should occur—one with the social worker and one with the care team (physicians and nurses). Meeting privately with the parents, the social worker could educate the parents on end-of-life (EOL) experiences and the importance of facilitating communication to support a dying patient’s needs (Matzo and Sherman, 2015). As John’s parents are avoiding all conversation regarding John’s prognosis, the social worker could make generalizations of other EOL individuals without directly speaking about John. Another option would be giving the parents literature to peruse on their own terms. Although John’s parents are constantly present, he may be experiencing loneliness. The social worker can help John’s parent to understand that people who are not allowed to speak about what is happening to them may cause loneliness (Callanan & Kelly, 2012). Additionally, the social worker can let the parents know that secrecy may only add to the stress that individuals experience as they near death (Callanan & Kelly, 2012). If the parents understand the importance of communication amongst individuals who are nearing death, they may be better able to see that John needs to share what he is experiencing as he nears the end of his life (Callanan & Kelly,