Seattle Children’s Hospital is a pediatric medical facility serving infants, children, teens, and young adults from across the region for their general medical needs, along with several specialty areas.

This position is a unique role and opportunity for a student interested in gaining experience and skills as a Medical Social Worker with a variety of service areas and patient populations. The float social worker covers variable SW positions during a staff member's long-term absence such as parental or medical leave. Coverage assignments for this role usually last 1-6 months and can vary between inpatient and ambulatory roles. Recent assignments included: inpatient cardiology, NICU, outpatient pulmonary & craniofacial.
The student that will be successful in this practicum placement is able to be flexible with which service areas will be included in the timeframe of the placement. There is some predictability in upcoming assignments (which we can talk about more during interviews), but ultimately a float’s assignment can change based on the needs of the SW dept. This will provide the student with a unique range of opportunities that could help inform the direction/interests in their future medical SW journey.
Common daily tasks: Attending rounds, meeting with pts & families, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams, documentation, using electronic health record, navigating hospital & community resources, etc.
Skills/interventions: biopsychosocial assessments, safety planning, resource coordination, advocacy, writing chart notes in EMR, brief mental health interventions & screening, problem solving, etc.

During placement students may expect to participate in/conduct meetings with individual pt’s and their caregivers; psychosocial assessments; resource coordination; basic needs; safety planning/protection assessments.

During placement students may expect to participate in/conduct supporting whole family systems and cultures; engaging with multidisciplinary teams in medical setting; integrating into SW dept; collaborating with other dept’s to meet pt’s needs and to provide quality care; working with community agencies such as Medicaid brokers, shelters, SSA/DDA, DSHS/DCYF.

During placement students may expect to participate in opportunities for advocacy; some program evaluation/development opportunities; engaging with Diversity, Equity, Inclusion initiatives and efforts in healthcare setting.

MSW Specialized Student

Please email your cover letter and resume to: stephanie.landdeck@seattlechildrens.org by Feb 21st, 2024 to be considered. Interviews will be scheduled after February 28th, 2024.