Other aspects of medical social work

While the central function of any profession is to provide direct service to those in need, preoccupation with this cannot be exclusive if professional responsibilities are to be carried out. There are always aspects of the cumulative experience of a profession which need to be shared with others in order that the maximum use of that experience can be made. Caplan’s ( 1964 ) notion of the responsibilities of mental health workers towards providing the appropriate guidance and training for ‘caretakers’ in the community is one reflection of this. Equally, the value of putting to use knowledge and experience derived from other fields is demonstrated by the increasing application in the social services of various management concepts identified and tested in industry. If the validity of such mutual sharing is accepted, then it follows that social workers too have a responsibility for helping others to use in their work those aspects of social work experience which are relevant to them. In medical social work the importance of this type of contribution is further enhanced by the fact that it constitutes a small part of the activities of the health field as a whole. Therefore, its full effectiveness is dependent on its ‘diffusion’ through others ( Bartlett, 1962 and 1963 ).