On the Front Line: Narratives of Social Workers at Hospitals

The study examines narratives and experiences of hospital social workers, as part of the team of hospital staff members who treat patients suffering physical and mental traumas, including death and loss, as part of their routine and on-call emergency duties. The Listening Guide analytic technique was implemented to analyze interviews and focus group with 25 hospital social workers, and to reveal the various voices in the social workers' narratives. The research finds that hospital social workers are exposed to trauma, disease, and death share experiences of trauma and stress, but also display signs of growth. The Listening Guide analysis identified three simultaneous voices: The Voice of Trauma and Stress, The You Impersonal Voice and The Voice of Growth. While the Voice of Trauma and Stress and the Voice of Growth were overt, the remaining voice, the You Impersonal Voice, was a silenced voice. The analysis emphasizes the high level of emotional intensity in hospital shifts and the constant exposure to trauma. The study thus suggests that hospital social workers should be regarded as first responders and that a more comprehensive understanding of trauma, first respondents' trauma, and posttraumatic growth in the hospital setting is needed.