The Emerging Social Work Role on Hospital Ethics Committees: A Comparison of Social Worker and Chair Perspectives

The growth of hospital ethics committees has been explosive in the past 10 years. The multidisciplinary nature of these committees points to the recognition of a need for collaboration in ethical decision making. A statewide study of 85 social work members of ethics committees and their chairs examined the role expectations that each group had for social work and compared these expectations to social worker self-reported participation on these committees. Findings reveal that both groups viewed social workers as important contributors to most areas of committee activity. Considerable consensus existed between the two groups that case consultation involvement was most central, followed by policy, with educational involvement ranked much lower. Both groups expected higher participation from social workers than currently took place. These data suggest the opportunity for greater role participation for social workers on hospital ethics committees in the future.