Let’s get you prepared for the interview for the position of Hospice Social Worker. This article is going to make sure that you are well prepared for the interview. A little preparation will come in handy before you schedule your interview for the position. We have listed the top 25 Hospice Social Worker Interview Questions & Answers that will be will helpful.
No doubt, it’s a challenging position since you deal with different situations daily. Every day you have a different patient to deal with and a different family to console. One is not only involved with the patient but also with their family members. When you are dealing with a difficult time in your patient’s life, it is always better that you also take care of yourself. Make sure your mental health is perfect so that you can be a source of help to your clients. We always recommend that your mental health comes first in any personal and professional setting. In a field like social work, your mental health is the priority so that you can take care of your patients. Before wasting any more of your time, Let’s dig into questions with answers that you need to go through before you go for an interview for the job.
1. Briefly Describe Your Experience In This Field
After being trained and licensed as Hospice Social Worker, I started my practice. It has been a few years that I have been in this field where I am addressing the social and emotional needs of patients as well as their families. It is a stressful event for any family that is in the situation but with my help, they can cater to their needs and plan the next journey. Since the Hospice team consists of several other key members too like the family physician, nurse, and spiritual support counselor, my role has always been an emotional one. I have met a lot of families in their stressful times and assisted them in that difficult decision that they have coming their way.
I took psychology as my major in my bachelor’s and always wanted to explore the social work side as a career. In my bachelor’s, I was always involved in volunteer work at different hospitals and clinics to learn from the professional setting. Right after I graduated, I took my current job and I was one of the talented trainees who joined the role within a very small period.
2. How Do You Stay Motivated In This Role?
The only thing that keeps me motivated in this role is that I can help others in a difficult phase of their lives. With the training, I always make sure that I focus on the individual strength of the person and use it to build them for the next challenge. In short, empathy to help others in their difficult times is my motivation. There is no great feeling than watching your patient get better!
3. Why Are You Interested In This Role?
I want to work for a company that is considered one of the market leaders in providing such care to patients. I have already worked at small setups but now I am looking for an opportunity that increases my exposure and also learning. This will be an opportunity for me because the interpersonal skills will help me in providing great care to the groups that are involved. I am eager to combine my talent along with the skills that I have developed in my training to create a space for those who need assistance.
4. What are the Challenges that You Faced In Your Last Role? How Did You Overcome Them?
The field itself is very challenging and every day it’s a new challenge to face with a new family involved. During my experience, I have had a fair share of rewarding experiences with families and patients. I was able to comfort and console grieving families and I am proud that I have been able to provide care to people who couldn’t find a way to fight the darkest phase. One of the greatest challenges in this field is your mental health. Dealing with such cases daily where it’s an emotional rush, social workers sometimes forget about checking their mental health. For me, daily workouts and some activity that refreshes my mind always help.
5. Describe Your Daily Routine At Work.
This field does not have a routine because challenges keep changing from day to day. I spend my time coordinating with the medical staff and families of the patient to ensure that all needs are met and patients can safely go back to their homes in a much better shape and emotional stability. Since I have been part of the inpatient hospice team, I always take care of the patient by being patient myself. If my presence around them calms them, I make sure that their counseling is given time. Sometimes, holding your patient’s hand is a gesture to express their feelings.
In the morning, I usually have meetings with the nurses who update me about the situation of all patients that are part of inpatient care. If there are any family concerns, I always address them with them directly. The information received from the nurses helps me to analyze if the patient can go back to home-based hospice care. If we have a patient who is on the deathbed, I get in touch with the family members and inform them and console them so that they can take the news well. Trust me, it’s not a sad day every day at my job! I always make sure to celebrate patient and staff birthdays and special occasions. Happy patients do recover fast!
6. How Do You Maintain Confidentiality In Your Work?
This is one of the major responsibilities of any social worker to ensure confidentiality. During counseling, if any family member or even the patient is disclosing matters to their problem, I make sure I do not disclose it at any other place. Sometimes, identities are hidden too. All information shared is private information unless there is a danger of harm to self or others. If the violation is reported on my license, my license can be revoked by the registration board.
7. Can You Work Well Under Pressure?
I have been able to perform under stressful situations. Even though the job is rewarding on its own but sometimes it does get emotionally taxing for a social worker. I mostly prioritize the resources that I have in hand to accomplish the tasks. I do make sure that my healthy work-related boundaries are established and it gives me a balance too! If I had a couple of stressful days, I always make sure that I attend counseling sessions that help me in easing the burden.
8. What Is Your Greatest Strength In This Role?
For me, empathy is my strength. The type of people I deal with who are already in a state of crisis at first only needs my care and understanding of their problem. If I can give them the listening ear, the chances of their improvement are great and promising!
9. This Field Is Always Changing. How Do You Work On Your Rersonal Development?
Since my current role did not provide me such an opportunity to work on my development but I had been involved with the community on several occasions like foodbank and book banks. I have learned a lot about the power of teamwork and communication. At a few events, I was able to develop my managerial skills by being a team lead.
10. Do You Have Experience With In-Home Visits?
Yes, I have done a few in-home visits for ailing patients who were actually on their deathbed and chose to stay in their cozy warm environment at their homes. I interacted with the family, especially their spouses who are fragile at this moment. Losing your life partner is the hardest and does need proper counseling and help throughout.
11. What Kinds Of Clients Do You Find Most Difficult To Work With And Why?
Honestly, dealing with those clients who have lost all their hope and wish to live a better life is the most difficult one. They are adamant that no good can reach them ever and they are somehow in depression. For such patients, I always make sure that I can try various methods with them because one cannot give up on them like this. Being a social worker, it is my job to provide the utmost to my clients.
12. Why Did You Go Into Social Work?
My first experience or interaction with a hospice social worker was at the age of 12. I lost my grandmother to cancer. I still remember how hospice nurses and social workers made the arrangements at home and especially on her terms.
13. What Strategies Do You Use For Crisis Intervention?
Conflict is part of any social work especially when one of the members is already suffering. Being a social worker, I always make sure that I am proactive in informing my clients so that they do not get upset about it. To deal with the crisis, I believe that restatement and clarifications are some of the best strategies!
14. What Type Of Supervision Do You Prefer?
I always make sure that my supervisors have my back since the very first day. Mistakes and blunders can be made by anyone but precaution is always better. Usually, I make sure that I get feedback on my performance and I also attend workshops held under the company to make sure I am well aware.
15. Tell Me About A Time When A Client Disagreed With Your Approach Or Treatment Plan.
It happened last year when a house hospice patient was admitted who was not taking painkillers despite being in great pain. He was not cooperating with the nursing staff so I had to be more flexible with him. By talking to him about this, I was able to identify that he thought that medicines are a sign of weakness. With my insistence to take those medicines, he felt that he was not in control of his own life.
16. What Is The Most Important Aspect Of Managing Clients’ Feelings?
First, I have to remain calm in all situations and make sure that I am not taking anything to my heart. This will help me in making the right decision for patient care. I always ensure that I am listening carefully to patients while they talk about it and empathize with them.
17. What Patient Management Software Are You Familiar With?
In my experience, I have worked on 3 hospital management software. One of them is OpenEMR. It fulfills the patient record and supports multiple languages too. The reports are automatically tracked and are accessible from any web browser. Another software is Open Clinic GA. This also supports multiple languages like French, Spanish, English, and Dutch.
18. How Do You Keep Your Hospice Care Knowledge Up To Date?
I always attend training and seminars for such matters. I always discuss my learnings with my fellow members on matters of patient care. This helps in providing better treatment to the patients and their families.
19. What Are The Key Differences Between Routine And General Inpatient Care?
4 types of hospice care include routine, inpatient, general and continuous. Routine care is one of the common types that focuses on the physical, spiritual, and emotional support of the patient and the family too. It does not have to be given at the hospital but It can be given in any setting including a nursing home, assisted living facility, or personal care home. For inpatient care, it can only be provided in a nursing facility for a maximum of 5 consecutive days. It gives the caregivers a temporary relief to take their time to rest and be available again after 5 days.
20. How Do You Approach Challenging Family Members?
Mostly the families are under a lot of emotional pressure that is causing them to disagree with the patient’s choice. In my position, I reassure each one of them that their feedback and concerns are valid. If there are any issues, I make sure to communicate well with the family members so that they understand that comfort of the patient is the utmost priority.
21. Do You Have Experience Working With Special Needs Children?
I had my chance to work with one a month ago. He was under my treatment for a few weeks.
22. Would You Be Prepared To Make Home Visits?
Going out in the community and visiting my patients is part of my responsibility. Visiting their setting makes it easier to understand their environment to make a good decision from the assessment.
23. What Is The Basic Skill Set Of Any Hospice Social Worker?
At any level, any social worker should have:
- The ability to communicate with patients and caregivers
- Resolving the conflicts
- Public Speaking to lead the discussion and complex problem-solving skills.
24. If You Have To Recommend A Movie To A Fellow Social Worker Aligned With Your Career, Which One Would You Recommend?
I would always recommend “I am Jan Doe” and “Autism in Love”. These have a great message in it for our career and how to take care of patients and their loved ones. Other than that, there are a few more movies that one should watch. It includes Happy, Hunting Grounds, and Babies.
25. How Do Manage Personal Boundaries?
I always make sure that I am focusing on the client instead of disclosing information about myself and my personal life. It is always important to inform yourself from time to time that professional relationships are based on time and have a common structure where you are in charge of solving issues for a client who is dependent on you. Being a social worker, I always understand the limitations of my role and capabilities as a social worker. If at any point, I feel that my client needs further and advanced support, I would always suggest they consider that.
Conclusion
We wish you all the best for the interview. Don’t forget that this is one of the opportunities that you should get prepared for. Make sure that you are on time on the day of the interview and research a little bit more about the company so that no surprises are coming your way. Make sure that you do not lie or overcommit in the interview because it will be considered a lie from your side. These 25 questions are surely going to help in acing the first round of interviews. If shortlisted, you can always discuss your salary and other benefits with your employer.
Good luck!
