Every March, National Social Work Month recognizes the dedication and empathy social workers across the country deliver while providing compassionate services. Across the country, chapters of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) are hosting events to celebrate. St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children chooses a timely topic and hosts educational events each year. This year’s topic was “Unconscious Bias - What You Do Not Realize That Affects Every Life Action.”

Bernard Lopez, MD, MS, CPE, FACEP, FAAEM, presented the topic during Grand Rounds on March 19. Dr. Lopez is Associate Provost for Diversity and Inclusion, Thomas Jefferson University, and Senior Associate Dean for Diversity and Community Engagement, Professor and Executive Vice Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson.

The event’s objectives included defining unconscious bias and its effects on key actions, describing its physiologic basis, naming at least three key components that play into our unconscious biases, and offering at least four ways to work with unconscious biases. Members of the medical community, other disciplines, and hospital leaders attended this educational event.

National Social Work Month highlights the outstanding contributions that St. Christopher’s Social Work Department makes to the culturally diverse children, families, and communities served by the hospital and outpatient clinics.

Social workers serve as advocates, advisors, counselors, and facilitators to identify and solve problems, and help families in need build a strong support network. The social work team helps patients and families work through life’s most challenging problems, including poverty, food insecurity, and homelessness; helps them plan for life after a hospital stay, treatment, or loss; and helps protect children from neglect abuse. 

The Social Work Department also hosted fun events for staff during March, such as a Social Work Secret Pal gift exchange, team T-shirts, and a staff lunch.

“The work we do can be very intense, working with children who have been exposed to trauma, in addition to complex medical issues and chronic illness,” said Karen Vogel, MSW, ACSW, Director of Social Work at St. Christopher’s. “We work collaboratively with providers across all disciplines at St. Christopher’s to support patients, families, and one another. The Social Work Month events help serve as a much-needed morale booster for staff.”

Learn more about the Social Work Department at St. Chris.