SOCIAL WORK MONTH 2025
Social workers serve others. They do so while respecting the other person, recognizing the importance of human relations and social justice. And that is why Social Work Month, observed every March, is a great time to recognize and highlight this important field of work!
So let me start this out by saying THANK YOU! Thank you for all that you social workers do, today and every day, this month and every month, all year long. Social workers are out there making a difference by doing the hard work all the time, making a difference in our world. They care and put that care into action for patients, clients, families, groups, and organizations. Thank you for persevering to do this vital work!
The 2025 Theme for Social Work Month is “Social Work: Compassion + Action.” What a great theme for highlighting the caring and action of every day in the life of a social worker!
A Google search of the word “compassion” results in “sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with the desire to alleviate it.” This goes beyond just having empathy for someone; it is the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another person, and working to alleviate that suffering. Wow!
Many social workers specialize in helping specific populations of people. Most of the social workers we work with at Care Advantage focus on patient care and support for older adults. They help patients and families understand diagnosis, what it means for their future, and what support there may be available. They utilize resources to help them, like making referrals to health care agencies, finding support groups, or even connecting them with construction companies that do home modifications.
Social workers in a hospital or skilled nursing facility are often referred to as discharge planners. They work with patients and families on the next steps. This could be a discharge to another facility for continued rehabilitation or to a senior living community, such as assisted living or memory care). Or it could be a discharge to home with agencies to support them, like either home health, palliative care, hospice care, and/or personal care (by Care Advantage!).
You will encounter social workers in many aspects of health care, schools, and in community program settings. You may have spoken with one but just never realized the importance of their role!
Not only is March Social Work Month, but March 18th is World Social Work Day. The International Federation of Social Workers has designated the theme of social work day as “Strengthening Intergenerational Solidarity for Enduring Well-Being.”
If you are a social worker, what do these themes mean to you? How do you maintain that compassion over the years of a career, and how are you passing it to future generations of social workers? We would love to hear from you!
Join me in saying another THANK YOU to our wonderful social workers!
