Hospice social work · Orientation manual · Coming soon
Hospice Social Worker Orientation Manual
A practical guide to hospice social work practice
Your new social worker joins the team on Monday. By Friday they may be completing psychosocial assessments that a surveyor will read line by line. This manual gives them a clear path through that first stretch, built around the federal rules they will be measured against.
Get notified at launch
Built on the Medicare hospice Conditions of Participation
Each section of the manual points to the federal standard it supports. Source: 42 CFR Part 418.
- 42 CFR 418.100(g)(1)
- Orientation to the hospice philosophy for all staff with patient and family contact
- 42 CFR 418.100(g)(2)
- Initial orientation that addresses the employee's specific job duties
- 42 CFR 418.64(c)
- Medical social services provided by a qualified social worker, under the direction of a physician
- 42 CFR 418.54(b)
- Comprehensive assessment completed by the IDG within 5 calendar days of the election of hospice care
- 42 CFR 418.56(d)
- Plan of care reviewed and updated by the IDG at least every 15 calendar days
- 42 CFR 418.100(g)(3)
- Assessment of skills and competence, with written methods of competency assessment
What the manual will cover
Planned contents. Final section titles may change before launch.
Hospice philosophy and the Medicare hospice benefit
What makes hospice different from every other setting your new hire has worked in, and why that changes the way they open a first visit.
The psychosocial assessment, start to finish
How the social work piece fits inside the comprehensive assessment and its five day window, with guidance on capturing caregiver capacity, safety, finances, and family dynamics.
Working inside the interdisciplinary group
How to bring psychosocial findings into IDG meetings so they show up in the plan of care, and how to keep goals current between 15 day reviews.
Documentation that reads well in a survey
Note structure, measurable interventions, and the gaps surveyors tend to find when psychosocial visits are documented in a hurry.
Bereavement risk and the handoff
Spotting bereavement risk while the patient is still on service, and passing that information to the bereavement team in a usable form.
Competency verification
Checklists a preceptor or manager can sign off, so your agency has a written record of how competence was assessed.
Who it is for
Federal rules require every hospice to orient new staff to the hospice philosophy and to their specific job duties, then assess their competence. This manual gives you a structured way to do that for this discipline.
- Hospice social workers in their first 90 days, including those new to hospice from hospital or community practice
- Social work managers and psychosocial leads who onboard new staff
- Directors of clinical services and administrators building a repeatable onboarding process
- Agencies preparing for CHAP or ACHC survey readiness
Be the first to know
Join the notify list for the Hospice Social Worker Orientation Manual.
- The launch date, before it is public
- Launch pricing reserved for the list
- No other emails unless you ask for them
Questions
When will the Hospice Social Worker Orientation Manual launch?
It is in production now. Everyone on the notify list will receive the launch date and launch pricing before it is announced anywhere else.
Who is this orientation manual for?
It is written for hospice social workers who are new to the role or new to hospice, and for the managers and clinical leaders responsible for onboarding them.
Is the manual aligned with the Medicare hospice Conditions of Participation?
Yes. Each section points to the federal standard it supports in 42 CFR Part 418, including the orientation and training requirements at 418.100(g) and the medical social services requirement at 418.64(c).
Does it replace our agency's own policies?
No. It is designed to sit alongside your own policies and procedures. Your agency remains responsible for its orientation program and for any state specific requirements.
Who created it?
Tonia Barrier, MSN, RN, Founder and Principal Consultant of PAC Leadership Solutions and former CCO & Compliance Officer of a multistate hospice organization.