Abstract
Abstract
As palliative social work continues to evolve as a specialty practice, it remains critical to possess and communicate a clear sense of professional identity. This chapter highlights the historical and current challenges and opportunities of palliative social workers to develop individual and collective professional identities, and the ways in which these identities intersect with interdisciplinary teamwork, collaboration with other social workers, and individual clinical effectiveness and job satisfaction. The chapter also delineates both the traditional and more recent team roles palliative social workers have assumed as the healthcare landscape has shifted and palliative social workers have gained a stronger foothold as core team members. The author adapts ecological systems and minority identity development theories to frame these challenges and opportunities in palliative social work identity development from both a cross-sectional and longitudinal perspective.