A Commitment to Collaborate

Abstract

Abstract A palliative care team uniquely integrates the expert skills of the social worker. As a member of this interprofessional team, social workers can provide leadership and fidelity to the principles of team, including psychological safety, role clarity, trust, and vision. This chapter discusses the role of the interprofessional team in palliative patient care, and specifically how this impacts the role, use, and professional position of the social worker as they navigate a variety of collaborative relationships. Understanding teams from an individual, group, and institutional level can help us not only strengthen the success of palliative care teams but provides extraordinary opportunities for all health social workers who are working on a team. As social workers expand their presence on healthcare teams, we can improve the functioning of the team, patient care, and interprofessional collaboration.