Medical Social Workers' Perceptions Related to Interprofessional Teamwork at Hospitals

Interprofessional teams in the health care sectors can be comprised of a variety of disciplines including medicine, nursing, social work, and allied health professions such as physiotherapists, dieticians, and pharmacists. Good medical treatment is dependent on the team's continual awareness of the social situations of patients and of their feelings about these circumstances. This study evaluates perceptions of social workers in relation to interprofessional work issues that can influence their ability to maintain an effective contribution to the health care team. The findings highlight a strong link between respondent opinions relating to job responsibilities and perceptions concerning work with other professional groups in the hospital (e.g., doctors and nursing staff), which is referred to in this study as interprofessional teamwork. The results indicate that participants perceive limitations in carrying out their jobs due to a deficiency in supportive opportunities for interprofessional teamwork between the social work staff and the medical care teams. Future research could be undertaken in relation to challenges to successful interprofessional teamwork of social workers and medical care staff in Saudi Arabia.