Pandemic ethics: A resource for social work students, educators and practitioners”

IFSW has just published a new resource comprising vignettes depicting ethical challenges faced by social workers internationally during the Covid-19 pandemic. Each vignette is accompanied by a series of questions that can be used to stimulate reflection by individuals, or by groups in professional supervision/support meetings and education and training contexts. The vignettes are drawn from an international survey on ethical challenges during Covid-19.

Dawn Hobdy, IFSW Global Ethics Commissioner, said: “This new invaluable resource will help social workers from around the globe to develop their skills in ethical analysis, as well as to gain new perspectives on the nature of ethical practice“.

One of the core aims of this booklet is to highglight the value of taking time for slow, reflexive deliberation in contexts where social workers may feel pressure to make quick decisions and take action.

Sarah Banks, who led the research on which this resource is based upon, said: “We are grateful to all the social workers who responded to the survey, and particularly those whose experiences form the basis of the vignettes. Their contributions make this publication a very topical and practice-relevant resource to social workers around the globe.”

Download your free copy here.

Coal-City 2021 Socio-Scientific Conference

The National Executive Council and members of the Association of Medical Social Workers of Nigeria is glad to announce that the forthcoming 2021 Socio-Scientific Conference will be held at the Federal Neuropsychiatry Hospital, Enugu.

Date: 19th-22th October, 2021. 9am daily.

Register for the conference:  https://bit.ly/3rHQeFf

2020 Virtual Socio-Scientific Conference

Executive Summary

Nothing is possible until it is done; this was the experience at the just concluded virtual Socio-Scientific Conference of the Association of Medical Social Workers of Nigeria (AMSWON). A virtual socio-scientific conference was necessitated as a result of the unprecedented arrival of COVID-19, originally, we used to gather in October, in hundreds in a selected State in Nigeria, but it is rather not possible due to rising cases of COVID-19 that affected many activities around the world. Our Socio-Scientific conference is unique because it brings every Medical Social Worker from 36 States and Federal Capital Territory into one place to discuss emerging issues affecting our practice. Our conferences always serve as an advocacy tool for making our demands as an Association known to the government for the benefit of Patients, we serve in our respective Hospitals.

The overall goal of our Annual Socio-Scientific Conference is to have a National discussion on Medical Social Services and also promote Social Justice in the Health Sector in Nigeria. Interestingly, the Conference has been ongoing for more than three decades now. The National Executive of the Association of Medical Social Workers of Nigeria (AMSWON) approved that a Virtual Conference be held on the 16^th and 17^th December, 2020, 6pm daily to discuss Emerging Issues around Medical Social Services during COVID-19 Pandemic. This year’s Virtual Conference is significant and unique because over 300 medical social workers registered across the country while more than 60 individuals participated across the country with four international participants from the United Kingdom, Mexico, India and Indonesia. The conference had three internationally respected speakers Nigeria and Ireland with Keynote addresses from the Director of Hospital Services of the Federal Ministry of Health, Abuja,  while a Goodwill message was given by the Vice President of the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) The conference was live-streamed on our major Social Media Platforms for wider coverage of the event.

This short conference report will provide insight to activities during the Virtual Socio-Scientific Conference; provide some graphical details of the presenters during the conference while suggestions were adequately highlighted for your reading pleasure.

Download Full.Conference.Report

Conference Committee

Alhaji Alhassan Abubakar Bichi

National President,

Association of Medical Social Workers of Nigeria (AMSWON)

Dr Thomas Ibe

National Vice President,

Association of Medical Social Workers of Nigeria (AMSWON)

Daniel Ellu

National General Secretary, Association of Medical Social Workers of Nigeria (AMSWON)

Oyinlola Oluwagbemiga

National Assistant General Secretary, Association of Medical Social Workers of Nigeria (AMSWON)

Ms Titi Tade

Deputy Director, Medical Social Services Department, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos