Social Worker, Bariatrics

SJH St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton; Hamilton; On-site; CAD 87,000 - 107,000; Part time

Job summary

St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton is seeking a part-time Social Worker - RSW to provide psychosocial assessment, counselling, case management and discharge planning within Diabetes and Bariatric Care.

The role emphasizes collaboration with an inter-professional team and community linkage. The successful candidate will have a Bachelor's in Social Work (Master's preferred), be registered with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers, and bring experience in psychosocial

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Social Work from an accredited university is required.
• Master's degree in Social Work from an accredited university preferred.
• Registration with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers required.
• Membership with the Ontario Association of Social Workers preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provides competent, professional care through the development of the therapeutic relationship with patients.
• Conducts comprehensive psychosocial assessments from a systems perspective.
• Completes social work analysis using critical thinking and social work theory.
• Identifies issues/goals and formulates patient-centered intervention plans.
• Communicates with care providers to ensure integrated, coordinated care.
• Documents interventions per standards and guidelines.
• Participates in team-based activities and quality improvement initiatives.
• Provides education to patients, families and staff on social work topics.
• Leads and participates in discharge planning and community linkages.

Skills

Clinical social work

Psychoeducation

Case management

Crisis intervention

Inter-professional collaboration

Advocacy

Research / quality improvement

Education

Bachelor's degree in Social Work

Master's degree in Social Work preferred

Job description

Position Details

• Job Number: JR01567
• Department: Surgical Bariatrics Social Work
• This position may be scheduled at any of the following sites: West 5th Campus (Hamilton Mountain)
• Job Type: Temporary (Fixed Term), Part time
• Contract Duration: (If applicable) 8 months
• Number of Positions: 1
• Union: OPSEU Local 206
• Hourly Rate (Min / Max): $44.49 - $55.08
• Schedule Work Days: Monday to Friday
• Time of Day: Days
• Shift: Hours - 7.5 Shift Start: (If applicable)
• Reason for Posting: Posting is for a new role
• Application Dates Opening Date: 2026-08-18 Closing Date: 2026-08-25

Job Description

Position Summary The Social Worker - RSW provides quality social work services congruent with the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice of the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW). The Registered Social Worker provides psychosocial assessment, counselling/psychotherapy, case management, patient/family education, supportive counselling, discharge planning, service coordination and consultation according to best practice standards in order to assist patients to achieve optimum recovery and quality of life in Diabetes and Bariatric Care. This includes maximizing the benefit patients and families receive from their Diabetes and Bariatric treatments. The Registered Social Worker provides leadership in high risk social situations, program development, advocacy, and developing and maintaining strong community linkages. Registered Social Workers will also participate in mentoring, community development, teaching, continuous quality improvement and research activities.

Qualifications

• - Bachelors of Social Work from an accredited University is required, Masters of Social Work from an accredited University preferred
• - 1 year recent related clinical experience with the Diabetes and Bariatric clinical population
• - Registration with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers required
• - Membership with the Ontario Association of Social Workers preferred
• - Maintains current working knowledge of relevant legislation which includes the following: Mental Health Act; Health Care Consent Act; substitute Decisions Act; public Hospitals Act; Long Term Care Act; Child and Family Services Act; PHIPA; and Excellent Care for All Act
• - Able to work effectively both in a team environment and as an independent professional
• - Maintains expertise in social work and evidence-based best practices which includes family/individual and group treatment modalities, case management, crisis intervention and discharge planning
• - Experience with psychiatric assessment and familiarity with DSM classification
• - Experience providing psychoeducational intervention; cognitive behavioural therapy; motivational enhancement therapy, mindfulness therapy
• - Experience with group-based interventions
• - Experience in assisting patients/clients to affect personal change
• - Experience in an ambulatory patient care environment preferred
• - Weight management counselling experience/experience with Bariatrics preferred
• - Program planning and evaluation and interest/experience in research preferred
• - Commitment to patient-centered care with the ability to adapt to a diverse patient population
• - Demonstrated knowledge in application of screening tools (i.e., Admission and Discharge Assessment Tool (ADAT). Binge Eating Scale (BES-16), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7), Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT))
• - Proven ability to work as an effective member of an inter-professional team with exceptional interpersonal, advocacy, negotiation and conflict resolution skills
• - Willingness and ability to continue to improve professional competence and knowledge
• - Demonstrated knowledge, sensitivity and expertise in the care of seniors and their families
• - Gentle Persuasive Approach training preferred

Responsibilities

• - Provides Competent, Professional Care through the development of the Therapeutic Relationship with patients.
• - Conducts comprehensive psychosocial assessments from a systems perspective which will include obtaining contact information such as Power of Attorney (POA), Substitute Decision Maker (SDM) Next of Kin (NOK), current family/social status, financial situation, community agency involvement, mental health status and psychosocial history.
• - Completes social work analysis using critical thinking and social work theory ( i.e. Anti-oppression Theory, Systems Theory, Solution Focus Theory, Strength-based Theory)
• - Identifies issues/goals and formulates a patient- centered intervention plan in accordance to setting.
• - Communicates with all relevant care providers within the circle of care to ensure integration of care plans and enhance quality coordinated client care. Collaboration, negotiation, management of role overlap and support of inter-professional team is necessary to ensure comprehensive client care.
• - Documents all patient related interventions adhering to the OCSWSSW Standards of Practice and SJHH corporate RSW discipline-specific documentation guidelines.
• - Completes accurate workload statistics within expected timelines and ensures work activity is in alignment with the current benchmark activities of the organization. Completes other program data to support ministry requirements such as RAI data, FIM scores and MDS data consistent with the expertise of the discipline.
• - Identifies and intervenes with high risk social situations such as Intimate Partner Violence, Child Abuse/Neglect, Elder Abuse/Neglect, Financial Abuse and others as appropriate utilizing best practice social work guidelines.
• - Provides theory-based counselling which may include crisis intervention, illness adjustment counseling, psycho-social education, psychotherapy, therapeutic groupwork, etc.
• - Provides Diabetes and Bariatric case management for an assigned patient area including the facilitation of patient and team goals related to function and discharge, connecting the patient and/or their/family with services and/or resources in the community and ensuring patients and families understand the plan of care.
• - Facilitates and leads family meetings requiring therapeutic counselling skills, conflict related to the therapeutic and discharge plan.
• - Meets the requirements of Ontario Social Work re-certification through continuing education outlined by the OCSWSSW.
• - Participates in activities that are demonstrated to maintain competency and encourage reflective practice including continuing education, teaching or facilitating learning of students at college/university or as a placement preceptor, clinical research and evaluation of quality and outcome, evidence based practice activities, development of programming, clinical care paths or protocols and patient education materials and collection or utilization of outcome measures.
• - Contributes to a well-functioning program, service or department through non-patient activities to ensure a clean and safe environment, and representing the discipline and the department/program by answering questions and other functions congruent with the service excellence mandate of the hospital (i.e. answering phone, greeting clients, giving information/directions, etc.).
• - Facilitates and completes Alternate Level of Care designation and associated processes.
• - Participates in activities that enhance the quality of care at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton including but not limited to team meetings, department meetings, quality teams, unit/program based meetings/committees, accreditation teams and corporate committees relevant to the social work role, expertise and scope of practice (ie discharge barriers, anti-stigma, ALC, family and patient engagement)
• - Participates in activities to promote or enhance the profession including Social Work Week, retreats, strategic planning, SW Professional Practice Council, mentoring, supervision of provisional practicing social worker and orientation programs.
• - Participates in appropriate clinical, research investigations for the purpose of improving the quality of Social Work care/interventions and inter-professional care as appropriate.
• - Consults with Professional Practice Leader when needed to ascertain proper social work plan and interventions and scope of practice.
• - Provides clinical teaching, mentoring and supervision for Social Work students.
• - Participates and creates inter-professional education experiences for students of all health disciplines.
• - Provide education to St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton employees, students of other disciplines, the general public, community agencies and organizations with respect to topics within the scope of social work expertise.

St. Joseph’s Health System (SJHS) and its member organizations are equal opportunity employers and strives for equity, inclusiveness, and diversity in all programs, practices, facilities, and people. We foster a culture of patient and staff safety where all positions comply and work in conjunction with the Mission, Vision, and Core Values. We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. SJHS and its member organizations are committed to a barrier-free recruitment and selection process - please inform us should accommodation be required at any point in the recruitment process ([e-mail]). At St. Joe’s Hamilton, we believe in nurturing new talent, providing an inclusive and supportive work environment with meaningful growth opportunities, and exciting benefits and rewards. Whether you're passionate about providing compassionate care or eager to gain new skills, there’s a place here for you to grow, learn, and succeed! Dignity. Respect. Service. Justice. Responsibility. Enquiry.