Career Update: Becoming an Oncology Clinical Social Worker

“To Whom It May Concern: This is my formal resignation.”

I cancelled my last assignment early to accept a permanent role at a cancer center closer to home. In my previous role I was a medical social worker-discharge planning. It was not the job for me and I struggled to find meaning in the work I did every day. I enjoyed my team more than anything but that wasn’t enough to continue the long commutes and to sacrifice my mental health. The goal has always been to find a permanent role so even after I accepted that contract I was still applying and interviewing. I knew that I had to get out of travel social work but I also knew it had to make sense and feel good.

After lots of rejection, I was thankful to have a phone interview which led to an in person interview, and then a formal offer. For the first time in my life I had to negotiate. Being a travel social worker and making so much money weekly my perception of what social workers actually made was skewed. Though I did not get my asking rate I’m comfortable with where we landed and I am hoping for a six month reevaluation.

Coming into this role I felt confident because I have two and a half years of oncology experience, but there was no one here to receive me and I’ve truly been finding my way. The previous social worker left before I started; however, I’ve been heavily supported by my colleagues and I’ve felt at home since day one.  

Day one of work showed me that I am exactly where I should be. I supported a family with a resource and the wife called me their “Angel.” Though this may seem very insignificant to some it was confirmation for me. Leaving an environment where I was cursed out by patients or their family members multiple times a day and walking into a new, refreshing space where I feel valued and appreciated brings tears to my eyes. Every day moving forward I have continued to show up to the best of my abilities. Do I think I will do everything perfectly in this role? No. Will I give this role, my patients, and their families everything I’ve got (plus a little bit more)? ABSOLUTELY. My plan is to learn and grow in this space where I am being fed and watered daily.

Growing in my career is always my goal. I am currently receiving supervision to obtain my clinical license and following the guidelines to become a Certified Oncology Social Worker. There is no way I can say definitively that oncology social work is my last stop but emotionally I feel more at peace than I have in a long time. The one thing I’m missing is community. I have mostly been surrounded by other social workers in my roles, so I am being intentional about building my oncology social work community. If you are an oncology social worker in the SoCal area I would love to connect with you! Let’s get coffee!

This will be my only post about my new role. This blog is my safe space away from work, but I felt the girlies needed a career update! Clearly, this role will have its challenges so I want to be intentional with practicing self-care. As we all should.