Learning by Stealth: Newly Qualified Social Workers’ Experiences of Navigating Health and Hospital Social Work

Abstract

Abstract Hospitals are known to be fast paced, multidisciplinary environments, which can be experienced as both challenging and fulfilling workplaces by social workers. Newly qualified social workers (NQSWs) are still learning how to be social work professionals through their engagement in and delivery of practice. Drawing on a larger pilot study conducted in Brisbane, Queensland, this article reports findings from a cohort of NQSW hospital social workers’ conceptualisation and responses to complexity. Findings indicate that within a hospital context, NQSWs learn how to be professional social workers through stealth due to the broader organisational factors surrounding their role. Whilst these organisational factors present challenges, participants enacted several adaptive strategies to manage their work. Yet, these strategies are not without their limitations. Implications are raised in terms of the need for more purposeful support and socialisation of NQSWs within hospital contexts.