Trigger Warning: Some content contains topics about violence and abuse.
Althea Sumabat, Master of Social Work Candidate, and research student at the Waypoint Research Institute has learned and seen a lot in the Emergency Room, emphasizing the need for further clinician training when it comes to treating survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) and gender-based violence (GBV). Althea provides key insights to working in the emergency room and what she believes is needed to ensure the safety of survivors during their visits.
What is your role in the emergency department (ED) as a social worker?
“My role in the emergency department is to complete a biopsychosocial assessment to support safe discharge planning.”
How are intimate partner violence and gender-based violence services accessed in the emergency department, and what is the protocol?
“Ultimately, accessing intimate partner violence and gender-based violence services is led through identification and disclosure from patients. In terms of protocol, there unfortunately is none. Although interdisciplinary, it often falls under the social worker’s scope, who usually has restricted hours. We think of how to standardize care, to not let patients fall through the cracks and address these concerns or suspicions appropriately, and how to approach with a trauma-and violence-informed care lens, to promote patient self-determination.”
How do you connect your role as a social worker to your role as a researcher?
“The inspiration to discuss this topic came from a recent social work consultation supporting nursing development of an intimate partner violence emergency department protocol. This allowed me to reflect on the hub, and the value of co-designing with people with lived experience. Bringing it back to my social work placement at Waypoint, emphasizing the need for clinicians and frontline comfortability. The reality is that some clinicians like allied mental health have mental health backgrounds or Trauma- and Violence-Informed Care in their practice, but frontline workers who spend the most time with patients are at a higher risk of causing harm without further appropriate training.”
