Social Workers: Making a positive difference every day

When patients and their families are doing it tough, our social workers are on hand to ensure their social and emotional needs are met.

For new graduate Melissa Dang social work is not simply a career – it is a calling.

“Often you are meeting people when they are having a really difficult time and my role is to give them support. It means a lot to me that I can do that,” she said.

Before embarking on a Master of Social Work at Monash University and joining Monash Health’s Social Work New Graduate Program, Melissa worked in the Hardship Assistance Department of a major bank.

“A lot of that work was around people who were unable to pay their home loans due to family violence, long term illness, and natural disaster.”

“A lot of the work I did at the bank led to me wanting to help people and find solutions to life problems.”

Working in an adult general medicine ward at Dandenong Hospital, Melissa assists patients and their families with complex discharge planning.

“Whether that is connecting them with My Aged Care or supporting them with the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) or Centrelink,” she said.

“Sometimes patients are preparing to enter aged care. This can be distressing for them and their family. So, our job is to help with that transition and make it as smooth as possible.”

“The fact that I have had a fair bit of life experience has put me in a place where I am able to go into it and hit the ground running, I think.”

Social worker Ling Toh’s childhood contributed to her career choice.

“Back in my country, Malaysia, I witnessed a lot of injustice in society. I thought I want to do something about it,” she said.

Working with rehab and geriatric unit patients at the Kingston Centre in Cheltenham, Ling has found her language skills an asset.

“I speak Malay and Mandarin and other dialects like Cantonese, Teo Chew and Hokkien. It does help me communicate with some of the patients.”

The former headhunter moved to Australia eight-years-ago.

She completed a Graduate Certificate of Human Services followed by a Master of Social Work before joining Monash Health.

“Being a social worker is very rewarding,” said Ling.

“You can tell from your patient’s face when they feel a sense of relief that there is someone there to support them.”

You can find out more about social work careers at Monash Health here.