Torka tårar utan handskar : En kvalitativ studie om den upplevda socionomrollen inom hälso- och sjukvården

Sammanfattning: The aim of the study was to highlight the counselor work and how professional counselors are experiencing the role of social workers in healthcare. The study addresses various factors that influence the counselor in their work, including factors such as expectations, work environment, participation and the status of the profession role to name a few. The analysis was based on a qualitative approach with nine semi-structured interviews together with professional healthcare counselors in south Sweden. Results have since been analyzed using system theory as theory and symbolic interactionism with Goffman's role theory as a function. The result shows that the counselors themselves took their role as an important complement to other health care services. The counselor, in their perspective, could see the patient from a holistic perspective. They also had tasks that were of a more practical nature, but these tasks were not always as equally important or interesting. Several of the counselors described the role as lonely in a medical context. They also experienced a constant struggle to make themselves visible to others personnel categories in health care. The role was experienced by several counselors as unclear and vague, and there was a desire for clearer frameworks and a clearer delineation of the counselor role for other staff categories.