‘Purge’ survivor

Elizabeth Clark’s editorial made me stand up and applaud. I am one of the few “survivors” of the medical social work “purge” throughout the nation’s hospitals. Now, I am joyfully witnessing the resurgence of social work in our own hospital system here in Virginia. Ida Cannon, we are still flying your banner!

Sherry S Parker, ACSW LCSW ACM
Manager, Social Work Services, Sentara HealthCare

The moral compass

I’m writing in response to the article, “LGBT Families Hurt by Misguided Policies,” that was published in the November 2011 issue.

Shouldn’t the article have been titled “LGBT Families Hurt by Misguided Morals?”

Our country appears to be going through a time of transition. Some label it a time of moral decay, while others label it a time of progressive thinking. Your internal moral compass would seem to determine which perspective you are going to embrace.

The decision of whether one labels the United States policies “misguided” would also seem to emanate from this same premise.

Is NASW advocating for children, or pushing its own moral agenda? NASW appears to be taking the position that if the moral imperative is large enough, then the statement “Social workers should not take unfair advantage of any professional relationship or exploit others to further their personal, religious, political, or business interests” doesn’t apply.

Kevin Theriot Ph.D.
Sandy, Utah