Dr. Andrew Mantulak invited to speak at conference in San Diego
October 26, 2016
King's Social Work professor, Dr. Andrew Mantulak, travelled to San Diego, California to present at the Annual Conference of the Society of Transplant Social Workers (STSW) on October 5 to 8, 2016. The conference is held by social workers in America who clinically work with patients and families in the context of solid organ transplants. Dr. Mantulak presented his speech entitled, “The experience of maternal caregivers of children who have undergone kidney transplant.”
Dr. Mantulak's presentation at STSW was also based on his doctoral work. “The findings of my studies highlight the significant impact of uncertainty families experience with pediatric transplantation, as well as the opportunities for personal development and growth that mothers experience amid the myriad of challenges associated with caring for a child who has had a transplant. These are new concepts, that in clinical work, rarely get acknowledged,” says Dr. Mantulak.
Dr. Mantulak says this conference it is a great opportunity to connect and network with social workers with similar stories of patients and families experiencing transplants. "My talk was well received and there was a lot of discussion regarding the need to understand further the patient and family experience of transplantation, as it exists as a treatment and not a cure," says Dr. Mantulak.
Dr. Mantulak emphasizes the significance of the social worker’s role in the involvement of health research, and voice in the provision of health care services. “Social workers are such an integral part of the care provided to patients and families in the context of transplantation from securing resources for medications, treatments, et cetera, to helping families manage the emotional implications of transplantation. Being able to connect with my social work colleagues, talking about my research and hearing the challenges associated with social work in transplantation is a big reason I attend this specific conference every year. I come away with a renewed energy and many research questions that I can pursue as I develop my program of research here at King’s,” he says.
Dr. Mantulak is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at King's. His other areas of research are pedagogy and teaching in social work education, as well as social work in health care.
To learn more about the Society of Transplant Social Workers, please click here: http://www.stsw.org/
To learn more about the School of Social Work, please click here: http://www.kings.uwo.ca/academics/school-of-social-work/