INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW INTERVIEWEE: DANIEL LEWIS INTERVIEWER: DAVID LEWIS

DANIEL LEWIS  Job Title: Social Worker  Place of Employment: Fresenius North America  Fun fact: Daniel is my older brother

HOW DID YOU BECOME A SOCIAL WORKER I was frustrated with my old occupation and decided I wanted a change. I had met several social workers who helped our mother adjust to dialysis and transition to transplant. The level of fulfillment they achieved from carrying out the duties of their jobs made me research the profession. I applied to UNC’s school of social work, earned my Master of Social Work degree, and the rest is history. I now work at two dialysis centers serving over 400 patients.

WORKDAY ACTIVITIES  Keep up communications by reading and responding to s  Assist patients by conducting psychosocial assessments, educating patients on dialysis coping skills, and insuring access to medicines, insurance, and transportation to and from dialysis.  Work with the interdisciplinary to insure that a patient has the greatest quality of life possible.

WHAT IS THE GREATEST CHALLENGE YOU FACE ON A TYPICAL DAY The most difficult part of the day is usually facing issues with patients that you have no power to affect positive change in. These are usually barriers to independence that are difficult to remove. Heart failure, homelessness, strokes resulting in unusable limbs are just a few tough to address issues. Changes to Medicare have also made it difficult to assist patients. Many referrals for services can no longer come from me or the nephrologist. Patients have to report to their primary care physician for anything not directly related to dialysis. So if a person needs to see a therapist, he or she must see a primary care physician, and be referred from there.

WHAT SKILLS DOES ONE NEED TO OVERCOME THIS CHALLENGE  Patience  Perseverance  The ability to say “no” when a patient asks for something beyond your capability

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE WHO IS PURSUING A SIMILAR CAREER  Be a people person  Be aware of your own biases  Be culturally aware