Presenters:
Dr Ivan Woo
Ms Melissa Chew

Time: 4:00pm to 5:30pm (Registration starts at 3.45pm)

Venue: FASS Dean’s Office Seminar Room B, AS7-01-16/17/18, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, National University of Singapore
Address: 5 Arts Link (S)117570

Abstract:
The call for evidence-based practice has resulted in greater appreciation for evidence among social workers. However, the daily grind from direct practice has created challenges in mining evidence that matters to practice. This session is a sharing of methodologies that are different from the conventional research methodologies familiar to established research universities and have been utilized by medical social workers in Tan Tock Seng Hospital to create change that matters to social workers in direct practice. The methodologies covered in this presentation include 1) value stream mapping (VSM), 2) clinical practice improvement programme (CPIP) and 3) returns on investment (ROI) methodology. Drawing from experiences with VSM, CPIP and ROI methodology, it is believed that these methodologies have much potential advancing participatory action research, an approach that has encountered difficulty gaining legitimacy among institutional review boards that are heavily influenced by positivism.

Presenters' profile:

Melissa Chew - Melissa Chew graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Arts (Merit) with Social Work as a single major in 2003 and a Master in Social Sciences - Social Work in 2008. Upon graduation, Ms Chew joined the Department of Care and Counselling, Tan Tock Seng Hospital and is currently Principal Medical Social Worker and Clinical lead in the Department. Concurrently, she is also the Head of Social Work Department for the pro-tem team in building the new Woodlands Health Campus. Ms Chew's clinical interests are in geriatric social work and healthcare financing and social policies. She has spearheaded multiple cross departments, agencies and national level projects to look at improving work processes to decrease the length of stay of patients admitted in the hospital. She is also lending her professional expertise in various national level committees such a the Destitute Homes Review Board , Ministry of Social and Family Development, and the Singapore Medical Council as a Disciplinary Committee Member. With a strong interest in public policies and administration, Ms Chew is currently pursuing a second Master in Public Administration at the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore. In 2018, Melissa received the Outstanding Social Worker Award in recognition of her impactful contributioons to social care in Singapore.

Ivan M.H. Woo- Principal Medical Social Worker with Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Faculty Member of the Centre for Healthcare Innovation Co-Learning Faculty and Consultant with the S R Nathan School of Human Development, Singapore University of Social Sciences. He is also a Certified Thanatologist with the Association for Death Education and Counselling and a Registered Social Worker with the Singapore Association of Social Workers. He has received several awards in recognition of his contributions to research, clinical practice and education, including the highly competitive Li Ka Shing Prize, given annually for academic excellence to the best of the elite students at the University of Hong Kong, and the Promising Social Worker Award, one of the highest accolades to be bestowed to a social worker in Singapore. His research interest is in health social work, grief and bereavement.

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