PEDIATRIC CRITICAL CARE SOCIAL-WORK - CLINICAL-PRACTICE WITH PARENTS OF CRITICALLY ILL CHILDREN

Pediatric critical care settings provide medical care to children who have serious, often life-threatening illnesses or injuries. The role o f social work in this setting has expanded significantly, paralleling advances in medical technology. The term ''critical care'' has often b een associated with trauma. Today, critical care extends beyond the im mediate crisis. Technologic advances can prolong life and necessitate ongoing medical interventions. These interventions create a more hopef ul, although fragile life course. Therefore, these developments challe nge the social worker to operationalize practice and to create new mod els of intervention.