Fingers,Flexors and Flaps: Impressions of a Hand Unit Social Worker

This paper examines the first six months the author spent as social worker in the Hand Unit, Sydney Hospital. She describes her introduction to the Unit, how she set about learning a completely new area of expertise and offers some case examples. She discovers that because the hand is so crucial to our self perception, damage to it cannot be taken lightly. Further, hand injuries can often mask much deeper emotional injuries that must be treated. The social work role in the Hand Unit is as diverse as it is important.