Problem
Case Study: Small group development
You are an intern at a large, urban medical center in the greater Sacramento region. You have been placed in a Children's Hospital, on the cancer ward with children who have leukemia (bone cancer).
Here are some facts about the hospital, the patient population and families, the illness, and the treatment regime.
The hospital: The Children's Hospital is large, with a bed capacity of over 1,000. It is connected to a well-known and highly regarded medical school, and it is famous for its experimental and innovative approaches to medical care. The hospital policy permits families to stay with their children in their room at night and provides cots to do so. (There also are boarding houses in nearby area.) The hospital is bright, with large windows, and cheerily decorated for the children. Staff wears minimal identifiable clothing marking their professional status; instead most staff adorns themselves with colorful tops, fun ties.
The patient population and families: Most of the children and families come from CA, although some have traveled from neighboring states (over 2000 miles), but this is the exception. On average, the families travel about 200 miles in one direction to get to the hospital. Usually, one parent (more often than not, the mother) stays with the child, and the other one (if there are two) stays home, caring for the house and other children. Evening meetings are held when there is a desire to include all family. The racial composition of the population reflects the area, about 10% Black, about 30% Latino, and 5% Asian/Pacific Islander. The rest being non-Hispanic Whites.
The illness: Leukemia is bone cancer. In its advanced stages, it is painful, and it is difficult to walk. With treatment, the probability of remission is quite good, about 90% today. The rate of survival is about 65%, up substantially from twenty years ago.
The treatment: The hospital is known for its innovative approaches to the treatment of cancer in children. Medical protocols across the country have relied on the use of either chemotherapy or radiation. Here, the doctors use mostly chemotherapy; in fact, they have been applying well over the average dosages of chemotherapy for patients because of recent scientific evidence of the success of this regime. However, the procedure is still considered somewhat experimental and there are substantial side effects of the chemical treatment. First, it is likely that the patient will lose all of his or her hair. Second, the procedure makes most patients sick to their stomachs, and this will last for several days. Parents are usually there for about two weeks and return about every six months or so.
Task
You have noticed that parents congregate in the waiting room, exchanging their own personal (and sometimes idiosyncratic) experiences in the hospital. You want to put together a group for the parents where they can share their experiences in the hospital, on behalf of their child. You have proffered your services to parents in the waiting room and have 8 parents that have committed to attending a weekly group.
a) What steps would you take in preparing to start this group?
b) What information would you want to know from the participants?
c) What type of mutual aid processes would you expect to take place?
d) Give an example of a group session you would run for the parents.