Final answer:
In helping patients and family with delirium, a social worker's role is to provide emotional support, assist with care coordination, and facilitate communication, whereas prescribing medication or monitoring vital signs are tasks for medical professionals like doctors and nurses.
Step-by-step explanation:
The role of a social worker in helping patients and family with delirium is primarily to provide emotional support. Social workers are not licensed to prescribe medication, conduct medical procedures, or perform direct medical tasks like monitoring vital signs which would often require the direct supervision of a registered nurse. Instead, a social worker offers support to both patients and families, helping them navigate the complexities of the healthcare system, facilitating communication between medical staff and family, and providing counseling and assistance with planning for care after discharge. Although prescribing medication and monitoring vital signs may be part of the overall care plan for someone experiencing delirium, these are responsibilities typically handled by medical professionals such as doctors and nurses. Psychosocial interventions facilitated by social workers can be essential in managing the discomfort and confusion associated with delirium, in addition to potential pharmacological treatments like classes of antipsychotics or blood pressure medication, which are administered under the guidance of a medical doctor.