Abstract
It is increasingly challenging for medical social workers to remain essential in health care. Research suggests medical social workers increasingly experience role confusion and overlap with other health care professionals. The purpose of this study was to investigate the roles of hospital social workers and their experiences with role confusion and overlap. The study population for this study consisted of thirteen social workers from a large teaching hospital in Sacramento. The findings suggest that role confusion and overlap do occur but not to a significant extent. Further research is needed to identify the unique contributions of social work in hospitals.