Class Year: 2024
Programs: Master of Social Work, Master of Arts in Bioethics and Medical Humanities
Master of Social Work student Kate Guditz is becoming comfortable with helping her patients navigate the unknown.
鈥淚 am learning that I do not have to always know the answers to the big questions that arise at the end of someone鈥檚 life, 鈥 said Guditz. 鈥淪ometimes humility, kindness and the silence to openly speak are comforting enough.鈥
Guditz says her patients are great teachers. While working in palliative care at Cleveland Clinic, a 102-year-old patient explained that dying can be seen as yet another adventure.
鈥淭he patient candidly spoke about his greatest accomplishments and his previous near-death experiences, but most of all, his gratitude for a life well lived,鈥 Guditz shared. 鈥淚n a job in which I am intimately intertwined with the presence of death, it is difficult not to feel overwhelmed with sorrow. However, this patient allowed me to see that sadness doesn鈥檛 always have a place at the bedside.鈥
Guditz worked as a preschool teacher for three years before enrolling at 扒哥黑料鈥檚 Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. The experience helped her learn the intricacies of interacting with families鈥攁nother important skill needed for a career providing end-of-life care.
Guditz chose the Mandel School because it is one of the few programs to offer a dual-degree in social work and bioethics. Plus, she was intrigued by its proximity to top healthcare facilities.
She appreciates the unique opportunities at Case Western Reserve to engage in both social work and medicine. This semester she is working alongside an interprofessional healthcare team managing patients鈥 symptoms from multiple angles.
Guditz enjoys the connections she has made with other students through her role as the executive director for the Mandel Council for Student Leadership. The council works to create student programming and professional and community-building events, including welcome week activities, a 鈥渃ookies and convos鈥 gathering and trivia nights.
鈥淚 have loved the friendships that I鈥檝e made at the Mandel School,鈥 she said.