Carolyn Messner
Director of Education and Training at Cancer Care
USA
Biography
Dr. Carolyn Messner, DSW, MSW, OSW-C, BCD, FAPOS is Director of Education and Training at CancerCare where she pioneered the use of teleconference technology to bring evidence-based, psychosocially sensitive cancer-related information to people living with cancer, cancer survivors and their caregivers. A national and international speaker and author, Dr. Messner’s expertise includes the psychosocial impact of cancer on patients and their caregivers; palliative care & hospice care; methods to design patient education interventions, and cancer in the workplace. Dr. Messner is a prolific author of book chapters and articles. Dr. Messner is coeditor of the inaugural Handbook of Oncology Social Work: Psychosocial Care for People with Cancer (Oxford University Press, 2015). She is a former president of the Association of Oncology Social Work (AOSW) and serves on the boards of several nonprofit organizations. She is on the editorial boards of: Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, Journal of Cancer Education, The Oncology Nurse, The Journal of Interprofessional Practice, and Conquer Magazine. She is an adjunct lecturer at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College. Dr. Messner’s many honors include: CancerCare Hope and Help Award; Fellow, American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS); Fellow, New York Academy of Medicine; AOSW’s Oncology Social Worker of the Year Award; American Cancer Society’s Oncology Social Work Leadership Award; Hyman J. Weiner Award from the Society for Social Work Leadership in Health Care; and the Individual Award for Creativity in Health Care Practice and Scholarship from the National Academies of Practice (NAP). She is a Senior Fellow and Distinguished Practitioner in Social Work, NAP. Dr. Messner received the degree of Doctor of Social Welfare (DSW) from the City University of New York with a Doctoral Fellowship Award in Social Welfare; and The Ohio State School of Social Work National Doctoral Award. She earned a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from New York University School of Social Work with a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Fellowship, and her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Clark University, graduating cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa.
Research Interest
palliative care & hospice care