Draga Ilievski earned a bachelor's degree in speech and hearing from Indiana University. She went on to acquire a Master of Social Work degree from Indiana University Northwest. Draga then became a licensed clinical social worker and joined the National Association of Social Workers. Ultimately, Draga Ilievski received a Ph.D. in clinical social work from the Institute for Clinical Social Work in Chicago. Draga's professional career began as a student intern at a nearby hospital. As a part of the admissions team, she gained clinical experience and assisted with discharge planning. While there, she took the proactive step of refining and strengthening the intake assessment process, as well as updating the reference directory for the social service departments. She interned at the Youth and Family Services Bureau, where she gained experience writing psychosocial evaluation reports and treatment plans. Draga also learned the value of empathy and compassion while assisting youngsters with their reintegration into the school system. Draga Ilievski began offering individual, family, and group therapy and realized she had found her true purpose. Draga accepted a position as a social worker/team leader at LaPorte Hospital, exhibiting her ability to collaborate and work well with others. Draga worked in the acute care, rehabilitation, critical care, skilled nursing, and labor and delivery departments, providing case management and clinical services to both inpatients and outpatients. Throughout this time, Draga also performed psychological assessments and treatment planning for oncology outpatients and hospital inpatients, always giving supportive counseling. Draga Ilievski is the type of person who is constantly looking for methods to improve an existing system if she sees its potential. As a result, it's not unexpected that she tried to strengthen cancer care coordination in order to assure treatment continuity across the hospital system. Draga not only helped to enhance the department, but she also found time to head the LaPorte Hospital Foundation's charitable oncology operations. Visit http://dragailievski.org to learn more!