Take the First Step Toward Your Health Care Career Now!
Medical social workers help patients and their families who are in the midst of a medical crisis. There are quite a few areas you can go into—pediatrics or geriatrics, inpatient or mental health care, hospice or palliative, and more. You may want to specialize even further in a micro-niche such as neonatal or organ transplant. It’s OK if you don’t already have an area in mind: Those are decisions you reach either during your educational process or once you’ve been working for awhile.
Medical social work can be extremely hectic and emotional. If you’re good at keeping your feelings in check and your files organized, then medical or clinical social work could be the career for you.
Medical social work is also called clinical social work, and the most popular specialty in this branch of the field is mental health. In fact, almost half of the counselors seeing patients for mental health-related issues are medical/clinical social workers, and the rest of psychologists, psychiatrists, and physicians. Regardless of the specialty, most medical social workers have similar duties, which are to:
Your patients will run the gamut. They may be homeless, or on the verge of discharge from the hospital.
What your actual duties are will depend on where you work and your level of experience. Most often, you’ll be put on a case at the request of a physician, especially if you work in a hospital environment.
Most hiring managers will look for candidates with a master’s degree in social work. You have a few different options if you want to become a medical social worker.
You do NOT need a bachelor’s in social work to enter the master’s degree program; most other related fields are accepted. There are some programs that, with a bachelor’s in social work, will allow you to complete your master’s in one year. All programs MUST be accredited, or you will not be eligible to get your license to practice.
There are quite a few areas of specialty for social workers to consider, beyond medical. All will still need bachelor’s and master’s in social work to find employment.
Every specialty has its own unique client base. Licensing for each specialty is required, and differs in each state. Check with your state’s boards to find out exactly what you’ll need to do.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary of medical social workers in 2021 was $62,310, with the top 10 percent earning $86,820. The salary you receive depends on your experience, industry, and which state you live in. Since there is an increased demand for medical social workers, between now and 2030, the field is expected to see a growth of around 14 percent.