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Career Exploration

Healthcare Social Workers

Also called: Clinical Social Worker, Hospice Social Worker, Medical Social Worker, Social Worker

What they do:

Provide individuals, families, and groups with the psychosocial support needed to cope with chronic, acute, or terminal illnesses. Services include advising family caregivers. Provide patients with information and counseling, and make referrals for other services. May also provide case and care management or interventions designed to promote health, prevent disease, and address barriers to access to healthcare.

On the job, you would:
  • Advocate for clients or patients to resolve crises.
  • Educate clients about end-of-life symptoms and options to assist them in making informed decisions.
  • Collaborate with other professionals to evaluate patients' medical or physical condition and to assess client needs.
On the job, you'll need:

Math and Science

  • psychology
  • sociology and anthropology

Health

  • therapy and counseling

Arts and Humanities

  • English language
  • philosophy and religion

Business

  • customer service

Basic Skills

  • talking to others
  • listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions

Problem Solving

  • noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

Social

  • understanding people's reactions
  • looking for ways to help people

Verbal

  • communicate by speaking
  • listen and understand what people say

Ideas and Logic

  • notice when problems happen
  • use rules to solve problems

Social

People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking.

  • Concern for Others
  • Integrity
  • Self Control
  • Dependability
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Adaptability/Flexibility

Office suite software

  • Corel WordPerfect Office Suite
  • Microsoft Office software

Presentation software

  • Information presentation software
  • Microsoft PowerPoint

Medical software

  • Medical records software
  • MEDITECH software

Video courtesy of CareerOneStop.

Job Outlook

The job outlook for this position is Bright.

New job opportunities are very likely in the future. This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Median Annual Salary: $60,280

Education

Master's degree or bachelor's degree is usually needed.