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equal opportunity employment journal
November 2020
Consider a Rewarding Career as a Healthcare Social Worker
H
ealthcare social workers provide support to patients dealing with chronic, serious or terminal illness, or who are temporarily disabled. They also work with the families of these patients. If this sounds like an interesting career, you’ll be glad to hear that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts fast job growth for all social workers through at least 2026.
Occupation Overview
As a healthcare social worker, you would help clients who are dealing with illnesses such as chronic kidney failure, multiple sclerosis, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. You might focus on the needs of senior citizens. Healthcare social workers evaluate various types of services and provide information and advice on these options for patients and their families. They
by S.J. Merens
also arrange for clients to participate in general medical hospitals had an average programs such as home meal delivery. salary of about $30 per hour as of 2017, or about $62,000 per year, according to Places of Employment The largest number of healthcare social the BLS. The average annual salary for all workers are employed in general medical and surgical hospitals, reports the healthcare social workers as of 2017 was BLS. These hospitals provide diagnostic approximately $56,800. That’s around a services and medical treatment for patients 14-percent increase from the yearly salary in 2010, which was about $49,000. with a wide range of health conditions. Additional job possibilities for health- Getting Started care social workers include employment To obtain a position as a healthcare with family services and other govern- social worker, you typically must have ment agencies, community health centers, a master’s degree in the field or in a home healthcare providers, long-term relevant subject, such as psychology. care facilities, assisted living centers and Some entry-level positions are available outpatient clinics. Some find employ- for applicants with a bachelor’s degree. ment in specialty hospitals that focus Licensing and certification requirements on inpatients with a particular type of vary by state. medical disorder. This includes hospitals To get started, search for colleges and that provide long-term care but are not nursing care facilities, such as rehabili- universities offering four-year degrees tation hospitals for patients who have in social work. Another option would become temporarily physically disabled. be majoring in a social science field like psychology and sociology. This would Salaries qualify you for a master’s program in Hospitals generally pay a healthcare social work after completing the bachsocial worker more than he or she would elor’s degree. make in other employment settings. Article provided by Constant-Content.com Healthcare social workers employed by
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