Medical social workers administer mental health services to people in assisted living facilities, hospitals, and medical clinics. They also show hospitalized individuals and their families where assistance can be obtained after being released from the hospital. When providing patient care, medical social workers often consult with doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals.
Medical social workers assist people dying from AIDS, cancer, and other terminal diseases, and they help patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and metabolic disorders. Some medical social workers determine whether hospitalized individuals are healthy enough to be released from medical facilities. When patients require assistance at home, these specialists arrange for nurses and medical aides to provide in-home care.
Medical social workers typically collaborate with nurses, doctors, and other medical specialists when providing patient care. They typically work 40 hour weeks, but since sick people often require assistance during all hours of the day, they can be assigned to work nights and weekends.
Social work is a great career for caring people with excellent problem solving skills. Medical social workers must be impartial, non-judgmental, and empathetic.
Job Responsibilities and Career Opportunities
Discharge Planning
Crisis Intervention
Mental Health Evaluation
Chemical Dependency Evaluation
Short term decision making counseling
Organizing support groups (ex. Cancer Support Group, Rehab Family Group)
Ethical decision-making counseling
Grief Counseling
Specialty evaluations and coordination such as on a Renal Transplant Team
Child Abuse investigations and reporting
Useful skills and training:
Medical social workers should possess these skills:
Knowledge of medical terminology
Understanding the roles of healthcare specialists
Understanding the link between emotional and physical health
Understanding of discharge and care planning
Crisis intervention skills
Required Education and Training
Most medical social workers hold graduate degrees in social work. Professors and researchers typically hold PhDs.
Most states only permit licensed social workers to practice professionally. Certifications can be obtained from organizations such as the National Association of Social Workers and the Academy of Certified Social Workers. Professional organizations usually only certify social workers holding master’s degrees and possessing work experience.
Industrial-Organizational Psychologist
Organizational psychologists, often referred to as Industrial-Organizational Psychologists or I-O Psychologists, are some of the highest paid psychology professionals in the world.
I-O psychologists develop techniques meant to enhance productivity, assist managers assigning employees to project groups, and improve product testing methods for private corporations and government agencies. learn more...
