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Healthcare Social Workers

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about 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.

Related: Child, Family, & School Social Workers Marriage & Family Therapists Mental Health & Substance Abuse Social Workers Mental Health Counselors Rehabilitation Counselors

Industries: Health & Counseling

Summary
Details

Counsel clients and patients in individual and group sessions to help them overcome dependencies, recover from illness, and adjust to life.
Refer patient, client, or family to community resources to assist in recovery from mental or physical illness and to provide access to services such as financial assistance, legal aid, housing, job placement or education.
Advocate for clients or patients to resolve crises.
Plan and conduct programs to combat social problems, prevent substance abuse, or improve community health and counseling services.
Educate clients about end-of-life symptoms and options to assist them in making informed decisions.
Conduct social research to advance knowledge in the social work field.
Investigate child abuse or neglect cases and take authorized protective action when necessary.
Identify environmental impediments to client or patient progress through interviews and review of patient records.
Refer patient, client, or family to community resources to assist in recovery from mental or physical illness and to provide access to services such as financial assistance, legal aid, housing, job placement or education.
Organize support groups or counsel family members to assist them in understanding, dealing with, and supporting the client or patient.
Modify treatment plans to comply with changes in clients' status.
Monitor, evaluate, and record client progress according to measurable goals described in treatment and care plan.
Oversee Medicaid- and Medicare-related paperwork and recordkeeping in hospitals.
Identify environmental impediments to client or patient progress through interviews and review of patient records.
Educate clients about end-of-life symptoms and options to assist them in making informed decisions.
Identify environmental impediments to client or patient progress through interviews and review of patient records.
Supervise and direct other workers providing services to clients or patients.
Utilize consultation data and social work experience to plan and coordinate client or patient care and rehabilitation, following through to ensure service efficacy.
Collaborate with other professionals to evaluate patients' medical or physical condition and to assess client needs.
Develop or advise on social policy and assist in community development.
Monitor, evaluate, and record client progress according to measurable goals described in treatment and care plan.

Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.

Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

Education

Master's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

Internship/residency

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

75670/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

36.38/hr

Currently Employed

5,320

Yearly Projected Openings

540

Social: People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking. They do well at jobs that need:

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

Desktop computers
Notebook computers
Personal computers

Calendar and scheduling software
Data base user interface and query software
Desktop publishing software
Electronic mail software
Internet browser software
Medical software
Mobile messaging service software
Office suite software
Presentation software
Spreadsheet software
Web page creation and editing software
Word processing software

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Healthcare Social Workers

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