What Is a Medical Social Worker?

A medical social worker has many job descriptions. The various duties required of a medical social worker vary depending on the work environment.

Education and Licensure

Most medical social work positions require a master's degree in social work (MSW). An MSW requires you to graduate from a four-year college and attend school with an accredited MSW program for two years if you're attending full-time. After school, social workers are required to take a licensing exam to earn their Licensed Master of Social Work (LMSW) title. After three years of working in the social work field, a social worker can take the Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) exam, which is required to become a social work supervisor in most hospitals.

Hospice Social Worker

A medical social worker in a hospice setting usually works with the patient and his family to resolve issues of end-of-life care such as planning a funeral, assisting the family to provide care at home and assisting the family in communicating with other members of the hospice team. A hospice social worker usually works closely with the doctors, nurses, clergy and other social workers to ensure the patient is receiving all necessary services. Social workers are helpful to families looking for other resources, and help relieve some of the stress of end-of-life care.

Hospital Social Worker

Hospital social workers provide many services, but their main duty is discharge planning. When a patient is ready to leave the hospital, the social worker works closely with other medical professionals to help the patient and her family plan for additional services, such as physical therapy and follow-up medical appointments.

Nursing Home Social Worker

Nursing home social workers are also called medical social workers or geriatric social workers. Their main duty is to help senior citizens improve their quality of life. They work closely with patients and their families to deal with the issues of aging. They often provide therapy for patients who may be suffering from depression, anxiety or other mental illnesses.

Considerations

Medical social work is a demanding profession with high turnover. Helping patients and their families, though, can be extremely rewarding. A medical social worker must be flexible, because she never knows what she will encounter at work on a given day. She should be able to complete paperwork on time, have good communication skills and have a desire to help others.