How to Become a Medical Social Worker

By: Dr. April McDowell, MFT

Last Updated: December 22, 2018

Medical social workers provide unique and vital social services to patients in the midst of challenging medical issues, often of such magnitude as a terminal diagnosis or a traumatic assault. No matter the challenge, not a day goes by that isn’t filled with the reward of making a significant difference in the lives of others.

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A medical social worker offers the support and resources clients need in order to recover from illness or trauma as well as its psychological, emotional and physical consequences. Sometimes this means helping a client with practical tasks such as arranging meals and transportation after a hospital stay. At other times, it involves giving psychosocial support to crime victims, helping law enforcement in child abuse cases or arranging grief counseling. Medical social workers courageously step into these situations and mobilize all available resources to help people recover or live the remainder of their lives with the greatest possible degree of dignity and independence.

Workplace Details

Medical social workers are employed in hospitals, hospices and public or private healthcare institutions. They counsel individual clients and their families, facilitate support groups and coordinate short- and long-term healthcare decisions and services. Travel is a routine part of the job, as medical social workers visit patients in hospitals and at their homes after they have been discharged.

Hover over any state to explore local income and job growth data.

The median annual salary for medical social workers is $52,380, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The median pay for the bottom ten percent is $32,190, while the top ten percent earn a median of $77,880 per year. Pay varies based on work setting, geography and experience. Hospitals tend to pay more than nursing care facilities. Medical social workers in California, Washington, D.C. and New York earn higher salaries, though the cost of living in these regions is higher as well.

Job prospects for medical social workers are very promising, especially for those with an interest in gerontology and elder care. The BLS states that job growth for medical social workers should be 19% from 2014-2024, which is a lot faster than average. As baby boomers age, medical social workers will be needed to formulate long-term care plans for patients, provide education and support for caregivers and meet the needs of older patients with chronic or terminal illnesses.

This may be sufficient for some entry-level social work positions, but is not enough to become a licensed medical social worker.

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Hospitals and other agencies require a Master of Social Work (MSW) from an accredited institution. Typically this means an additional two years of studying after you’ve earned your bachelor’s degree. Candidates who can demonstrate that they have done volunteer work in a social work setting will have an advantage when it comes to getting hired.

In addition to the required coursework in a two-year MSW program, students are required to fulfill 900 hours of supervised training with a qualified medical social worker. The program may be able to arrange an internship at a hospital, hospice, nursing home or convalescent home.

After completing an MSW and internship, the next step is obtaining a license in the state where the medical social worker intends to practice. Rules about licensing vary from state to state, so contact the state regulatory board or the Association of Social Work Boards to learn the requirements for your particular state. Many states require a minimum amount of supervised work experience (two years or 3,000 hours) in a clinical setting, such as a hospital, before accepting a license application.

Certification is not required to become a medical social worker. However, a credential, such as those offered by the National Association of Social Workers tells the employer that the job candidate has met a standard of excellence with an accredited institution.

Medical social workers with experience can move into management positions there they will be responsible for supervising other, less experienced medical social workers. The larger the facility you work in, the greater the possibility of advancement. For example, a worker in a large hospital will have more opportunity for advancement than a worker in a smaller nursing care facility.

Clinical social work requires a master’s degree, but earning a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree nicely positions a student to seek that graduate degree afterward. In the meantime, it will be possible to gain some entry-level experience in the field.

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Coursework will likely include the following subjects among others:

Students must attend graduate school to earn their Master of Social Work degree (MSW) in order to become licensed as a medical social worker. Sometimes students spread their coursework out over three or four years rather than condensing it into two; these options carry great appeal to students who wish to complete their studies by taking classes part-time.

Coursework for MSW students typically includes the following example subjects among many others:

Qualities required for successful medical social work include:

• Compassion
• Sensitivity to people’s needs
• Good communication skills
• Problem-solving and decision-making skills
• Patience to work with seriously ill clients within a bureaucratic setting