Social Work Career

Overview
People looking for a career with meaning, action, diversity, satisfaction, and an abundance of options are often drawn to social work. Social workers are highly trained professionals who care about people, who want to make things better, and who want to relieve suffering. There are over a half million professional social workers in the United States who have all committed their lives to making a difference.
• Who Are Social Workers?
• Examples of Social Work Jobs
• Social Work Standards
• Education, Licensing, and Credentials
• Social Work Salaries
• Additional Resources Who are Social Workers?
Social workers help people overcome social and health problems, such as poverty, mental illness, child abuse and neglect,
Social work is a broad professional field that encompasses several major areas of work and/or specialization:
• Social Casework (case management) is basic social work: Assessing needs and applying agency services and resources to address social, health or economic problems, such as in health, community agency and public welfare programs.
• Medical Social Workers work with the special needs of patients and families in hospitals, long term care facilities, hospice programs, outpatient offices, rehabilitation programs and other health settings.
• School Social Workers help with emotional, social and economic problems so students can focus on getting an education.
• Clinical Social Workers are found in private practice or in psychiatric & mental health care settings, where they provide psychotherapy and counseling. They might also work in employee assistance programs within larger companies that have numerous employees.
• In Administration and Management, social workers oversee the programs and systems that provide social, health and public welfare
They also collect and analyze patient information to help other health professionals understand the social, emotional, and environmental factors underlying a patient’s condition, or affecting their optimal recovery. In hospitals, medical social workers often coordinate services for home care and equipment following discharge, or for referral to rehabilitation and long-term care facilities. In hospice, long-term care, and rehabilitation facilities, they assess patient and family functioning on an ongoing basis, providing or recommending services as conditions change. In outpatient settings, medical social workers provide referral services and supportive counseling, and coordinate after care and follow up