Healthcare Social Workers Occupation Details

General Job Description and Education/Training Levels for Healthcare Social Workers

The main tasks and work activities of Healthcare Social Workers are to collaborate with other professionals to assess client needs or plan treatments, investigate legal issues, refer clients to community or social service programs, refer individuals to educational or work programs. In general, for the Healthcare Social Workers, active Listening, speaking, social Perceptiveness, critical Thinking and other 17 skills are required.

Healthcare Social Workers Job Description
Education	Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Related Experience	Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Job Training	Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Example	These occupations often involve coordinating, training, supervising, or managing the activities of others to accomplish goals. Very advanced communication and organizational skills are required. Examples include pharmacists, lawyers, astronomers, biologists, clergy, neurologists, and veterinarians.

The following chart shows the education/training levels for Healthcare Social Workers jobs.

Less than a High School Diploma

0.00%

High School Diploma (or the equivalent)

0.00%

Post-Secondary Certificate

0.00%

Some College Courses

0.00%

Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)

0.00%

Bachelor's Degree and Above

100.00%

Tasks and Work Activities of Healthcare Social Workers

Collaborate with other professionals to evaluate patients' medical or physical condition and to assess client needs.
Investigate child abuse or neglect cases and take authorized protective action when necessary.
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.
Counsel clients and patients in individual and group sessions to help them overcome dependencies, recover from illness, and adjust to life.
Organize support groups or counsel family members to assist them in understanding, dealing with, and supporting the client or patient.
Advocate for clients or patients to resolve crises.
Identify environmental impediments to client or patient progress through interviews and review of patient records.
Utilize consultation data and social work experience to plan and coordinate client or patient care and rehabilitation, following through to ensure service efficacy.
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.
Supervise and direct other workers providing services to clients or patients.
Develop or advise on social policy and assist in community development.
Oversee Medicaid- and Medicare-related paperwork and recordkeeping in hospitals.
Conduct social research to advance knowledge in the social work field.
Plan and conduct programs to combat social problems, prevent substance abuse, or improve community health and counseling services.
Plan discharge from care facility to home or other care facility.

Getting InformationObserving, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Assisting and Caring for OthersProviding personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or SubordinatesProviding information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal RelationshipsDeveloping constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Making Decisions and Solving ProblemsAnalyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Documenting/Recording InformationEntering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing WorkDeveloping specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
Performing for or Working Directly with the PublicPerforming for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with OthersHandling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
Communicating with Persons Outside OrganizationCommunicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.

Collaborate with other professionals to assess client needs or plan treatments.
Investigate legal issues.
Refer clients to community or social service programs.
Refer individuals to educational or work programs.
Counsel clients or patients with substance abuse issues.
Counsel family members of clients or patients.
Intervene in crisis situations to assist clients.
Evaluate potential problems in home or work environments of clients.
Interview clients to gather information about their backgrounds, needs, or progress.
Collect information about clients.
Develop treatment plans for patients or clients.
Modify treatment plans to accommodate client needs.
Maintain client records.
Monitor clients to evaluate treatment progress.
Supervise workers providing client or patient services.
Advise others on social or educational issues.
Complete documentation required by programs or regulations.
Conduct research on social issues.
Plan programs to address community health issues.

Skills and Abilities for Healthcare Social Workers

Active ListeningGiving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
SpeakingTalking to others to convey information effectively.
Social PerceptivenessBeing aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Critical ThinkingUsing logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Reading ComprehensionUnderstanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
CoordinationAdjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Service OrientationActively looking for ways to help people.
WritingCommunicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Complex Problem SolvingIdentifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Judgment and Decision MakingConsidering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Active LearningUnderstanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
InstructingTeaching others how to do something.
NegotiationBringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
PersuasionPersuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Time ManagementManaging one's own time and the time of others.
MonitoringMonitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Systems EvaluationIdentifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Learning StrategiesSelecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Operations AnalysisAnalyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
Management of Personnel ResourcesMotivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.

Oral ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Oral ComprehensionThe ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Written ComprehensionThe ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Inductive ReasoningThe ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Deductive ReasoningThe ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Problem SensitivityThe ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Speech RecognitionThe ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Speech ClarityThe ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Written ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Fluency of IdeasThe ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Information OrderingThe ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Far VisionThe ability to see details at a distance.
Near VisionThe ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Category FlexibilityThe ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Time SharingThe ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
Selective AttentionThe ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
OriginalityThe ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

Desktop computerse.g. Desktop computers
Notebook computerse.g. Notebook computers
Personal computerse.g. Personal computers

Therapy and CounselingKnowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
PsychologyKnowledge 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.
English LanguageKnowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Customer and Personal ServiceKnowledge 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.
Sociology and AnthropologyKnowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
Education and TrainingKnowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Medicine and DentistryKnowledge 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.
ClericalKnowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
Law and GovernmentKnowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Philosophy and TheologyKnowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

Healthcare Social Workers Occupation Detailed Description

Tasks and Work Activities of Healthcare Social Workers

Skills and Abilities for Healthcare Social Workers