Healthcare Social Workers

What the job really is

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.

At a glance

• Sector: Community & Social Service
• O*NET-SOC code: 21-1022
• O*NET job zone: 5 — extensive preparation
• Work sample tasks on file: 12
• Tools and technologies listed: 12

What you actually do

Work sample tasks recorded for this occupation:

• Advocate for clients or patients to resolve crises.
• Educate clients about end-of-life symptoms and options to assist them in making informed decisions.
• Collaborate with other professionals to evaluate patients' medical or physical condition and to assess client needs.
• 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.
• Utilize consultation data and social work experience to plan and coordinate client or patient care and rehabilitation, following through to ensure service efficacy.
• Monitor, evaluate, and record client progress according to measurable goals described in treatment and care plan.
• Identify environmental impediments to client or patient progress through interviews and review of patient records.
• Counsel clients and patients in individual and group sessions to help them overcome dependencies, recover from illness, and adjust to life.
• Plan discharge from care facility to home or other care facility.
• 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.
• Supervise and direct other workers providing services to clients or patients.

Tools and technology

Google Meet, MEDITECH software, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Word, Zoom, Adobe PageMaker, Automated clinical information systems, Calendar software, Command Systems ComServe

What employers expect you to already be comfortable with.

Where this job leads

Related occupations — the usual moves up and sideways:

• Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers
• Mental Health Counselors
• Child, Family, and School Social Workers
• Marriage and Family Therapists
• Rehabilitation Counselors
• Social and Human Service Assistants
• Clinical and Counseling Psychologists
• Community Health Workers

Getting in

O*NET assigns this occupation job zone 5 (extensive preparation). The related occupations above are the realistic routes in and out.

Find openings

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Check this against the source

O*NET OnLine: Healthcare Social Workers — the authoritative public-domain profile this page is derived from, including the full task list, reported skills and the wage estimates for your region.

Derived and rewritten from the public-domain O*NET database (U.S. Department of Labor / Employment and Training Administration). Figures are observations, not promises — always confirm salary, licensing and visa requirements with the employer and the relevant authority.