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Medical Social Workers Job Overview

Medical social workers work in hospitals, nursing homes and in individual and family services agencies to provide patients with psychosocial help. They connect patients and their families with resources they need in order to deal with whatever condition the patient faces in the best way possible. They often need to work with people from other professions, such as medicine and nursing.

Medical Social Workers and Degrees

A bachelor’s degree in social work is actually the only necessity to enter the profession, but most employers also look for advanced degrees, licensures and certifications.

Job Requirements

To work in a healthcare facility, it is almost essential for a social worker to have a master’s degree in social work. Teaching positions in universities and colleges usually require a doctorate in the subject.

Almost all the states require licenses and certifications from medical social workers. The National Association of Social Workers gives voluntary credentials. Those with a master’s degree qualify for the credentials of the Academy of Certified Social Workers, the Qualified Clinical Social Worker or the Diplomate in Clinical Social Work. Such eligibility often depends on their previous work experience. Private practices generally require these certificates more strictly than others.

More and more emphasis is being placed on the fact that medical social workers need to respect professional ethics. Communication skills are important and it is extremely necessary for the medical social worker to understand varied cultural issues. Medical social workers also need to shoulder responsibility and maintain good relations with clients and colleagues.

Nature of Work

Medical social workers offer psychosocial help to vulnerable people or families so that they can deal with medical problems such as Alzheimer’s disease, terminal illness, cancer and AIDS. They counsel patients, recommend caregivers to families and assist in planning for patients’ requirements after they are discharged from the hospital. A medical social worker is responsible to assess whether or not a patient is ready for discharge. If need be, they also inform the concerned doctor about the patients’ conditions and requirements. They also organize at-home healthcare services.

Medical social workers generally work as part of a large team along with clinical specialists, health support staff and nurses. They usually work for forty hours a week. However, during times of emergency, they extend their work hours into the evenings.

Medical Social Workers Jobs and Outlook

The total number of medical social workers required is expected to grow by 24% in the next ten years. There will be a need for nearly 154,00 medical social workers by the year 2016.

The average annual earning of medical social workers is around $40,000.

Job Numbers and Growth

About 124,000 medical social workers can be found working in the US. A very low unemployment level has been the case recently. Employees without jobs were about 2%.

Area Job Conditions

Finding medical social workers is easiest in Santa Fe (New Mexico), Detroit (Michigan), and New Bedford (Massachusetts), and by comparison more challenging in Nashua (New Hampshire), Shreveport (Louisiana), and Elkhart (Indiana).

The pay is best in Fresno (California), San Francisco (California), and Madera (California) and worst in Tallahassee (Florida), Jefferson City (Missouri), and Albuquerque (New Mexico).

Training and Education

You'll generally want a bachelor's degree for this career path. Of current medical social workers, 77% graduated from college with degrees. Some 16% of workers attened college but did not go on to get a bachelor's degree. A high school education was sufficient for 7% of employees. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which if any could help you with this career.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

Medical social workers working part-time accounted for 9% of those employed in 2008. Self-employed workers represent an estimated 3% of the total.

Medical Social Workers by Metropolitan Area (city and its surroundings)

In the table below, a Job Density near 0% means the area has an average number of people in this occupation, for its population. A higher or lower Job Density (e.g., +22% or -45%) tells you there are that many more or fewer workers of that type there than in the average US metro area. So, the higher the number, the more common the occupation.

Alabama

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Anniston	$41,000	60	+53%
Auburn	$43,000	30	-21%
Birmingham	$43,000	540	+11%
Decatur	$42,000	60	+29%
Dothan	$39,000	90	+76%
Florence	$38,000	70	+55%
Gadsden	$44,000	60	+107%
Huntsville	$41,000	140	-30%
Mobile	$40,000	180	+7%
Montgomery	$42,000	220	+42%
Tuscaloosa	$41,000	180	+119%

Alaska

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Anchorage	$53,000	210	+32%

Arizona

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Kingman	$52,000	50	+23%
Phoenix	$42,000	1,440	-18%
Prescott	$51,000	40	-15%
Tucson	$51,000	520	+56%

Arkansas

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Fayetteville	$39,000	130	-33%
Fort Smith	$42,000	190	+66%
Hot Springs	$48,000	60	+98%
Little Rock	$49,000	660	+95%

California

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Bakersfield	$53,000	170	-33%
Fresno	$55,000	170	-45%
Los Angeles	$56,000	2,930	-27%
Merced	$58,000	30	-40%
Modesto	$58,000	120	-18%
Oakland	$65,000	980	-1%
Oxnard	$56,000	100	-65%
Redding	$52,000	80	+52%
Riverside	$57,000	1,180	-1%
Sacramento	$59,000	770	-10%
Salinas	$55,000	80	-47%
San Diego	$59,000	880	-32%
San Francisco	$66,000	770	-22%
San Jose	$71,000	320	-64%
Santa Ana	$64,000	1,240	-14%
Santa Cruz	$53,000	90	+14%
Santa Rosa	$57,000	140	-15%
Stockton	$62,000	180	-11%
Vallejo	$67,000	50	-55%
Visalia	$54,000	70	-45%
Yuba City	$59,000	30	-7%

Colorado

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Boulder	$48,000	140	-3%
Colorado Springs	$39,000	370	+52%
Denver	$47,000	1,190	-4%
Fort Collins	$41,000	100	-15%
Grand Junction	$39,000	50	+0%
Greeley	$45,000	100	+54%
Pueblo	$46,000	80	+61%

Connecticut

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Bridgeport	$65,000	330	-21%
Danbury	$60,000	90	+48%
Hartford	$56,000	920	+62%
New Haven	$65,000	380	+44%
Norwich	$56,000	140	+22%
Waterbury	$60,000	130	+115%

Delaware

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Dover	$42,000	150	+236%
Wilmington	$46,000	470	+48%

District of Columbia

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Washington	$63,000	1,080	-55%

Florida

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Cape Coral	$43,000	200	+8%
Deltona	$47,000	150	+3%
Fort Lauderdale	$51,000	570	-17%
Gainesville	$55,000	100	-12%
Jacksonville	$46,000	500	-16%
Lakeland	$48,000	310	+72%
Miami	$45,000	1,010	+4%
Naples	$44,000	30	-71%
Ocala	$44,000	90	+13%
Orlando	$42,000	600	-40%
Palm Bay	$45,000	110	-42%
Panama City	$45,000	40	-35%
Pensacola	$48,000	100	-29%
Port St Lucie	$49,000	200	+80%
Sarasota	$44,000	310	+30%
Sebastian	$48,000	50	+23%
Tampa	$46,000	890	-22%
West Palm Beach	$45,000	420	-18%

Georgia

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Albany	$40,000	40	-27%
Athens	$46,000	60	-5%
Atlanta	$48,000	2,040	-11%
Augusta	$39,000	140	-29%
Columbus	$42,000	230	+125%
Gainesville	$39,000	120	+93%
Macon	$40,000	170	+106%
Rome	$41,000	50	+71%
Savannah	$52,000	170	+21%
Valdosta	$41,000	60	+40%

Hawaii

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Honolulu	$59,000	400	-7%

Idaho

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Boise	$42,000	210	-17%
Coeur Dalene	$44,000	90	+105%
Idaho Falls	$59,000	30	-25%

Illinois

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Bloomington	$45,000	40	-36%
Champaign	$49,000	140	+49%
Chicago	$54,000	2,720	-27%
Kankakee	$39,000	40	+15%
Peoria	$43,000	120	-26%
Rockford	$45,000	100	-24%
Springfield	$51,000	70	-30%

Indiana

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Anderson		30	-6%
Bloomington	$43,000	90	+45%
Elkhart	$43,000	40	-60%
Evansville	$38,000	180	+11%
Fort Wayne	$41,000	190	-3%
Gary	$47,000	210	-20%
Indianapolis	$47,000	770	-13%
Lafayette	$40,000	90	+32%
Muncie	$36,000	50	+28%
South Bend	$42,000	180	+49%
Terre Haute	$40,000	30	-51%

Iowa

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Cedar Rapids	$42,000	40	-69%
Davenport	$42,000	70	-61%
Des Moines	$44,000	330	+3%
Iowa City	$47,000	160	+153%
Sioux City	$50,000	60	-8%
Waterloo	$42,000	70	-10%

Kansas

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Topeka	$40,000	180	+76%
Wichita	$42,000	240	-14%

Kentucky

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Bowling Green	$42,000	60	+23%
Lexington	$44,000	230	-1%
Louisville	$45,000	460	-23%
Owensboro	$39,000	40	-2%

Louisiana

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Alexandria	$36,000	80	+40%
Baton Rouge	$42,000	390	+7%
Houma	$47,000	40	-54%
Lafayette	$49,000	90	-33%
Lake Charles	$42,000	70	-13%
Monroe	$35,000	90	+31%
New Orleans	$52,000	320	-39%
Shreveport	$42,000	140	-18%

Maine

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Bangor	$46,000	80	+48%
Lewiston	$48,000	80	+83%
Portland	$45,000	230	+20%

Maryland

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Baltimore	$60,000	1,850	+42%
Bethesda	$63,000	420	-26%
Cumberland	$53,000	60	+94%
Hagerstown	$53,000	100	+12%
Salisbury	$55,000	80	+71%

Massachusetts

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Barnstable Town	$52,000	450	+392%
Brockton	$51,000	410	+398%
Framingham	$51,000	240	+55%
Haverhill	$56,000	170	+128%
Lawrence	$48,000	480	+813%
Leominster	$45,000	290	+578%
Lowell	$56,000	250	+123%
New Bedford	$57,000	290	+404%
Peabody	$55,000	430	+358%
Springfield	$53,000	1,150	+297%
Worcester	$53,000	1,020	+319%

Michigan

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Battle Creek	$51,000	30	-33%
Bay City	$44,000	50	+86%
Detroit	$47,000	4,170	+530%
Flint	$53,000	190	+56%
Grand Rapids	$47,000	310	-16%
Jackson	$53,000	50	+19%
Kalamazoo	$44,000	140	+10%
Lansing	$59,000	190	0%
Muskegon	$46,000	40	-18%
Niles	$45,000	70	+37%
Saginaw	$52,000	90	+21%

Minnesota

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Duluth	$49,000	150	+23%
Mankato	$48,000	30	-39%
Minneapolis	$53,000	1,360	-23%
Rochester	$59,000	100	+6%
St Cloud	$44,000	110	+25%

Mississippi

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Gulfport	$44,000	100	+1%
Hattiesburg	$33,000	210	+317%
Jackson	$40,000	460	+87%
Pascagoula	$40,000	60	+51%

Missouri

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Cape Girardeau	$35,000	50	+31%
Columbia	$42,000	100	+38%
Kansas City	$43,000	1,110	+10%
Springfield	$36,000	270	+48%
St Louis	$45,000	2,410	+81%

Montana

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Billings	$53,000	70	-8%
Missoula	$38,000	90	+97%

Nebraska

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Lincoln	$41,000	220	+45%
Omaha	$44,000	470	+1%

Nevada

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Carson City	$64,000	50	+138%
Las Vegas	$66,000	500	-41%
Reno	$58,000	140	-23%

New Hampshire

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Manchester	$63,000	60	-37%
Nashua	$53,000	50	-61%
Rochester	$45,000	60	+28%

New Jersey

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Atlantic City	$52,000	60	-56%
Camden	$55,000	430	-17%
Edison	$56,000	830	-19%
Newark	$55,000	620	-38%
Trenton	$56,000	170	-22%
Vineland	$53,000	50	-6%

New Mexico

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Albuquerque	$46,000	210	-44%
Farmington	$37,000	70	+63%
Las Cruces	$40,000	100	+76%

New York

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Albany	$47,000	580	+31%
Binghamton	$52,000	110	+5%
Buffalo	$45,000	640	+17%
Elmira	$58,000	40	+25%
Glens Falls	$47,000	30	-34%
Kingston	$56,000	60	+12%
Nassau	$60,000	1,140	-9%
New York	$57,000	6,270	+21%
Poughkeepsie	$51,000	160	-33%
Rochester	$42,000	520	+4%
Syracuse	$42,000	250	-18%
Utica	$46,000	120	+3%

North Carolina

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Asheville	$43,000	260	+54%
Burlington	$46,000	30	-40%
Charlotte	$44,000	560	-34%
Durham	$52,000	310	+16%
Fayetteville	$41,000	70	-41%
Goldsboro	$44,000	50	+46%
Greensboro	$42,000	300	-14%
Greenville	$44,000	120	+99%
Hickory	$40,000	110	-21%
Raleigh	$45,000	310	-39%
Rocky Mount	$44,000	60	+18%
Wilmington	$44,000	100	-22%
Winston Salem	$43,000	280	+38%

North Dakota

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Bismarck	$39,000	90	+55%
Fargo	$41,000	80	-30%
Grand Forks	$40,000	70	+68%

Ohio

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Akron	$46,000	430	+37%
Canton	$44,000	110	-31%
Cincinnati	$47,000	950	-6%
Cleveland	$50,000	1,760	+73%
Columbus	$46,000	1,110	+22%
Dayton	$45,000	640	+71%
Lima	$46,000	50	+10%
Mansfield	$46,000	50	+11%
Sandusky	$48,000	60	+107%
Springfield	$40,000	70	+69%
Toledo	$46,000	350	+22%
Youngstown	$32,000	470	+115%

Oklahoma

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Lawton	$32,000	40	+16%
Oklahoma City	$44,000	430	-25%
Tulsa	$40,000	230	-46%

Oregon

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Bend	$53,000	50	-11%
Eugene	$49,000	190	+43%
Medford	$49,000	80	+14%
Portland	$58,000	840	-17%
Salem	$52,000	70	-50%

Pennsylvania

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Allentown	$44,000	400	+18%
Altoona	$42,000	80	+49%
Erie	$40,000	110	-9%
Harrisburg	$46,000	420	+34%
Johnstown	$39,000	70	+42%
Lancaster	$45,000	220	-3%
Lebanon	$47,000	50	+28%
Philadelphia	$50,000	3,660	+93%
Pittsburgh	$42,000	1,350	+19%
Reading	$43,000	150	-6%
Scranton	$39,000	310	+22%
State College	$35,000	50	-10%
Williamsport	$36,000	100	+123%
York	$44,000	140	-17%

Rhode Island

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Providence	$55,000	1,070	+94%

South Carolina

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Anderson	$45,000	50	+1%
Charleston	$52,000	410	+46%
Columbia	$42,000	620	+81%
Florence	$42,000	110	+53%
Greenville	$40,000	400	+37%
Myrtle Beach	$48,000	70	-31%
Spartanburg	$49,000	50	-53%

South Dakota

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Rapid City	$41,000	50	-12%
Sioux Falls	$43,000	160	+22%

Tennessee

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Chattanooga	$40,000	270	+23%
Clarksville	$32,000	40	-44%
Jackson	$40,000	40	-23%
Johnson City	$39,000	50	-23%
Kingsport	$37,000	90	-21%
Knoxville	$42,000	420	+29%
Memphis	$50,000	820	+34%
Nashville	$49,000	730	-1%

Texas

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Abilene	$41,000	110	+96%
Amarillo	$45,000	50	-49%
Austin	$44,000	360	-54%
Beaumont	$44,000	90	-41%
Brownsville	$43,000	190	+55%
College Station	$51,000	50	-41%
Corpus Christi	$45,000	130	-24%
Dallas	$47,000	1,130	-46%
El Paso	$56,000	340	+28%
Fort Worth	$52,000	540	-37%
Houston	$58,000	1,550	-41%
Killeen	$47,000	70	-42%
Laredo	$43,000	30	-58%
Longview	$38,000	90	+3%
Lubbock	$50,000	220	+86%
Mcallen	$57,000	200	-10%
Midland	$57,000	50	-10%
San Angelo	$51,000	40	+14%
San Antonio	$50,000	680	-21%
Sherman	$64,000	50	+43%
Texarkana	$49,000	50	+5%
Tyler	$48,000	110	+33%
Victoria	$51,000	40	-3%
Waco	$48,000	60	-35%
Wichita Falls	$41,000	40	-18%

Utah

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Logan	$45,000	40	-2%
Ogden	$48,000	140	-27%
Provo	$49,000	170	+5%
Salt Lake City	$51,000	530	-12%
St George	$51,000	60	+53%

Vermont

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Burlington	$59,000	50	-52%

Virginia

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Blacksburg	$46,000	40	-26%
Lynchburg	$42,000	60	-34%
Richmond	$48,000	480	-21%
Roanoke	$45,000	180	+22%
Virginia Beach	$48,000	440	-41%

Washington

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Bellingham	$39,000	80	+21%
Bremerton	$50,000	80	+6%
Kennewick	$49,000	70	-24%
Mount Vernon	$57,000	50	+32%
Olympia	$57,000	90	-1%
Seattle	$57,000	1,360	-3%
Spokane	$49,000	270	+37%
Tacoma	$52,000	500	+95%
Wenatchee	$58,000	50	+53%
Yakima	$52,000	80	+5%

West Virginia

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Charleston	$41,000	200	+45%
Huntington	$49,000	150	+42%
Morgantown	$39,000	190	+309%
Parkersburg	$47,000	100	+64%
Wheeling	$48,000	60	+4%

Wisconsin

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Appleton	$50,000	70	-35%
Eau Claire	$44,000	240	+261%
Fond	$45,000	80	+120%
Green Bay	$47,000	180	+12%
Janesville	$42,000	60	+7%
La Crosse	$50,000	250	+288%
Madison	$49,000	310	-6%
Milwaukee	$49,000	1,040	+26%
Oshkosh	$30,000	230	+187%
Racine	$51,000	40	-40%
Wausau	$55,000	40	-32%

Wyoming

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Casper	$48,000	50	+64%