Healthcare Social Workers

Skills

• Social Perceptiveness

  Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

• Service Orientation

  Actively looking for ways to help people.

• Speaking

  Talking to others to convey information effectively.

• Active Listening

  Giving 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.

• Coordination

  Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

Abilities

• Oral Expression

  The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

• Deductive Reasoning

  The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

• Oral Comprehension

  The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

• Problem Sensitivity

  The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

• Speech Clarity

  The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

Education

How much education does a new hire need to perform a job in this occupation?

• Master's degree
  70 %
• Bachelor's degree
  15 %
• Post-master's certificate
  11 %

  Awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master's degree, but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level

Work Activities

• Assisting and Caring for Others

  Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.

• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships

  Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

• Getting Information

  Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates

  Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

• Communicating with People Outside the Organization

  Communicating 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.

Detailed Work Activities

• Intervene in crisis situations to assist clients.
• Collaborate with other professionals to assess client needs or plan treatments.
• Confer with clients to discuss treatment plans or progress.
• Counsel clients or patients regarding personal issues.
• Refer clients to community or social service programs.

Work Interests

• Social

  Work involves helping, teaching, advising, assisting, or providing service to others. Social occupations are often associated with social, health care, personal service, teaching/education, or religious activities.

• Investigative

  Work involves studying and researching non-living objects, living organisms, disease or other forms of impairment, or human behavior. Investigative occupations are often associated with physical, life, medical, or social sciences, and can be found in the fields of humanities, mathematics/statistics, information technology, or health care service.