Job Responsibilities
*Provide emotional support to residents (patients) and to the
nurses who care for them.
*Document major changes in health status, document discharge
planning and transfers, and document just about any verbal
exchange with residents.
*Attend daily meetings with administrators in all departments.
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Job Requirements
BSW or MSW required from an accredited school of social work. The
ease of getting popular classes seems to be greater now, as far
fewer people are entering this field. Workload can be heavy at
times, but is light compared to that of an MBA program (I have
both an MSW and an MBA and did the programs at separate times in
my life). The quality of classes varies greatly; it's imperative
that an aspiring social worker talk to other students and recent
alumni to determine which instructors are worthwhile.
Grading is pretty straightforward and is usually based on papers
rather than on tests. Again, this varies by instructor or
professor.
The toughest part of most social work programs is the required
fieldwork portion of the course; at some schools, you must secure
your own field placement. At others, however, the field
placements are assigned by instructors at your school. It is a
good idea to know in advance what sort of population you'd like
to work with and at what kind of agency (e.g., "adult mental
health patients at a large hospital", or
"adoption work at a small private agency").
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Uppers
*It's never dull
*If you enjoy spending a large portion of your day talking, either in person on
by telephone, this field will be a good fit for you
*Although much of the job is fairly simple, there are often some intellectual
challenges,which I enjoy
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Downers
*For nursing home work, there are constant inspections by state,
federal and local officials
*Some of the residents can be difficult to deal with
*Some of the resident's illnesses/disabilities are heartbreaking
*Some family members are extremely demanding and difficult to
deal with
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Lifestyle
*Work hours are somewhat flexible, though it is important to show up every work
day.
*7-1/2 to 8 hour workdays are most common
*There is occasional business travel required to attend conferences
*There are only a few company social events, such as the annual Christmas party
or farewell parties for co-workers (which seem to occur with alarming regularity,
sadly)
*Diversity: most social workers are female, but in Long Term Care (nursing
homes) there is more of a balance. Most social workers are Caucasian, though this
is changing slowly.
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Compensation
*$62,400 base salary
*No bonuses exist
*No stock options exist
*Benefits include health insurance, dental insurance, and 15 paid
time off days which can be used for sick time or vacation
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Advice to Jobseekers
*Be sure you can handle sad situations and be able to handle a
lot of scrutiny from the various inspectors
*The job outlook for this occupation is excellent, as there are
fewer people entering this field and the nursing home population
is expected to grow as the general U.S. population ages.
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