Clinical externship vs clinical social worker

The differences between clinical externships and clinical social workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a clinical externship, becoming a clinical social worker takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a clinical social worker has an average salary of $63,056, which is higher than the $35,831 average annual salary of a clinical externship.

The top three skills for a clinical externship include patients, mental health and patient care. The most important skills for a clinical social worker are social work, patients, and behavioral health.

Clinical externship vs clinical social worker overview

	Clinical Externship	Clinical Social Worker
Yearly salary	$35,831	$63,056
Hourly rate	$17.23	$30.32
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	63,061	124,816
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Master's Degree, 54%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	4	2

What does a clinical externship do?

A clinical externship is a short medical student program directly mentored by professionals within their chosen career path in healthcare. Clinical externs work in various settings such as hospitals, a doctor's office, or clinics and work directly with patients to apply the knowledge and skills they acquired in the classroom. They will be graded and must pass the program to be able to graduate from medical school. Externs must request a letter of recommendation from their site supervisor when applying for jobs.

What does a clinical social worker do?

A clinical social worker is an individual in social work, which provides help to individuals in need of improving their lives and their well-being. Clinical social workers must work with different individuals to help them address difficulties that they are trying to overcome. To perform counseling services, clinical social workers must take and pass the professional licensure examination. They also help disadvantaged individuals connect to resources and services that they may benefit from.

Clinical externship vs clinical social worker salary

Clinical externships and clinical social workers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Clinical Externship	Clinical Social Worker
Average salary	$35,831	$63,056
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $51,000	Between $42,000 And $92,000
Highest paying City	Alameda, CA	Santa Rosa, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Genentech	Tucson Electric Power
Best paying industry	Education	Education

Differences between clinical externship and clinical social worker education

There are a few differences between a clinical externship and a clinical social worker in terms of educational background:

	Clinical Externship	Clinical Social Worker
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Master's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Psychology	Social Work
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	University of Pennsylvania

Clinical externship vs clinical social worker demographics

Here are the differences between clinical externships' and clinical social workers' demographics:

	Clinical Externship	Clinical Social Worker
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 25.8% Female, 74.2%	Male, 21.7% Female, 78.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 3.1% White, 74.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 19.9% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 3.3% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	15%	13%

Differences between clinical externship and clinical social worker duties and responsibilities

Clinical externship example responsibilities.

Set up and manage new medical transcription department.
Manage large scale TMF inventory/file cleanup projects in preparation for FDA and EMA inspections.
Manage difficult or emotional patient situations, with compassion and professionalism.
Participate in multiple studies managing CTM activities for various therapeutic areas simultaneously including oncology, urology, transplant, and immunology.
Monitor EKG's, assess blood pressure, palpate heart rates, safely progress patients in exercise.
Perform manual data entry in CTMS, TMF, CRF imaging and various departmental databases.

Clinical social worker example responsibilities.

Understand manage care, Medicare and Medicaid benefits.
Screen, identify, diagnose using DSM nomenclature, treat and manage mental health and/or substance abuse problems.
Provide clinical services to patients in rehabilitation and oncology including assessment, crisis intervention, grief therapy, and discharge planning.
Provide individual, group, family therapy, team coordination, discharge planning, utilization review and MSW student supervision.
Participate in weekly interdisciplinary team meetings to determine Medicare length of skil nursing stay.
Facilitate therapy, symptom management, and rehabilitation groups for mental health clients in partial hospitalization setting.

Clinical externship vs clinical social worker skills

Common clinical externship skills

Patients, 32%
Mental Health, 7%
Patient Care, 5%
Crisis Intervention, 4%
Vital Signs, 4%
Substance Abuse, 4%

Common clinical social worker skills

Social Work, 28%
Patients, 17%
Behavioral Health, 6%
Patient Care, 5%
Community Resources, 4%
MSW, 3%

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Clinical Externship
Clinical Externship vs Clinical Social Worker

Updated January 8, 2025

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