Clinical social worker vs medical social worker

The differences between clinical social workers and medical social workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a clinical social worker and a medical social worker. Additionally, a clinical social worker has an average salary of $63,056, which is higher than the $57,093 average annual salary of a medical social worker.

The top three skills for a clinical social worker include social work, patients and behavioral health. The most important skills for a medical social worker are social work, patients, and home health.

Clinical social worker vs medical social worker overview

	Clinical Social Worker	Medical Social Worker
Yearly salary	$63,056	$57,093
Hourly rate	$30.32	$27.45
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	124,816	87,792
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 54%	Master's Degree, 48%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	2	2

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.

What does a medical social worker do?

A medical social worker specializes in managing a patient's health care and welfare while communicating with guardians or families, focusing on helping them cope and understand the medical conditions and situations. They are primarily responsible for assessing a patient's condition to identify their needs, conducting interviews to gather background information regarding the patient and family, and referring any social service programs that may provide them with the assistance or help they need. Furthermore, it is crucial to identify any signs of abuse or neglect and conduct intervention procedures right away.

Clinical social worker vs medical social worker salary

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

	Clinical Social Worker	Medical Social Worker
Average salary	$63,056	$57,093
Salary range	Between $42,000 And $92,000	Between $42,000 And $77,000
Highest paying City	Santa Rosa, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	Alaska
Best paying company	Tucson Electric Power	Health Advocates
Best paying industry	Education	Health Care

Differences between clinical social worker and medical social worker education

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

	Clinical Social Worker	Medical Social Worker
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 54%	Master's Degree, 48%
Most common major	Social Work	Social Work
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Clinical social worker vs medical social worker demographics

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

	Clinical Social Worker	Medical Social Worker
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 21.7% Female, 78.3%	Male, 14.3% Female, 85.7%
Race ratio	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%	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	13%	13%

Differences between clinical social worker and medical social worker duties and responsibilities

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.

Medical social worker example responsibilities.

Understand manage care, Medicare and Medicaid benefits.
Humanize the medical setting for elderly patients by using appropriate compassion in explaining complex information.
Provide crisis intervention, supportive counseling and trauma/grief counseling for patients and their families experiencing acute or chronic traumatic events.
Provide hands-on assessment and monitoring of suspect child abuse and neglect cases of children needing intensive rehabilitation and specialize care.
Provide social casework to patients having difficulty in social functioning, primarily as it affects their health and emotional rehabilitation.
Facilitate family counseling, crisis intervention, and assessments of specials population including geriatrics, homeless and substance abusing veterans.

Clinical social worker vs medical social worker skills

Common clinical social worker skills

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

Common medical social worker skills

Social Work, 24%
Patients, 19%
Home Health, 11%
MSW, 7%
Patient Care, 6%
Crisis Intervention, 3%

Clinical Social Worker vs. similar jobs

Clinical Social Worker related careers

Clinical Social Worker related jobs

Clinical Social Worker jobs by location

Zippia Careers
Community and Social Services Industry
Clinical Social Worker
Clinical Social Worker vs Medical Social Worker

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse community and social services jobs