Crisis worker vs clinical externship

The differences between crisis workers and clinical externships can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a crisis worker and a clinical externship. Additionally, a clinical externship has an average salary of $35,831, which is higher than the $33,805 average annual salary of a crisis worker.

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

Crisis worker vs clinical externship overview

	Crisis Worker	Clinical Externship
Yearly salary	$33,805	$35,831
Hourly rate	$16.25	$17.23
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	99,201	63,061
Job satisfaction	4	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	4	4

What does a crisis worker do?

A crisis worker is a mental health professional specializing in providing counseling and support services to individuals under emotional distress often caused by mental and behavioral issues, conducting interventions as needed. They are usually assigned in institutions or medical facilities, sometimes working for crisis hotlines where they must answer phone calls from clients, remain calm and rational during conversations, offer advice, and refer them to other support agencies to prevent them from taking drastic measures. A crisis worker engages with clients of all ages, requiring them to be proactive at all times.

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.

Crisis worker vs clinical externship salary

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

	Crisis Worker	Clinical Externship
Average salary	$33,805	$35,831
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $49,000	Between $25,000 And $51,000
Highest paying City	Portland, ME	Alameda, CA
Highest paying state	New York	California
Best paying company	Northwestern Medicine	Genentech
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Education

Differences between crisis worker and clinical externship education

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

	Crisis Worker	Clinical Externship
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common major	Psychology	Psychology
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	California State University - Long Beach

Crisis worker vs clinical externship demographics

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

	Crisis Worker	Clinical Externship
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 25.4% Female, 74.6%	Male, 25.8% Female, 74.2%
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, 7.9% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 3.1% White, 74.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	15%	15%

Differences between crisis worker and clinical externship duties and responsibilities

Crisis worker example responsibilities.

Find placements for patients needing inpatient psychiatric hospitalizations, and provide community referrals to those requiring lower levels of care.
Conduct psychiatric screenings in hospital settings to determine if patients meet the criteria for involuntary/voluntary commitment as mandated by state laws.
Coordinate care with community providers for follow up if patient are discharged, prepare documentation for admission to inpatient psychiatry unit.
Complete MDS assessments to determine mood and cognitive functioning, relaying information to interdisciplinary team and families.

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.

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Crisis worker vs clinical externship skills

Common crisis worker skills

Patients, 21%
Social Work, 18%
Mental Health Crisis, 5%
Compassion, 5%
CPR, 3%
Rehabilitation, 3%

Common clinical externship skills

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

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Updated January 8, 2025

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