Crisis worker vs medical social worker

The differences between crisis workers and medical 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 crisis worker, becoming a medical social worker takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a medical social worker has an average salary of $57,093, 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 medical social worker are social work, patients, and home health.

Crisis worker vs medical social worker overview

	Crisis Worker	Medical Social Worker
Yearly salary	$33,805	$57,093
Hourly rate	$16.25	$27.45
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	99,201	87,792
Job satisfaction	4	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Master's Degree, 48%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	4	2

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 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.

Crisis worker vs medical social worker salary

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

	Crisis Worker	Medical Social Worker
Average salary	$33,805	$57,093
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $49,000	Between $42,000 And $77,000
Highest paying City	Portland, ME	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New York	Alaska
Best paying company	Northwestern Medicine	Health Advocates
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Health Care

Differences between crisis worker and medical social worker education

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

	Crisis Worker	Medical Social Worker
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Master's Degree, 48%
Most common major	Psychology	Social Work
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	University of Pennsylvania

Crisis worker vs medical social worker demographics

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

	Crisis Worker	Medical Social Worker
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 25.4% Female, 74.6%	Male, 14.3% Female, 85.7%
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 crisis worker and medical social worker 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.

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.

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Crisis worker vs medical social worker skills

Common crisis worker skills

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

Common medical social worker skills

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

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Updated January 8, 2025

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