How To Become A Long Term Care Social Worker: What It Is and Career Path

What is a long term care social worker and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Long term care social workers work with people who are in situations where they need more permanent assistance, such as those in nursing homes or other long-term care facilities. They provide support for as long as needed, sometimes over the course of the rest of the patient's life.

The daily duties of a long term care social worker depend on the needs of their patients. Some days they may meet with a new patient and help create a care plan to help them adjust to life in a residential home. Other days, they meet with existing patients to develop their social skills or help the administration develop policies that benefit patients.

As the population of the United States ages and more and more people enter nursing homes, the demand for long term care social workers is set to grow by 11 percent. Long term care social workers are an important part of helping elderly people and people with other long term care needs live out their lives with the dignity that they deserve.

ScoreLong Term Care Social WorkerUS Average

Salary

3.8

Avg. Salary $48,296

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.4

Growth rate 9%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.60%

Asian 3.32%

Black or African American 19.92%

Hispanic or Latino 12.27%

Unknown 5.43%

White 58.45%

Gender

female 70.17%

male 29.83%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress level

9.4

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.5

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a long term care social worker

Explore long term care social worker education requirements

Most common long term care social worker degrees

Bachelor's

54.3 %

Associate

15.2 %

Master's

11.6 %

Start to develop specific long term care social worker skills

Skills	Percentages
Patient Care	31.58%
Nursing Home	17.83%
SNF	12.03%
Vital Signs	11.88%
MDS	8.80%

Complete relevant long term care social worker training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New long term care social workers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a long term care social worker based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real long term care social worker resumes.

Research long term care social worker duties and responsibilities

Respond to and assist in behavioral codes working as a team member to successfully manage patient using methods obtain in CPI training
Skil care SNF / rehabilitation and ICF LTC residents.
Refer the patient or family member to the local Medicaid office to coordinate with the staff regarding eligibility for Medicaid.
Perform assessments/social history upon admission to better understand the patient's needs and personal circumstances as they relate to their rehabilitation.

Prepare your long term care social worker resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your long term care social worker resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a long term care social worker resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable long term care social worker resume templates

Build a professional long term care social worker resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your long term care social worker resume.