Medical social worker vs community health counselor

The differences between medical social workers and community health counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a medical social worker, becoming a community health counselor takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a medical social worker has an average salary of $57,093, which is higher than the $43,304 average annual salary of a community health counselor.

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

Medical social worker vs community health counselor overview

	Medical Social Worker	Community Health Counselor
Yearly salary	$57,093	$43,304
Hourly rate	$27.45	$20.82
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	87,792	131,804
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age	45	41
Years of experience	2	4

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.

What does a community health counselor do?

A community health counselor typically provides health and welfare support to the disadvantaged members of a community. Their responsibilities revolve around devising strategies to reach out to community members, coordinating with schools and other institutions, and building positive relationships with the communities that they serve. They may also provide counseling sessions to individuals of all ages, conduct observations and assessments, perform interventions, and identify any signs of abuse or neglect, reporting to the authorities right away. Furthermore, they may refer families or individuals to other social services unit if necessary.

Medical social worker vs community health counselor salary

Medical social workers and community health counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medical Social Worker	Community Health Counselor
Average salary	$57,093	$43,304
Salary range	Between $42,000 And $77,000	Between $29,000 And $63,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	California
Best paying company	Health Advocates	Apple
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between medical social worker and community health counselor education

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

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

Medical social worker vs community health counselor demographics

Here are the differences between medical social workers' and community health counselors' demographics:

	Medical Social Worker	Community Health Counselor
Average age	45	41
Gender ratio	Male, 14.3% Female, 85.7%	Male, 31.4% Female, 68.6%
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, 11.3% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 3.2% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	13%	15%

Differences between medical social worker and community health counselor duties and responsibilities

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.

Community health counselor example responsibilities.

Provide group and individual therapy along with social service coordination for patients in short term stabilization psychiatric unit.
Train in medication administration, therapeutic holds and CPR.
Maintain cleanliness of home provide assistance with cleaning rooms and common areas.
Train in MNT, TCI, first aide and CPR with several other essential trainings.
Complete insurance verification information for Medicaid participants.
Maintain caseload paperwork in accordance with Georgia Medicaid requirements.

Medical social worker vs community health counselor skills

Common medical social worker skills

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

Common community health counselor skills

Social Work, 19%
Behavioral Health, 17%
Patients, 17%
Crisis Intervention, 7%
Rehabilitation, 4%
Discharge Planning, 3%

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Community and Social Services Industry
Medical Social Worker
Medical Social Worker vs Community Health Counselor

Updated January 8, 2025

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