Medical social worker vs program counselor

The differences between medical social workers and program 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 program counselor takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a medical social worker has an average salary of $57,093, which is higher than the $43,820 average annual salary of a program counselor.

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

Medical social worker vs program counselor overview

	Medical Social Worker	Program Counselor
Yearly salary	$57,093	$43,820
Hourly rate	$27.45	$21.07
Growth rate	9%	10%
Number of jobs	87,792	133,491
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
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 program counselor do?

A Program Counselor is an essential part of a school's faculty. It's the counselor's responsibility to ensure that students are benefiting from the school's educational curriculum. This person is also tasked to help students resolve issues and problems that may hinder any educational progress. They are also part of the disciplinary team intended to instill good morals, ethics, and decency in students. The Program Counselor is one of the teacher or professor who has expertise or has a high educational degree in a particular subject or field.

Medical social worker vs program counselor salary

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

	Medical Social Worker	Program Counselor
Average salary	$57,093	$43,820
Salary range	Between $42,000 And $77,000	Between $33,000 And $58,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	Alaska	New York
Best paying company	Health Advocates	Russell Sage College
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between medical social worker and program counselor education

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

	Medical Social Worker	Program Counselor
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common major	Social Work	Psychology
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	California State University - Long Beach

Medical social worker vs program counselor demographics

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

	Medical Social Worker	Program Counselor
Average age	45	41
Gender ratio	Male, 14.3% Female, 85.7%	Male, 35.9% Female, 64.1%
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 program 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.

Program counselor example responsibilities.

Lead recreational activities for adolescents with ADHD and other behavior disorders.
Provide education, within hospital setting, to adolescent psychiatric patients regarding substance abuse and dependency issues.
Receive CPR and first aid certifications.
Attend and receive CPR and basic restraint technique certifications.
Assist each client with compassion to encourage them on their journey to recovery.
Encourage and mentore residents during their recovery and rehabilitation process.

Medical social worker vs program counselor skills

Common medical social worker skills

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

Common program counselor skills

Developmental Disabilities, 11%
Patients, 11%
Community Integration, 9%
CPR, 8%
Social Work, 8%
Medication Administration, 7%

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Medical Social Worker
Medical Social Worker vs Program Counselor

Updated January 8, 2025

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