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The differences between nursing home social workers and psychiatric social workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a nursing home social worker and a psychiatric social worker. Additionally, a psychiatric social worker has an average salary of $59,144, which is higher than the $51,130 average annual salary of a nursing home social worker.
The top three skills for a nursing home social worker include social work, nursing home and care plan. The most important skills for a psychiatric social worker are social work, patients, and crisis intervention.
| Nursing Home Social Worker | Psychiatric Social Worker | |
| Yearly salary | $51,130 | $59,144 |
| Hourly rate | $24.58 | $28.43 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 121,833 | 57,284 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Master's Degree, 51% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A Nursing Home Social Worker works closely with the residents of a nursing home to identify their various needs and develop adequate assistance strategies. Their responsibilities include: treating the emotional, behavioral conditions and problems, assessing new clients to come up with a treatment plan that addresses determined needs, offer adjustment support for those that lack family support, facilitating group activities that encourage interaction with other residents, and conducting administrative tasks that are crucial to the day to day operations of a nursing facility.
A psychiatric social worker specializes in providing mental health treatments and other services to patients and their families, referring them to other agencies and programs as needed. They conduct assessments and interviews to determine the condition of patients, devise specific treatment and care plans, update and maintain patient records, conduct regular counseling sessions, and monitor the progress of every patient to ensure their health and welfare. They may also provide interventions, train junior psychiatric social workers, and conduct reviews and evaluations on existing care plans.
Nursing home social workers and psychiatric social workers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Nursing Home Social Worker | Psychiatric Social Worker | |
| Average salary | $51,130 | $59,144 |
| Salary range | Between $39,000 And $66,000 | Between $43,000 And $79,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | Highmark |
| Best paying industry | - | Government |
There are a few differences between a nursing home social worker and a psychiatric social worker in terms of educational background:
| Nursing Home Social Worker | Psychiatric Social Worker | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Master's Degree, 51% |
| Most common major | Social Work | Social Work |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between nursing home social workers' and psychiatric social workers' demographics:
| Nursing Home Social Worker | Psychiatric Social Worker | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 16.9% Female, 83.1% | Male, 24.8% Female, 75.2% |
| 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, 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 | 13% | 13% |