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Renal social worker skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. Dianna Cooper,

Dr. Dianna Cooper

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical renal social worker skills. We ranked the top skills for renal social workers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 27.8% of renal social worker resumes contained patients as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a renal social worker needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 renal social worker skills for your resume and career

1. Patients

Here's how renal social workers use patients:

Completed quarterly notes, attended monthly inter-disciplinary meetings, assisted patients with Medicaid benefits and other renal programs.
Provided psycho-social assessments to all patients treated by the facility including in-center and home dialysis patients.

3. Psychosocial Assessments

Here's how renal social workers use psychosocial assessments:

Provide comprehensive biopsychosocial assessments for all new clients and regular updates noting and incorporating changes, improvements and requests.
Performed psychosocial assessments and developed comprehensive care plans to facilitate adjustment to chronic renal disease and minimize hospital admissions.

4. Interdisciplinary

Here's how renal social workers use interdisciplinary:

Facilitated transplant referral process in collaboration with patient, their families and the interdisciplinary team.
Participate as part of an interdisciplinary team.

5. MSW

Here's how renal social workers use msw:

Function as Field Instructor for MSW students placed at the dialysis center through California State University Long Beach.
Provided supervision for MSW candidate interns as official field instructor and task supervisor Social Work Internship Experience

6. Patient Education

Here's how renal social workers use patient education:

Provided patient education - Performed patient assessment/care planning/counseling - Facilitated patient admissions - Served as a member of the multidisciplinary team
Provide patient education on the benefits of compliance with treatment and its effects on overall quality of life.

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7. Facilitate Referrals

Here's how renal social workers use facilitate referrals:

Provide information and facilitate referrals to transplant programs.
Analyze information, facilitate referrals to community, private, state and federal agencies to meet the needs of the patient.

8. Home Health

Here's how renal social workers use home health:

Assist patients with Durable Medical Equipment, Home Health, and Nursing Home or Assisted Living placement.
Assisted with referrals for transportation and home health.

9. Treatment Options

Treatment options are the different medical treatments doctors choose from to give to a sick person or animal. Treatment options depend highly on how ill a patient is and what drugs they can't without using.

Here's how renal social workers use treatment options:

Educated patient as to treatment options, facility policies, patient rights and responsibilities.
Educate patients and family members about kidney disease and treatment options.

10. Patient Care

Patient care entails the diagnosis, recovery, and control of sickness as well as the maintenance of physical and emotional well-being through the use of healthcare providers' services. Patient care is described as services provided to patients by health practitioners or non-professionals under guidance.

Here's how renal social workers use patient care:

Interviewed patients, provided counseling, coordinated insurance/benefits, and identified resources to ensure continuity of patient care.
Worked closely with multidisciplinary treatment team in planning patient care.

11. Rehabilitation

Here's how renal social workers use rehabilitation:

Provide psycho-educational counseling aimed at improving areas of need, treatment adherence, vocational/educational rehabilitation and/or quality of life.
Promoted patient quality of life through transplant education and referrals for vocational/physical rehabilitation.

12. Mental Health

Mental health is the state of wellbeing in which an individual can cope with the regular stresses and tensions of life, and can work productively without having any emotional or psychological breakdown. Mental health is essential for a person of any age and helps them make the right decisions in their life.

Here's how renal social workers use mental health:

Provide supportive counseling and mental health intervention.
Collaborate with community agencies to ensure that emotional, spiritual, financial and mental health needs are met.

13. Treatment Modalities

Here's how renal social workers use treatment modalities:

Educated patients and family members of all treatment modalities and ensure understanding of options available to promote improved quality of life.
Educated a caseload of approximately 115 patients regarding various treatment modalities, disease adjustment and progression, and transplant.

14. Psychosocial Issues

Here's how renal social workers use psychosocial issues:

Notified multidisciplinary team of patient psychosocial issues affecting treatment.
Complete and document annual psychosocial evaluations and quarterly notes, along with documenting and monitoring ongoing psychosocial issues and patient goals.

15. Medicare

Medicare is a federal government insurance program that offers health care coverage to people who are 65 and above. In some cases, younger people with disabilities whose status is identified by the SSA can also avail the insurance program. Medicare covers the health expenses of people who are not able to afford it plus it protects the payee from rising health care costs.

Here's how renal social workers use medicare:

Assisted with patients receiving referrals from Social Security Administration and Texas Kidney Health for Medicare financial benefits.
Experience with Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and managed products, and commercial/cobra/private insurance.

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What skills help Renal Social Workers find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on renal social worker resumes?

Dr. Dianna Cooper

Associate Professor, Campbellsville University

Several things stand out on a social worker's resume. First, social workers should highlight that they graduated from a CSWE accredited program. This tells the world that they have been trained in the nine competencies that serve as the foundation of social work. It also means that the social worker has completed training in multiple areas, including theory, policy, research, diversity and inclusion, practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities, and field experience. The field experience part of social work education integrates practice in a real social work setting, so students graduate with experience to show on the resume.

What soft skills should all renal social workers possess?

Dr. Dianna Cooper

Associate Professor, Campbellsville University

The "change theory" used in social work practice follows several steps, including engaging, assessing, planning, intervening, evaluating, terminating, and following up. Soft skills are most likely to occur in engagement, intervention, and termination. Social workers are trained to "start wherever the client is," understanding that clients can be individuals, families, groups, communities, or organizations. Social workers are trained to respect the client as the expert in their needs, honor self-determination, use a strengths-based approach, and respect difference while using inclusion. The training turns into soft skills such as being empathetic, warm, genuine, and respectful. Social workers also develop skills in knowing when to listen and when to nudge the client toward action. Social workers are trained to intervene and, when change is completed, to terminate. Helping clients know when to end services also requires soft skills of talking about hard topics, seeing a brighter future and setting goals, recognizing when change is happening, and saying goodbye respectfully.

What hard/technical skills are most important for renal social workers?

Dr. Dianna Cooper

Associate Professor, Campbellsville University

Hard or technical skills are most likely to occur in the stages of assessing, planning, intervening, and evaluating change theory. Social workers are trained to gather lots of information and then analyze strengths and needs. Social workers present their assessments to clients and work together to create goals and the steps that reach goals when executed. The process involves using the client's vision of what "better" looks like. Social workers then use evidence-based techniques to move the client toward the goal and define measures to know when the goal is met. The technical skills used in this process include analyzing many types of information repeatedly, knowing what resources exist and how to refer, knowing how to design effective goals and steps to achieve goals, researching current evidence-based practices, defining and measuring progress, and setting limits and timeframes.

What renal social worker skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Lillian Wichinsky Ph.D.

Associate Dean, University of Nevada - Reno

The need for social workers with expertise in mental health care, school-based social work, health and substance misuse are particularly important. Sixty percent of mental health care in the US is provided by social workers and the need is growing.

What type of skills will young renal social workers need?

Samantha Fletcher Ph.D.

Executive Director, National Association of Social Workers, New York State

The core skills of social work do not change over time. These skills include empathy, active listening, critical thinking, assessment, intervention, evaluation, advocacy, policy analysis, and adaptability. Social workers also need to evaluate the organizations they work in to assess for oppressive practices and policies. One of the profession's core values is social justice, which directs social workers to "pursue social change, particularly with and on behalf of vulnerable and oppressed individuals and groups of people. Social workers' social change efforts are focused primarily on issues of poverty, unemployment, discrimination, and other forms of social injustice" (National Association of Social Workers, 2017). As a profession, social workers aim to dismantle racist, sexist, heterosexist, xenophobic, ableist, classist, and religiously biased systems and structures.

Do you want to know more?

List of renal social worker skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a renal social worker resume and required skills for a renal social worker to have include:

Patients
Social Work
Psychosocial Assessments
Interdisciplinary
MSW
Patient Education
Facilitate Referrals
Home Health
Treatment Options
Patient Care
Rehabilitation
Mental Health
Treatment Modalities
Psychosocial Issues

Medicare
Medicaid
Renal Disease
Insurance Coverage
Discharge Planning
Social Services
CMS
Health Insurance
PD
Care Plan
Community Agencies
ESRD
IDT
Kidney Transplant

Federal Agencies
Initial Assessment
Social Security
Insurance Issues
Substance Abuse
Emotional Support
Chronic Kidney Disease
Effective Interventions
Community Resources
Continuous Quality
Chronic Illness
Hemodialysis
Financial Resources
Advocacy Services

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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