Geriatric Social Worker

Learn how to become a Geriatric Social Worker and why you might want to...

Twenty years from now, the amount of Americans 65 and over will have doubled1. This is a major concern in our society right now because of the quickly growing need for people with the right training to help older adults. A career in Geriatric Social Work gives you the skills needed to make a big difference in the quality of an elderly persons life.

One of the best parts of working as a geriatric social worker is the variety of people you get to help. Unlike other areas of social work, most everyone will need the help of a geriatric social worker. Whether it is an active older adult who can manage most things themselves with little assistance or one who might live in a nursing facility due to various health issues.

This career also allows you to work closely with other professionals. Geriatric social work needs people who can communicate and work together with a health care team in order to provide the best care possible. A social worker will often spend more time evaluating their clients as human beings rather than a medical problem that needs to be fixed.

The families of an aging adult need a lot of support too and look to the geriatric social worker for guidance. A family that has never been through this process before needs help trying to figure out what services they need and the options can be confusing and overwhelming.

 You will work with people from all walks of life and be challenged with the different needs of each new client. Overcoming the challenges and helping a person experience the best life possible is very rewarding to Geriatric Social Workers. It is also an open opportunity to be an expert and leader. Aging is obviously a quickly growing field of practice but it is also a fairly new field. There has been minimal research done and those with new ideas and a passion to make a difference can set the groundwork for future social workers.

Request information from schools offering Psychology degree programs. Also, learn more about the counseling licensing process and what the requirements for licensure are: Social Work Licensure.

Resources:
1Administration on Aging