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Medical Social Worker

  • What do they do?
  • What are the fields of practice?
  • What are the competencies required of medical social workers?
  • What are the required educational qualifications?
  • Where can I get more information on medical social workers?


What do Medical Social Workers do?

The Medical Social Worker (MSW) is part of the multidisciplinary healthcare team, providing interventions to support patients and their families during the recovery from and/or adjustment to acute or chronic medical conditions. Patients' recovery and quality of life hinge upon the ability of the patient and family to cope and adjust to the impact of the the medical conditions and ensuing disability on their lifestyle, finances, employment and relationships. Poor adjustments and coping indicated by poor mental well-being can have profound impact on health and productivity. MSWs help patients and their families learn how to manage life crises due to acute or chronic medical conditions, and focus on improving their mental and physical well-being to achieve self-reliance. They also help reduce the burden of patients and their families from incurred social and healthcare costs.

The core functions of MSWs include:

  • Biopsychosocial-spiritual assessment - assessing the strength and resilience of the patient, families, and social support systems to help the individual function within the community.
  • Family education and mediation-educating the family on the physical and psychosocial needs of the members and ways they can access internal and external resources, as well as mediating familial conflicts
  • Counselling for individuals, couples and families - counselling patients who suffer from poor mental health states (e.g. depression, anxiety), and coping and adjustment difficulties (e.g. due to loss of limb through amputation, loss of hearing, or caring for family members suffering from dementia)
  • Risk assessment - assessing risk of self-harm (eg suicide) and to others (eg family violence, elder abuse, child abuse).
  • Financial assessment and fund management - identifying and referring cases for financial assistance
  • Discharge Planning -working together with medical, nursing and other allied health professionals, patients and their families to develop and implement the post discharge care plan
  • Information & Referral Services - linking patients and caregivers to community resources.

 

What are the fields of practice for Medical Social Workers?

There are also opportunities to work in the different medical disciplines and in specialized fields:

  • Geriatrics / Nephrology / Oncology / Psychiatry
  • Trauma Work
  • Grief and Bereavement Counselling and Palliative care
  • Case Management
  • Individual Psychotherapy, Marital Counselling and Family Mediation and Therapy
  • Group Work
  • Community Network and Advocacy
  • Research and Teaching


What are the competencies required of Medical Social Workers?

You can find out about the knowledge and skills required of MSWs to perform their roles in Direct Practice in the Handbook “Understanding the Roles and Competencies of Medical Social Workers”.

This Handbook for MSWs has been developed in alignment with the National Social Work Competency Framework (NSWCF), which details the common roles, knowledge and skills for all social workers across different settings and practice tracks. The same roles, knowledge and skills of MSWs in Indirect Practice tracks can be found in the NSWCF. The NSWCF also comes with two other publications: the Professional Development Guide for Social Workers and the Talent Handbook: A Guide for Competency-Based Talent Management.

Development Pathways and Training Roadmap have been developed to assist MSWs in charting development plans. The Development pathways help MSWs across all settings understand the types of critical experiences, exposure and key development programmes needed to acquire the requisite knowledge and skills at each career life stage. The Training Roadmap is a repository of high quality training programmes for all job roles and knowledge and skills categories.

MSWs should use the Handbook for MSWs, Development Pathways, Training Roadmap and NSWCF to understand their development needs and chart their own development and career plans. Employers of MSWs can refer to the Talent Handbook for talent management.


What Educational Qualifications do I need to practice as a Medical Social Worker in Singapore?

You must complete formal tertiary education to qualify as a Medical Social Worker.

Minimum Qualification

  • BA (Majoring in Social Work ) or Bachelor Degree in Social Work
  • Graduate Diploma in Social Work

Institute for training

  • National University of Singapore (NUS)
  • SIM University (Unisim)
  • Overseas tertiary institutions

Duration of Study

  • 3-4 years for Bachelor Degree

 

Where can I get more information about the Medical Social Work profession?

The Singapore Association of Social Workers (SASW) is the local professional association for Medical Social Workers. All Medical Social Workers who are members of SASW are automatically members of the MSW Chapter. For self regulation, they are voluntarily registered with the Association. You can find out more about Medical Social Work in Singapore, by contacting the SASW at 67787922 or admin@sasw.org.sg. Find out more about what it’s like to be a MSW!

  • Click here to find out more about our Healthcare Scholarships and Awards!


Note:
The allied health practitioner may not be able to conduct the full range of services/activities listed above, as his/her scope of practice depends on the level of training, experience and competence attained. The onus is on the employer and the practitioner to ensure that all services/activities are conducted within the scope of competence of the respective practitioner.

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