Gerontological Social Workers

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Gerontological social workers, also known as geriatric social workers, coordinate the care of elderly patients in a wide variety of settings, including hospitals, community health clinics, long-term and residential health care facilities, hospice settings, and outpatient/daytime health care centers. This degree program is designed to help train the next generation of geriatric social work practitioners. Individuals enrolled in this program will build knowledge and expertise in working with older adults and their families in a variety of settings that serve the aging population. This program offers an interdisciplinary emphasis, as social workers often work on large, interdisciplinary teams on behalf of their older clients. In addition, this program also focuses on building awareness of aging policies and services, as well as advocacy of older adults. Gerontological social work is one of the fastest growing fields within the profession, with a 25-34% job growth in the past decade. Therefore, the demand for social workers who have specialized training in working with older adults is very high. Gerontological social workers can support clients and their families through a combination of psycho-social assessments, care coordination services, counseling and therapeutic work, crisis management and interventions, and discharge planning.