If you’re searching for a social work specialization that will allow you to improve the lives of others with employment opportunities that won’t slow down, it’s worth considering a career path as a gerontological social worker.
The field of gerontology (aged care social work) is an enormous sector of the social work field, providing a vital resource for elderly people facing all sorts of issues related to aging.
It’s no secret that life can be harder to manage as we enter old age. From healthcare issues that can impact quality of life to the difficulty of taking on administrative tasks like social security and other public services, there are many arenas in which elderly people need support. This is why so many social workers devote their careers to assisting older people.
The gerontology field is a thriving branch of the social work profession, offering plentiful opportunities for aspiring social workers who can find a diversity of job titles and workplace environments to choose from as they launch their careers. If you’re interested in learning about how social work and gerontology go hand in hand, read on.
An Overview of Gerontological Social Work
Broadly speaking, gerontology social workers help elderly people get the most out of their lives. But what this looks like in practice can mean a number of things.
Gerontology social workers provide a wide range of services that address the many needs people face in their later years.
They are employed in many different settings, each of which provide dedicated supportive services, some of them becoming areas of specialty in their own right. These include:
- Elder care facilities and nursing homes
- Hospice and palliative care clinics
- Social services agencies
- At-home care
As you are entering the field, it’s worth giving thought to what type of work environment would be most engaging for you. This is an important part of building a career that is sustainable in the long term, as it will greatly impact your day-to-day experience and in turn, your ability to commit to a lasting career path.
Where you work as an aged care social worker will determine which skills you refine and services you provide. Below are some of the major types of aid gerontology social workers offer for elderly people.
Care Planning
Before any services are provided, elderly people entering aged care programs must be evaluated to determine their needs. This means gaining a sense of their physical and mental health as well as factors such as their housing and finances and what kind of social services they qualify for. Gerontology social workers are typically the assessors of people entering nursing homes or other service providers to help design the appropriate care plan for each individual so that all aspects of their lives are accounted for.
Coordination and Logistics
After elderly individuals have been assessed and their care plans have been designed, there can also be a significant amount of work required to actually implement these plans. Social workers can act as intermediaries between social service organizations, advocating on behalf of their clients to ensure a comprehensive and hiccup-free care experience. This can be an excellent role for those who wish to grow deep roots in the social work community, as it will give you extensive knowledge about the field as a whole and build your relationships with other professionals in your industry.
Counseling and Mental Health Support
Social workers who hold LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker) credentials can provide therapeutic services to elderly people, who can face a wide range of psychological and emotional issues that require unique training to take on. These can include issues that impact their day-to-day functioning, like memory loss and disorientation, to emotional difficulties related to grief, healthcare issues, and more. For more information about the career path of a gerontological social worker with a counseling focus, take a look at our section on clinical gerontological social work practice below.
Advocacy
Social workers are often eyewitnesses to the experiences of elderly people in care facilities and a variety of other contexts. Because of this, they have the ability to act as powerful advocates on behalf of elderly people, making informed cases to help improve public services and create more expansive approaches to elder care. This can extend from causes within a given social work organization to larger policy issues at the local, state, and even federal level.
Education and Outreach
As important as it is to continue to refine and develop services for elderly people, it’s equally important to spread information about these services so that individuals in need find the care options available to them. Social workers can play an important role in designing and implementing educational programs to help elderly people stay aware of their needs.
Support for Loved Ones
When elderly people are looking for support, the first people they turn to are their families and loved ones. It’s because taking on this burden can be so difficult that many families look to aged care social workers for support. Beyond helping offload some of the major responsibilities of elder care, social workers can provide guidance and counseling to the families of elderly people who may also be struggling, whether from the emotional difficulties of supporting an aging family member or from the serious stress of working to keep them safe and well attended to.
These are just a few of the top responsibilities of gerontology social workers. Not every gerontology job will involve performing all of these duties at once, but together they show the range and complexity of this social work subfield, as well as the tremendous good they can provide to people reaching old age and their loved ones.
Gerontology Social Work Jobs
The following is a list of gerontology social worker jobs. Though it is by no means exhaustive, it should provide a sense of the range of opportunities you can find as an aging care social worker.
- Aging and Long-Term Care Social Worker
- Aging Population Advocate
- Assisted Living Social Worker
- Dementia Care Social Worker
- Elder Abuse Prevention Specialist
- Elderly Care Social Worker
- End-of-Life Care Social Worker
- Geriatric Clinical Social Worker
- Geriatric Rehabilitation Counselor
- Gerontological Case Manager
- Gerontological Program Coordinator
- Gerontological Social Worker
- Home Health Social Worker
- Hospice Social Worker
- Memory Care Social Worker
- Palliative Care Social Worker
- Retirement Community Social Worker
- Senior Mental Health Counselor
- Senior Outreach Coordinator
- Senior Services Social Worker
If one of these job titles especially stands out to you, you can take that as a sign that it’s worth pursuing more information about that particular path through the social work profession. You may find as an MSW student that you are able to complete field work in an office performing those tasks, allowing you to start focused career development as early as possible.
Clinical Gerontological Social Work Practice
As mentioned above, not every gerontology social worker performs all the tasks detailed in this guide. But most social workers in the gerontology field are able to bounce between different job responsibilities over the course of their careers, allowing for variety that can sustain your engagement and broaden your expertise. If you are an LMSW (Licensed Master Social Worker), it will be possible for you to take on the majority of aged care social work job titles.
However, there is one role that is not available to LMSWs.
Those who wish to provide direct counseling to elderly people and their loved ones must be Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs).
This is not unique to the gerontology subfield but is an overall requirement of the social work field, designed to ensure that no one takes on the critical responsibilities of a therapist without intensive training.
LCSWs in the gerontology field build up significant skill and authority in meeting the particular needs of elderly people, which can require different insights than other arenas of counseling. With this proficiency, you can become an expert who is able to help elderly people face difficult realities and invest in the highest quality of life possible.
To learn more information about the path to becoming an LCSW in Texas, visit our guide here.
Requirements for Becoming a Gerontological Social Worker
Becoming a gerontology social worker involves all of the same steps as becoming a social worker in any other focus area. That said, once you know this is the discipline you’d like to enter, it helps to approach your studies with purpose. In particular, those who are still in MSW programs can opt to take elective courses focused on gerontology and complete their field work (practicum) education at an elder care facility or other social service provider designed to help older people.
Below are the requirements to become a gerontology social worker in Texas.
1. Obtain your Master of Social Work degree.
This is a requirement for any social worker in the country to pursue a social work license. Your Master of Social Work program will give you the skills you need to enter the field with insight and authority. Those who enter with a given focus area in mind – such as gerontology – should be able to find opportunities to build this particular body of knowledge across their studies.
In this day and age, there are numerous ways to complete your master’s degree program, from full-time to part-time, in-person to online MSW programs. All of these have the same requirements for students, including coursework and mandatory field work hours (which you will be expected to complete in person, even if the rest of your program is virtual). When completed on a full-time schedule, this takes two years to complete.
2. Choose which level of social work license you want.
If you wish to become an LMSW, you will be eligible for your licensing exams as soon as you graduate from your MSW program. If you would like to become an LCSW, you will need to complete additional steps before taking your exams.
3. Complete your additional field work hours (if LCSW).
If you are looking to become an LMSW, you can skip this step.
Those seeking to become LCSWs must complete an additional 3,000 hours (approximately two years) of supervised field work in their chosen area of specialty before becoming eligible for their licensing exams.
Field work experiences provide extensive training and an up-close view of the daily responsibilities of a gerontology social worker.
You can rest assured you will leave your field work program fully equipped to launch your social work career.
4. Pass your exams.
In Texas, social workers are required to pass two exams regardless of the type of license they are pursuing: the Texas Jurisprudence Exam and the ASWB licensing exam at whatever level of license they are seeking. These tests are the last major hurdle for aspiring social workers, meaning it’s critical to take them seriously and prepare accordingly.
5. Complete a background check.
For obvious reasons, all incoming social workers must undergo fingerprinting and other background screenings in order to receive their social work licenses. This will be part of their final application to the state.
6. Receive your license.
Upon submitting your materials to the state, all you need is to wait for final approval. Assuming you have passed your exams and completed all requirements, you should have no trouble receiving your license. Congrats!
Gerontology Social Worker Salary
Those who are interested in pursuing careers in gerontological social work have good reason to inquire about the salary they can expect to earn in the field. Unfortunately, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (the US agency indexing official salary data across occupations) does not offer isolated data on wages for aging care social workers in Texas. However, their numbers for social workers in the healthcare care fields can be illustrative for aspiring gerontology professionals.
In Texas, social workers in the healthcare field earn a mean annual salary of $62,500. One can compare this number with the national mean wage for healthcare social workers employed in nursing homes: $56,010. This can provide a rough sense of the average salary you’ll take home as a gerontology social worker.
That said, your salary is likely to increase with seniority, as well as if you build additional areas of specialty that build your expertise in a particular issue. This can be an excellent idea as a gerontology social worker: after all, in this role, your services will always be needed, and added skills will help you set yourself apart so that you can sustain a thriving and remunerative career.
FAQs
Where are aged care social workers employed?
Aged care social workers, also known as gerontology social workers, are employed at all organizations that provide services to elderly people. These can include nursing homes, healthcare clinics, at-home care services, and social work organizations, among others.
How do I become a gerontology social worker?
Gerontology social workers must obtain their Master of Social Work degree from an accredited institution and complete the other requirements for receiving their social work license. Depending on which license level you seek, this can include several additional years of supervised field work.
Can I work in a nursing home without an MSW?
While it may be possible to hold entry-level roles in social work organizations, you will not be able to apply for social worker positions without your MSW degree and the relevant license level to match. In other words, if you wish to become a gerontology social worker, receiving your social work license is a must.
When do I decide my social work focus area?
Some social work students may go into their programs with a strong sense of the field they’d like to specialize in, while others go in with an “open book” mentality. You certainly don’t need to start your MSW program knowing the exact career path you want, but it can be helpful after your first year of coursework to know which electives you’d like to take and if there are field work opportunities that speak to your interests. This will help you refine your body of knowledge early so that you can leap into your chosen professional trajectory as soon as you’re out of school.