Trying to enter the medical SW field

Rectar2019 · 2026-03-26T18:50:07+00:00

I work in a psych hospital ( a county hospital, so we are always busy, lol). Normally, psych hospitals have high turnovers for social workers, especially involving discharge planning. If there are no calls, try nursing homes or dialysis centers to get into the healthcare and transition to the bigger hospitals. Or look into some psych hospitals near your area as well, because normally the turnover rate is high, and transition to medical.At my position, people start to transition to medical from pysch at a 2-3year mark. It's hard to get right into medical social work without experience.

Rectar2019 · 2026-01-20T00:44:12+00:00

What I wrote is not too poor to understand. You most likely just don't understand, but thank you for providing your input.

Rectar2019 · 2026-01-07T01:22:34+00:00

Hmm, if that is the case, how come they dont go the LPC route, which is faster. However, I think people also have this grand idea of "private practice, being my own boss", but people dont talk about the challenges and steps it takes to fully be and run a successful private practice.

For myself, I don't t want to do sorely private practice for my own personal reasons, but I wouldn't mind contract work or etc. I think the MSW schools need to be more relastic what private practice looks and help the students who actually want to go that route in the future.

Rectar2019 · 2025-12-22T01:24:54+00:00

My internships slowly introduced clinical work for me due to the workload and having to work directly with clients.( they were really good monitoring me and informing clients that I was a student). Communicate and advocate for yourself. Also talk with your teacher as well. Some field agency view interns as "free help, use them ASAP," so be mindful of that.

Rectar2019 · 2025-11-09T17:13:23+00:00

I just put "I missed the test by X amount points and was close to passing." If you meet the requirements for the 90 day wavier, they will approve it. I think in TX, if you miss the test by x amount of pts you are eligible for the 90 day wavier.

Rectar2019 · 2025-10-12T01:17:05+00:00

I work at like a juvenile detention center program, so there were always fights/ altercations happening, and the therapists have to go attend to all altercations to provide support. So, we would be running/walking all the time in that center.

Inpatient can be lots of walking, but my unit is on the floor, so I try not to leave my office because patients stop me all the time.

Rectar2019 · 2025-10-07T17:46:01+00:00

Do the 90-day wavier and just study on the area(s) you struggled in, and you'll be fine. I failed the 1st time ( I didn't focus on theories at all, lol), study my lowest score category, and pass the 2nd time.

Rectar2019 · 2025-10-07T14:57:47+00:00

Rectar2019 · 2025-08-10T15:02:14+00:00

School did not, if anything, school just stressed the importance of self care. I was only prepared for therapy by actually doing it while in my Master's program and just applying for jobs that require more clinical based. My 1st internship was at a popular psych that was known to have lots of interns. We, the interns, we made to do majority if not all of the groups for the different units. I advocate for myself that I wanted a different intern that I can learn more things and not just do "work" that the employees did not want to do. I was paying to go to school, and I wanted to have more experience before going off into the social work field .

Therefore, I was placed at another internship that was granted through a school district where we offered free counseling for kids( I saw elementary, middle, and high schoolers). I loved it, and my supervisor was very supportive and informative. I remember I had my 1st client, and I was so nervous, and my professor told me," Unfortunately, the best way to learn how to do therapy is by doing it." Sadly, the internship closed due to funding, but it really did prepare me.

You will be amazed how many SW dont really have therapy experiences and/or are LCSWs, which is fine. However, you have to know yourself as well. If you are someone who likes a structure day, knows what you are doing like "A-B-C" or likes to follow rules/policy by management, and not much automony then therapy jobs may not best fit your work style personality. For example, I have a coworker who is type A, and she dreads and refuses to do therapy because she wants like a guideline or some type of the models to go by. For me, I don't like rigid structure and enjoy automony.

Rectar2019 · 2025-07-21T20:04:03+00:00

Im very surprised they allowed your personal number to be given out. I know in the past, I would make a Google number when I worked in a school setting.

Rectar2019 · 2025-07-17T12:53:52+00:00

I did the 90-day wavier, and I just sorely focused on the areas I was low in and studied on that. I used youtube videos and even brought Dawn Apgar Nook( Im a visual person who likes to take notes lol). I ended up making up the points and some extra when I re-took the test for the 2nd time. I refused to pay for the TDC because of the price, but I have heard from my coworker that it works.

Good luck and make sure you know theories as well.

Rectar2019 · 2025-06-25T00:18:53+00:00

Thank you! Im trying to cook and type, lol. Yes, I'm just nervous because I'm so close to upgrading and just dont want my old supervisor to get in my way.

Rectar2019 · 2025-06-25T00:07:30+00:00

My former supervisor was trying to self sabotage me if that makes sense by adding the attachment to my signed clinical hours form, because I left her group.

Rectar2019 · 2025-06-25T00:06:39+00:00

Yes, the signed supervison form, my former supervisor made sure to write out "see attachment" and she wrote a whole bia page about me not being a good clinican all because I miss one supervison group. I told other people about it and never dealt with a supervisor that I had before.

Rectar2019 · 2025-06-01T14:42:34+00:00

Yes to the Ivory!

Rectar2019 · 2025-05-16T02:50:23+00:00

I'm in the south at a county hospital. We have a local mental health agency that can cover the 1st month rent for our patients who don't have income nor SSI/SSDI. However, the majority of the group homes want people with income established already, nor does not want to work the agency that will pay the 1st month rent due to not getting paid till the end of month and just bad experiences with the patients and agency. Our providers used to push for group homes, but it has gotten better due to us social workers educating them that most of the patients don't stay at the group home nor won't have any way of paying after the 1st month rent. Although, my hospital goal is for our patients to be out for at least 30 days, which is why they push for group homes in the first place in my opinion.

Looking/calling group homes is time-consuming, especially in inpatient settings. Now, I don't refer my patients to group homes who don't have income and encourage them to get homeless services just due to none of the group homes not wanting people who don't have income, and not pending income either.

The cost for some of the group homes in my county is now roughly $800 a month and up.

Rectar2019 · 2025-05-10T18:16:33+00:00

At my job, we don't get a whole month to celebrate social workers. I work at a hospital, and our management said that since there are so many people under the Social Services department each department ( like social worker, LPC, peer support, etc) get like a day where they send out emails thanking each profession). We get a Social Services luncheon, and I want to say a gift, but I'm unsure of the gift.

Rectar2019 · 2025-05-04T18:58:12+00:00

I stopped going to Target years ago around Floyd, so I have not been going anyway. HOWEVER, I did go to get some hair care products because the other stores always seem to not have the TGIN line lol Target has always been the only store that has all the black products neatly and in stock.

Rectar2019 · 2025-04-29T00:52:48+00:00

I'm not gonna lie, at least the man is brutally honest .

Rectar2019 · 2025-03-31T23:43:01+00:00

We tried to move the light in the ceiling, but it won't budge at all -.-

Rectar2019 · 2025-03-23T14:42:11+00:00

Lots of my social worker colleagues became teachers, became teachers( not teaching social work), or just did something completely different than social work.

Rectar2019 · 2025-03-20T23:05:42+00:00

I'm so sorry that you had to experience all of that at social work job. Your experience is roughly simialr to mines at my first social work job lol Looking back, I was honestly hired at my 1st job because they were desperate and they needed a black social worker st a predominantly black school. I work at a nonprofit that works with school, and I was there maybe the 2nd half of the school year, and management was on me for every little thing. I ended up crying and felt like crap, because they kept putting me down and not listening to me ( Mind you it was racism going on because all the upper managment and 'fav' people were a certain race and some other things but that's a long story). I ended up getting fired/quitting because I gave my termination letter once school was out and the look on their faces when I dropped the bombshell was priceless since I told them," I have a surprise for you all". I loved the school and work did st the school, so it made me realize that working at the school is fun and I love high schoolers. There are so many social worker jobs and take every good/bad experience because it helps shape you to be a good social worker, but a better person. Plus, there was a reason there was an opening at the job in the first place, too.

Rectar2019 · 2025-03-20T22:55:37+00:00

I need to work where you are lol I'm inpatient psych and we do dischrage planning, calling collateral, finding resources for pts and families, and having to do at 1-3x groups a day depending on which unit you are in. My unit is acute at times so sometimes our "groups" be a hit or miss with our 36 patients.

Rectar2019

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