Helping The Elderly - Becoming a Social Worker for Seniors

With the numbers of seniors increasing every year with the baby boomers reaching retirement age the need for those social workers that help provide them with a variety of different services is increasing as well.

So it is important that people who are interested in helping people should consider becoming a social worker that specifically works for the older citizens of our country.

The first thing you will need to have to qualify is a bachelor's degree. This is the very first step in being able to be a social worker for senior citizens. Usually that degree would be in either human services or sociology.

You will then have to go on and get yourself a master's degree in overall social work. All states requires that a person has a master's degree in this field just to be able to get a license. During this time you will have a lot of different chances to participate in internships while you are getting your master's degree, some of the places you should consider doing this at is at nursing homes, senior centers or other organizations that work with older people in your area.

Many states are going to require that you also have completed a certain amount of hours in the field after you get your degree but before you get your license. This is supervised experience such as working with an organization that works with older clients.

After you have done this you will then have to move on and take the National Social Work exam. This exam is given by the ASWB or Association of Social Work Boards. This exam is the only way that you can get your license to become a social worker.

After you have passed your exam, you can then go a head and put in your application to get your license from your state. If you decide that you want to practice in a different state than where you got your education you will need to go there and apply with them because each state has their own application requirements.

So it is really important that you check with whatever state you are interested in working in, to see what kinds of documentation will be needed in order for you to apply for your license with them.

Once you have done all of this and you have gotten your license in hand, it is time for you to start looking for a place that you can work with senior citizens. You can work at a variety of different places once you have your license. There are hospitals, assisted living facilities, nursing hospitals, state agencies and other community organizations that are in need of social workers to help represent the needs of their elderly citizens.

One final note: A major requirement for a person to get their license as a social worker is their ability to pass a criminal background check as well as a regular background check.