This website is for social work students are interested in Medical Social Work/Healthcare Social Work or established social workers who are looking to transition to the healthcare world.
My name is Tabi Lee. I have worked in the healthcare field my entire Social Work career. Over the years I have trained many social workers in the healthcare field. One thing I have noticed as that there is very few, if any, medical social work tracts in social work school.
There are a handful of MSW programs with a healthcare tract. However, there are things the program might miss that will really help you transition to the healthcare field. Additionally, if you have already your MSW, there is nothing formal for you to learn how to become a Medical Social Worker.
My Mission
My mission is to hopefully bridge the gap and help social workers gain the skills and knowledge to successfully transition to the healthcare world. It is a lucrative field, difficult to get into, but in high demand.
Medical Social Work positions often require previous healthcare experience to get into. However, if you don’t have prior healthcare experience, how are you supposed to get into this field?
I’m hoping to bring you my expertise in the medical social work world to help prepare you to become a medical social worker in any healthcare field position. I am determined to give you the skills, knowledge and confidence to get a medical social work job, and be successful in it.
My Background
A little bit about me. I obtained my Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) at Colorado State University. My interest in healthcare started in my internship for my BSW program. I completed my internship at a skilled nursing facility. After I graduated I started my first Social Work job at the same Skilled Nursing Facility I completed my internship at.
Later on I worked as a Social Services Director for an Alzheimer’s nursing home while getting my Master of Social Work (MSW). After obtaining my MSW I explored various other medical settings such Acute Hospitals, Long Term Acute Care Hospitals (LTAC), Hospice and Palliative care, and various medical specialties within the acute hospitals.
My experience and skills in Medical Social Work include:
- Oncology
- Renal and Dialysis
- Cardiology
- Neuro/Trauma
- Orthopedics
- Intensive Care Units (ICU)
- Emergency Department
- general medical/surgical
- hospice & palliative care
- Veterans care
What I Am Doing Now
Recently I have worked my way into exploring the inpatient Mental Health world. I work with individuals with intense acute mental illness that need crisis intervention and management. This has been a great experience to add to my strong medical background as a social worker.
My experience in mental health has taught me a lot about my own mental health and the mental health needs in the social work profession. In addition to providing knowledge and skills to current and aspiring social work professionals, I hope to be a strong advocate for these professionals as well.