I worked at a dialysis corporation for a few years in my career. We occasionally had large group social worker meetings that employees from the corporate office sometimes came to present. Often when Corporate came, they would talk about finances and insurance billing and the cost of doing business. Virtually every time, the corporate employee would say something like “as social workers, you all just want to help people and you don’t really understand or care about the money aspect.” It always felt very condescending like there was some deficiency with social workers because we care about helping individuals and that we all weren’t quite sophisticated enough to understand the reality of business.
Social Workers are actually extremely proficient at understanding how systems work and that nothing exists in a vacuum. When we look at the big picture it is easy to see how there is a business aspect to social work. Not only is money involved in how we can provide our services, we will work for businesses – our own or someone else’s. This will necessitate understanding business or management information.
Chances are – if you are good at your job – you will be asked to take on more responsibilities – probably become someone who manages people. The thing, though, just because you are a good social worker does not mean you automatically have the skills to be a good leader or manager. Your social work skills help you but there is a whole new world to learn. Maybe you dream of owning your own private practice. In both of these scenarios, you will have to develop skills that hone your business sense. If you know you want to own your own business or become a manager or director of some type, you may want to look at school programs that also have social service slanted business classes. (Some schools even have MSW/MBA programs.) Many MSW programs do not have classes on social service management. My MSW program only had one class focusing on the business aspect of social work.
Although I absolutely love the clinical aspect of my job, I think I am happiest with managing a staff at my current corporate job and also immensely enjoy running my private practice. The business aspect of social work is my favorite. Below is a mishmash of my thoughts on the business part of social work.
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ective because we look at the person in the environment – we look at the whole person and the systems within which they interact. We also are strengths-based practitioners, so we help clients find the positives they can build on. When I realized that I didn’t have to fit some preconceived mold to be a private practice therapist and identified and valued my own clinical skills – I embraced having a private practice and currently it is my favorite work as a social worker. If you are thinking of starting your own private practice sometime in the future, here are some things you can work on now during your journey.
Happy New Year!