Geriatric social workers: An exploration of job satisfaction, strengths, and motivation for continued care for older adults

The older adult population in the U.S. is expected to double from 35 million to 70 million by 2030. This increase in the number of older adults may be problematic for health care professionals such as social workers, physicians, and nurses. Licensed social workers, in particular, are understaffed to care for an increased number of older adults. The social work profession must recruit and retain individuals qualified and satisfied to meet the needs of the older adult population.; In order to attract more geriatric social workers, it is important to understand why social workers enter geriatric social work, what they enjoy about this specialty area, and why they continue to work with older adults. Findings show that social workers entered geriatric social work based on positive exposure throughout their lives to active, older adults. Further, geriatric social workers are satisfied with the personal growth and development they receive from working with older adults. They also enjoy their professional responsibilities including patient care activities and community involvement. Many participants report staying in geriatrics because of the opportunity to work with this generation.; Geriatric social workers do, however, experience challenges in their jobs placing them at risk for dissatisfaction and burnout, which negatively affect their emotional, mental, and physical well-being. Good social support from supervisors, colleagues, and multidisciplinary teams were found as important mediating factors as well as family, friends, and spirituality. Individuals who feel well supported are buffered to a degree from the negative affects of dissatisfaction and burnout. Social capital theory helps to explain this phenomenon. Social capital includes the social networks which provide individuals with protective health factors via relationships built on trust, achievement of common goals, and enhanced access to resources. This study found that those geriatric social workers with high levels of social capital were better able to deal with the challenges of their jobs. Developing multidisciplinary supportive networks appears beneficial to geriatric social workers. It is an important way to help in the retention of social workers in the field of aging.