Summary

The Medicine Services Senior Social Worker is assigned to the Durham VA Health Care System's Medical Center. Their primary responsibilities are to provide clinical evidence-based services and interventions; program development; caregiver - Veteran and staff education on placement goals; community outreach; resource development; continuous quality-improvement activities and evaluation/consultation with collaboration with the multidisciplinary medical team.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f)
• Education: Candidates must have a master's degree in social work from a school of social work fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).Graduates of schools of social work that are in candidacy status do not meet this requirement until the School of Social Work is fully accredited
• A doctoral degree in social work may not be substituted for the master's degree in social work
• Verification of the degree can be made by going to http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a masters of social work
• Licensure: Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-0185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level
• Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/
• Grandfathering Provision: May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria)
• Grade Determinations: Senior Social Worker - GS-12 Experience/Education: The candidate must have at least two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which - one year must be equivalent to the GS-11 grade level
• Senior social workers have experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment
• Senior social workers are experts in their specialized area of practice
• Senior social workers may have certification or other post-masters training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship or equivalent supervised professional experience in a specialty
• Licensure/Certification: Senior social workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which included an advanced generalist or clinical examination - unless they are grandfathered by the state in which they are licensed to practice at the advanced practice level (except for licenses issued in California - which administers its own clinical examination for advanced practice) and they must be able to provide supervision for licensure
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities: In addition to the experience above - candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations
• This includes individual - group - and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management
• Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice
• Knowledge in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area - utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes
• Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in the service delivery area - as well as role modeling effective social work practice skills
• Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the social work profession - and to write policies - procedures - and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area
• The full performance level of this vacancy is 12
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12
• References: VA Handbook 5005 - Part II - Appendix G39 - Dated September 10 - 2019
• Physical Requirements: The physical demands of this position involve primarily walking - talking - driving - use of the telephone - etc
• Strenuous physical activity is not required although the incumbent is expected to withstand pressure and stress as part of their daily activities
• Light lifting and carrying - under 15 pounds
• Hearing aid permitted as needed.

Duties

• VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU VA Careers - Licensed Clinical Social Worker: https://youtube.com/embed/U_xC25QsN0w Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf Social Work: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Social-Worker-Career-Flyer.pdf Specific duties include but are not limited to: Clinical Consultation - The Medicine Services Senior Social Worker serves as a subject matter expert in relation to discharge planning - barriers to placement - complexities of family dynamics - and ethical practice within inpatient wards
• The incumbent will serve as one of the practice leads for Social Workers practicing at lower grades and those without independent level of Social Work licensure
• Treatment Planning/Goal Setting - The Medicine Services Senior Social Worker utilizes expert skills in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used with the chronically ill patient populations and incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment
• Referral to service providers - To facilitate the continuity of care and to optimize recovery - the Medicine Services Senior Social Worker arranges appropriate referrals to a variety of VA and/or community resources (e.g. - home health care - assisted living facilities - extended care facilities/nursing homes - services available through area agencies on aging - community support groups - community-based extended care)
• Resource Usage/Development - The Medicine Services Senior Social Worker possesses advanced knowledge and expertise in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area - utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services
• Advocacy - The Medicine Services Senior Social Worker advocates for Veterans to ensure that they have access to necessary care and resources within VA and in the community
• By availing the Veteran of their choices in complex decisions - and by guiding the Veteran through complicated enrollment procedures and bureaucratic processes - the Medicine Services Senior Social Worker optimizes outcomes for Veterans
• Crisis Intervention - The Medicine Services Senior Social Worker assists in mitigating any medical or psychiatric crises arising in presenting Veterans - within the scope of social work practice - and participates in developing crisis management and safety plans to minimize the event of future crises
• Education/Health promotion and prevention - The Medicine Services Senior Social Worker provides formal and informal education to the patient/family about VA and community resources - options for transplant through both private hospital and VA settings - VA entitlement programs - as well as VA benefits and Advance Directives/Living Will
• Process improvement -The Senior Social Worker independently evaluates their own practice through participation in professional peer review case conferences or other organized methods
• They participate in activities that solicit feedback from patients and works to enhance patient/customer satisfaction
• Work Schedule: Sunday-Thursday - 9:00am-5:30pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized Telework: Not eligible for telework Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required