Duties

Summary

The Geriatric Psychiatry (Geri-Psych) and Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) Social Worker is responsible for intake psychosocial assessments on Veteran patients new to both the Geri-Psych and ECT programs.
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Responsibilities

Duties include but are not limited to:

The Social Worker independently completes psychosocial assessments. Develops treatment plans in collaboration with the Veteran/family and with the interdisciplinary treatment team. Incumbent possesses the skills to offer psychosocial interventions and measures outcomes to interventions.

Identifies high-risk patients through psychosocial assessments and other assessment tools. Incumbent provides crisis intervention services, seeking to address the cause as well as the presenting complaint, coordinates family conferences and serves as liaison to family members.

Manages consults as appropriate, ensures timely access to care for Veteran patients.

Working knowledge and experience in use of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities and treatment procedures. This includes acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology.

Provides case management services. Knowledge and familiarity with local, State and Federal benefits and assists with applications as necessary. Provides other concrete social work tasks to include referrals for housing, transportation, and food as needed. May schedule discharge appointments and coordinate transportation. Provides case management for Veterans at intake and/or when being referred to the program, as appropriate..

Network both internally and externally to the facility and coordinate community-based services as may be necessary; this may include information and referral for additional services from other VA programs, other government programs and community agency programs.

Establishes and maintains effective therapeutic relationships with Veterans and their families. Incumbent is able to independently work with patients and families who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical and social problems utilizing individual, group and family counseling and therapy skills.

Assesses for suicide risk at various points in the Veteran's treatment using the required screening and assessment tools, completes Safety Plans as appropriate and clinically indicated, and seeks consultation and team feedback for patients deemed to be at high risk for suicide.

Review and complete, as necessary, Advance Directives and Psychiatric Advance Directive, and other Clinical Reminders, sending documents through the appropriate channels and into the medical records.

Function as a critical part of the Geri Psych and ECT teams and promotes and facilitates healthy communication for optimal patient care.

May participate in the education and supervision of social work graduate students and training.

The GS 12 social worker has the ability to provide consultation services to other staff about the psychosocial needs of patients and the impact of psychosocial problems on healthcare and compliance with treatment.

Ability to independently evaluate his/her own practice through participation in professional peer review case conferences, research studies, or other organized means.

The Senior Social Worker serves as a provider for the VAMHCS Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

Other duties as assigned or required.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Travel Required

Occasional travel - VAMHCS facilities for trainings, as indicated

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
None

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to a background/security investigation
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

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.
• Education: Have a master's degree in social work (MSW) 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.
• Licensure: Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level. For this grade level, applicants must be licensed at the advanced practice level.
• English Language Proficiency: Social workers must be proficient in spoke and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j.

Grade Determinations: Senior Social Workers have experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment. At least two years should be in an area of specialized social work practice. Senior social workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which included an ASWB 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). 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.

In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the professional KSAs listed below:

1. 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.

2. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

References: VA Handbook 5005/23, Part II, Appendix G39The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12.

Physical Requirements: Use of fingers; Near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4; Hearing (aid permitted); Clear Speech. The environment involves everyday risks and discomforts which require normal safety precautions typical of offices, patient rooms, and in general, the medical center. It also involves normal risks associated with a medical center, including exposure to contagious diseases and disturbed patients.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application. Must clearly show it is an *official copy. *Can be a personal copy, if selected you will be required to provide official sealed copy from school to credentialing office.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/ . If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html .

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

If you are unable to apply online view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application .

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, résumé, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

Trust determination process
Credentialing , Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

All applicants are required to submit the following supporting document type(s):

• Resume - which must include: Details of duties performed, Month & year start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008), Hours worked per week; and Salary for each job. This information is necessary to determine level and length of Specialized Experience. We cannot make assumptions regarding your experience.
• License - All applicants must submit a copy/verification of licensure for the advanced practice level.
• VA Form 10-2850c - Application for Associated Health Occupations (REQUIRED FOR ALL APPLICANTS, FAILURE TO SUBMIT WILL RESULT IN REMOVAL FROM CONSIDERATION). Available at the VA Forms website: http://www.va.gov/vaforms/search_action.asp?FormNo=10-2850&tkey=&Action=Search.
• Transcript - Personal copy showing conferred Master's in Social Work (MSW) degree.

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please use this checklist to ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• License
• VA Form 1028-50c
• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/index.aspx .

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.