Senior Social Worker- Primary Care Mental Health Integration

Summary

The Senior Social Worker will advanced practice Clinical Social Work services to the population enrolled in the Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) and served by the Primary Care Mental Health Integration Team. Services include provision of high quality evaluation/assessment services - case management - clinical treatment - advocacy - and coordination of linkages and referrals to other appropriate VA or community service providers/agencies as needed by the client.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

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
• 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 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
• Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment - the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates
• 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: (a) 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
• (b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice
• (c) 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
• (d) 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
• (e) 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
• Preferred Experience
• Experience in providing brief therapeutic interventions - experience in working in a primary care setting - experience in health psychology/behavioral medicine
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12
• Physical Requirements: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation - see Duties section for essential job duties of the position
• May require standing - lifting - carrying - sitting - stooping - bending - pulling and pushing
• May be required to wear personal protective equipment and undergo annual TB screening or testing as conditions of employment
• Work Environment: Work is performed in an office/clinic setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions
• the area is adequately lighted - heated and ventilated
• However - the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations.

Duties

• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The Senior Social Worker will demonstrates effectiveness in assessing for problems or concerns unique to patient population status as military veterans while independently - or in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team - family members and significant others - arriving at a reasoned diagnosis of patient problems and needs
• The goal of the assessment is to highlight the veteran's strengths - limitations - and internal/external supports and service needs in order to optimize the veteran's functional status
• The incumbent demonstrates an understanding of the range of treatment and skills needed for all adult patients including geriatric patients related to their physical limitations - psychological needs and age associated illnesses and conditions
• It is the responsibility of the social worker - working within the interdisciplinary treatment team to develop a treatment plan with the veteran based on this assessment
• The initial assessment will be completed at the time of the veteran's first visit for PC/MHI services
• The social worker is responsible for educating the veteran and/or caregiver of the available services and assisting them in establishing appropriate referrals when PC/MHI based services are assessed to be inappropriate or brief intervention approaches are found to be inadequate after trial
• The decision about referral will be collaborative and reflect consideration of the veteran's preference or that of his surrogate decision-maker
• Duties include but are not limited to: PC-MHI Clinical Practice: Conduct functional assessments - based on 30-minute appointments and will triage/refer to specialty care services as appropriate
• Applies principals of population-based care (defines role and identifies problems rapidly)
• Majority of all appointments are less than 30 minutes
• Uses brief assessments routinely (e.g. - PHQ-9 - PCL - AUDIT C - etc.) Documentation skills Writes clear concise notes - generally 1⁄2-1 page long - with explicit impression - recommendations and plan for PCP use Notes document curbside consultation results
• Notes are completed within 24 hours
• Consultation Skills Routinely Consults with PCPs and other PACT team members about plan of care for patients
• Conducts effective curbside consultations
• Integrates within primary care team and works closely in collaboration with PACT team - Attends PACT meetings and daily huddles
• Administration Serves on Medical Center or Healthcare System - VISN - and/or National VA committees or task forces - as endorsed by supervisors
• Participates in Social Work privileging - educational and peer review activities - in accord with Social Work and medical center policies
• Participates as a non-voting member of the medical staff - in accord with medical staff by-laws
• Academic/Teaching/Training Supervises psychology practicum students in accord with training program policies and accrediting agency requirements
• Provides staff and student didactic training and consultation as requested in content areas of scholarly and/or clinical expertise
• May supervise or train allied health providers in accord with facility and regulatory standards regarding such training
• Research / Program Evaluation May participate in program evaluation and/or research activities
• Work Schedule: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm - Monday - Friday - subject to change based upon the needs of the facility Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay - a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade)
• Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior [work experience] or military service experience
• Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child
• Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment - full time employees with a total family income below $144 -000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 1005-F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, providing care at 1,321 health care facilities, including 172 VA Medical Centers and 1,138 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics) to over 9 million Veterans enrolled in the VA health care program. VHA Medical Centers provide a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy. In addition, most of our medical centers offer additional medical and surgical specialty services including audiology & speech pathology, dermatology, dental, geriatrics, neurology, oncology, podiatry, prosthetics, urology, and vision care. Some medical centers also offer advanced services such as organ transplants and plastic surgery.