Senior Social Worker

Summary

The VAMHCS Primary Care Senior Social Worker provides social work services at the Glen Burnie Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC). Services include primary health care - medicine - surgery - mental health and substance abuse treatment - home health care and geriatrics/long term care - respite - hospice - palliative care - and emergency care.

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 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
• English Language Proficiency
• Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f)
• 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
• Senior Social Worker - GS-12 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
• Preferred Experience: Preferred experience in Medical Social Work Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is a GS-12
• Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary
• It may require some lifting (10-20 lbs.) occasionally
• Reaching above shoulder
• Frequent keyboarding (4-7 hours per day)
• Sitting (4-7 hours per day)
• Walking up to 6 hours per day)
• Standing (up to 8 hours per day)
• Infrequent climbing/descending of stairs
• Some bending
• Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously
• Correctable near sighted and far sighted vision
• Hearing (Aid permitted).

Duties

• Major Duties Include: Conducts psychosocial assessments
• Requires the development of treatment plans in collaboration with the veteran/family and with the interdisciplinary treatment team
• Possesses advanced knowledge and ability to assess and treat the unique bio-psychosocial needs of returning combat veterans
• Independently performs case work and outreach - identifying and screening patients for psychosocial needs
• Coordinates community-based services - including 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
• Provides consultation services to other staff regarding the psychosocial needs of veterans and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and adherence to treatment plan
• Facilitate referrals based upon needs and eligibility
• Provides the customer with consistent information according to established policies and procedures
• Knowledge and experience in use of medical and mental health diagnoses - disabilities and treatment procedures
• Knowledge and skill in the use of word-processing - data management and other computer systems - especially those programs in use by VHA
• Consistently communicates and treats customers (veterans - their representatives - visitors - and all VA staff) in a courteous - tactful - and respectful manner
• Handles conflict and problems in dealing with the consumer constructively and appropriately
• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: 8:00 am-4:30 pm Monday- Friday 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: Ad-Hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 512-26271-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.