The Senior Social Worker functions as a member of the Primary Care Behavioral Health team within the Behavioral Health Service at VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System (VASNHS); may be located at the VA Medical Center or an outpatient primary care clinic. The PCHB team directly supports the behavioral health needs of the Patient Aligned Clinical Team(s) (PACT) within the Primary Care Service.
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 tohttp://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a Master 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 tohttp://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. 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). Grandfathering Provision. The following is the standard grandfathering policy for all title38 hybrid qualification standards. Please carefully review the qualification standard to determine the specific education and/or licensure/certification/registration requirements that apply to this occupation.(1)All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all of the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:(2)Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure or certification, may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.(3)Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.(4)Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all of the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.(5)If an employee who was retained in an occupation listed in 38 U.S.C. § 7401(3) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. NOTE: If social workers covered under the grandfathering provision of the 1991 Federal law regarding licensure or certification of VHA social workers leave the GS- 0185 social work series, they lose the grandfathering protection. If they choose to return at a later date to the GS-0185 series, they must be licensed or certified to qualify for employment as a 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. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: In accordance with VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services.
PCBH provides immediate, direct, and onsite access for behavioral health consultation, assessment, and mental health treatment as clinically indicated. Treatment interventions offered by the Senior Social Worker in PCBH are short-term and occur within the primary care setting. Senior Social Worker will work in conjunction with other PCBH team members to fully address the needs of the Veterans. As a Senior Social Worker they conduct psychological assessments and diagnoses mental health disorders based on DSM-5 criteria; treat mental health disorders through a variety of approved and evidence-based modalities; and provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of mental health disorders. Among the modalities that may be provided are individual, family, and/or group psychotherapies and others as approved by VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System. Duties may include but are not limited to: Conducts initial and comprehensive psychosocial assessments of Veterans referred by the Primary Care providers. They review all data, subjective and objective, and makes a clinical assessment, identifying needs and strengths. Effectively uses professional skill, objectivity, and insight. Uses clinical training and experience to interpret data and to identify viable treatment options. Assesses high risk factors, acuity and need for services. Based on a comprehensive assessment, the Senior Social Worker uses professional judgment and advanced practical skills to make a clinical diagnosis and prognosis. Treatment provided by the Senior Social Worker will be short-term, problem focused, and part of the care provided by the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT). Provides insightful assessment of cases involving mental health diagnoses, catastrophic medical conditions, dementia, and other high-risk diagnoses and determines if effective treatment can be provided with a short-term intervention or requires a longer-term intervention. Those cases requiring longer term treatment as determined by the Senior Social Worker will initially or later be referred to BHIP or other specialty programs for such treatment, Conducts mental health assessments, utilizes standardized instruments in the assessment of mental health conditions, and makes DSM-5 diagnoses, screens for substance abuse, tobacco use, and mental health disorders. Coordinates and provides mental health treatment for Veterans assigned to PACT; actively contributes and communicates with their PACT teams regarding goals, objectives, and interventions for psychosocial and clinical treatment; and recommends adjustments to the Veterans treatment plans and interventions based on any changing needs and/or responses to interventions. Provides short-term individual, family, and group therapy services in accordance with the needs identified in the assessment and treatment plan. Collects and disseminates information about referral resources and services; provides care management and coordination services including admissions and discharge planning services; coordinates care with community resources; appropriately and accurately documents in computerized medical record; adheres to Veterans' rights and Veteran advocacy responsibilities; adheres to HIPPA and privacy regulations and VHA Directives related to release of information. Participates actively in Performance Improvement (PI) activities. Participates fully in peer review, assessing the quality of professional social work practice standards provided in the organization. Fully accountable for practice, including Veteran visits, measuring outcomes to interventions, and meeting productivity standards. Responsible for identification of patient problems requiring consultation with other multi-disciplinary medical center staff and making appropriate referrals. Serves as a consultant, liaison, and point of contact for programs within Behavioral Health Service, throughout the hospital, and within the community. Participates in a variety of meetings as directed by the Associate Chief of Staff, Behavioral Health and/or PCMHI Program Manager/Coordinator. Participates in education/CME lectures, research, specialty care programs, and/or clinics as assigned by the Associate Chief of Staff, Behavioral Health or Executive Leadership. Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday - Friday (schedule days/times discussed during interview) Compressed Schedule: Authorized Telework: Authorized (Ad hoc) Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 00953F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized