This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within 4 months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply.
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 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/. 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: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. 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. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-12. Physical Requirements: Physical demands of the work are generally minor. The work is primarily sedentary, although the stress involved in dealing continually with persons in emotional distress and who may be uncooperative makes this work notably more demanding than most sedentary jobs. Requires driving.
Incumbent provides direct care social work services to Veterans with complex medical and mental health needs, who are inpatients or outpatients, when the primary social worker in that area of the medical section of social work is on leave, during periods of vacancy, or during periods of high demand for social work services. Incumbent is responsible for reviewing social work coverage needs on a daily basis and providing coverage as needed. Incumbent also serves as a consultant and subject matter expert for social work colleagues who are providing services to Veterans hospitalized in diverse acute care settings or being seen as outpatients in multiple specialty clinics. The incumbent manages the daily operations of social work services within the Medicine Section of Social Work Service, develops policies and procedures for program operation and prepares reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national use. The incumbent manages and controls the use of data related to these programs regarding day-to-day functioning, process improvement and program evaluation. Incumbent coordinates closely with the supervisory social worker for the Medicine Section of Social Work Service, the Utilization Management and Review Program, the DCOS for Acute Care Medicine, nursing case management, and the Office of Quality, Safety and Value. Incumbent provides comprehensive social work coverage and direct patient care services to multiple inpatient and outpatient medical programs at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto Division. Services are provided on inpatient acute medical and surgical units, critical care units, the Emergency Department, and multiple outpatient specialty clinics including Outpatient Surgical Services, Dialysis, and Oncology. Incumbent works independently as an advanced practice senior social worker, licensed at the advanced practice level. Incumbent engages in program activities to improve quality of care, assure appropriate utilization, and policy and program development. Incumbent develops and implements methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the medicine section of Social Work Service, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services. Incumbent demonstrates the ability to design changes based on empirical findings. Incumbent maintains accurate statistics and prepares reports within specified deadlines as required, including length of stay, admitting diagnoses, psychosocial issues delaying discharges, disposition, etc. to track trends. Incumbent can provide clinical supervision to medical social workers as well as guidance and consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in medical settings, rendering professional opinions based on experience and expertise and role modeling effective social work practice skills in acute care medicine. VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU Social Work: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Social-Worker-Career-Flyer.pdf Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8am-4:30pm