Incumbent serves as program coordinator and administratively responsible for the following clinical programs providing treatment to Veterans in Geriatric & Extended Care Service line - Community Nursing Home and Institutional Respite. They are also responsible for all Community Nursing Home Program's monthly Social Work assessments and visits providing high quality case management, clinical treatment, advocacy, and linkage with appropriate VA and community service providers/agencies as needed.
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. 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 SW Licensure Summary by State. Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). 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). 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: 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. Assignments. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Senior social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced level. Senior social workers typically practice in a major program area such as but not limited to: Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center or Polytrauma Network Site; a Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Center, or a national VHA referral center, such as a national Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or a national Transplant Center, or other program areas of equivalent scope and complexity. The senior social worker may be assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. Assignments include clinical settings where they have limited access to onsite supervision such as CBOCs or satellite outpatient clinics. The senior social worker collaborates with the other members of the treatment team in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans, ensures equity of access, service, and benefits to this population, ensures the care provided is of the highest quality. The senior social worker provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned social work staff. They serve on committees, work groups, and task forces at the facility, VISN and national level, or in the community as deemed appropriate by the supervisor, Social Work Executive or Chief of Social Work Services. This assignment is to be relatively few in number based on the size of the facility/service and applying sound position management. This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and cannot be used as the full performance level of this occupation. Preferred Experience: Preferred 2 years geriatric medicine 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 Physical Requirements: The work is partially sedentary. The work is a combination of sitting, standing, walking, reaching, bending and carrying, as well as working at a computer with the usual discomforts and risks associated with the same. The work will require driving GSA vehicles for home assessments and Community Nursing Home evaluations. The work will involve some travel between clinic sites and into veterans' homes. The incumbent is occasionally asked to travel to a distant VA, training site or conference location.
VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU FUNCTIONS OR SCOPE OF ASSIGNED DUTIES: Administers information and analytical systems to evaluate and enhance the quality of service provided to patients. Develops and implements information systems to track service activities including consults, patient census, budget obligations, allocations, and patient satisfaction. Develops implements and evaluates clinical guidelines and protocols to establish appropriate utilization of services. Performs a wide range of services and provides technical assistance to State, local, and private agencies, and universities. Technical assistance provided is based on monitoring activities and program reviews, and the development and analysis of information. In addition, the incumbent uses sound judgement in the interpretation of trends and patterns; the application of guidelines; and the recommendation of program enhancements. Performs program analysis, development, review, research, design, and contact work with various agencies (public, DOD, state, etc.). The social worker will assume primary responsibility for management of the CNH Review Team, as well as the CNH Program Oversight Committee. The social worker will monitor nursing home performance via multiple community and federal resources, incident and/or complaint reports by both CNH staff, as well as the state, and CNH staff reports regarding the status of Veterans, facility staff, and care. The social worker will be responsible for documentation of oversight, including monthly stop light, quarterly, and annual reports. The social worker will work with facility management and staff to address questions and concerns, as well as decisions regarding stop light status. This may include face-to-face meetings to facilitate better communication and improvement in care provision. The social worker will develop an assessment of the Veteran in collaboration with the CNH staff, the Veteran, family members, and significant others, whenever possible. The social worker is responsible for developing a psychosocial treatment plan and setting achievable treatment goals with the Veteran and/or family. The social worker establishes a continuing relationship with the CNH and Veteran, as well as involved family members, evaluating progress towards goals and adjusting the treatment plan as appropriate. The social worker monitors progress, maintains comprehensive documentation, ensures expert diagnosis and treatment of clinical disorders, and shows competent discretion in decisions to adjust treatment. The social worker will reassess Veterans in the CNH setting on a regular basis to ensure they are receiving the appropriate level of services and remain in need of program support. The CNH social worker will provide Veterans and their caregivers ongoing supportive counseling. The purpose of such counseling is to deal with the psychosocial impact of coping with chronic and/or disabling illness(es), onset of catastrophic illness and/or dying, and need for non-institutional or institutional services as needed during the Veteran's enrollment in the CNH Program. The social worker will serve as a liaison between CNH providers, VA staff, and the Veteran and/or family. The social worker is the subject matter expert on other VA and/or community resources. The social worker will collaborate with other service providers in reassessing the Veteran's needs for non-institutional, institutional services and/or programs, and entitlements. The social worker is responsible for educating the Veteran and/or caregiver of the available services and assisting them in establishing the appropriate referrals based on the Veteran's preference or that of the surrogate decision-maker. The social worker understands the intimidation of bureaucracy and will act as an advocate when it serves the best interest of the Veteran and/or family. When appropriate and feasible, the social worker will educate and encourage the Veteran and/or family to advocate on their own behalf, thus fostering a sense of independence and empowerment. The social worker is experienced in making rapid assessments and developing crisis management plans to maintain the patient in the home, for admission to acute, short-term and/or long-term placements. The social worker has access to multiple resource directories in addition to previously developed resources to meet the demands of a crisis. In the event of a medical or psychiatric emergency, staff will follow the protocol of the CNH Program. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 00000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized