The Social Worker is assigned to inpatient care teams, providing a range of social work services for Veterans admitted to medical, surgical, critical, and specialty care units. Services include psychosocial screening and assessment, discharge planning, care, health education, advanced health care planning, and supportive counseling. The Social Worker works with the Emergency Department, Patient Aligned Care Team, Inpatient Acute Care Teams, and other administrative and clinical departments.
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: The basic requirements for employment as a VHA social worker are prescribed by statute in 38 U.S.C. § 7402(b)(9), as amended by section 205 of Public Law 106-419, enacted November 1, 2000. To qualify for appointment as a social worker in VHA, all applicants must meet the following: a. Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g this part). b. 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. c. 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/. d. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services. e. 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: Social Worker, GS-9 (1) Experience, Education, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements. (2) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Ability to utilize a Veteran centric approach when providing interventions and counseling for Veterans, their family members, caregivers, and survivors.(b) Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veterans problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed. (c) Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups to achieve treatment goals. This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving, or crisis intervention techniques. (d) Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies. (e) Fundamental knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures. This includes acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries; common medications and their effects/side effects; and medical terminology. (3) Entry Level- Assignments. Individuals assigned as GS-9 grade level social workers are considered to be at the entry level and are closely supervised, as they are not yet functioning at the independent practice level conferred by independent licensure or certification. Social workers at the GS-9 entry level are typically assigned to program areas that do not require specialized knowledge or experience. Duties may include but are not limited to: identifying behaviors or symptoms of abuse, neglect or exploitation; providing education on advance directives and advanced care planning; providing social work case management; acting as an advocate with appropriate VA and community service providers/agencies when it serves the best interest of the Veteran and family members/caregiver. Social Worker, GS-11(1) Experience and Licensure. Appointment to the GS-11 grade level requires completion of a minimum of one year of post-MSW experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the field of health care or other social work-related settings, (VA or non VA experience) and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level. NOTE: For appointment licensure or certification at this level please refer to paragraph 3c. OR (2) Education. In addition to meeting basic requirements, a doctoral degree in social work from a school of social work may be substituted for the required one year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting. (3) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services. (b) Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic, educational, and other backgrounds. (c) Knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities and treatment procedures (i.e. acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology) to formulate a treatment plan. (d) Skill in independently implementing different treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical, and social problems to achieve treatment goals. (e) Ability to provide consultation services to new social workers, social work graduate students, and other staff about the psychosocial needs of patients and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and compliance with treatment. Full Performance Level Assignments. This is the full performance level. Social workers at this level are licensed or certified to independently practice social work. Incumbents are assigned to all program areas, including but not limited to: inpatient or outpatient medicine, surgery, mental health, neurology, rehabilitation medicine, and geriatrics. Employees provide professional, independent social work services in the assigned area. Duties include but are not limited to: assessing and documenting identified behaviors or symptoms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and/or intimate partner violence; use of clinical social work skills and knowledge to maintain Veteran privacy and confidentiality per policies, handbooks or directives; and acts as an advocate with appropriate VA and community service providers and agencies when it serves the best interest of the Veteran and family members/caregiver. 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-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-9 to GS-11.
VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU Screening/Assessment - The social worker will develop an assessment of the Veteran in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team, the Veteran, family members, and significant others. 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. The incumbent must have an understanding of the problems of advancing age and respect for the diversification of the aging Veteran population, being sensitive to human growth and development, age-appropriate needs and concerns of the geriatric Veteran, and be able to provide current and advanced techniques to the treatment of this Veteran population. 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 as specified by the policy for the assigned work area. An initial patient assessment is required as well as reassessments as defined in policy. Discharge Planning/Treatment Planning/Goal Setting - The social worker is responsible for developing the discharge plan, treatment plan, and setting achievable treatment goals with the Veteran and/or family/caregiver. The plan will be updated on a regular basis or more frequently if there is a change in the patient's condition or needs. Referral to Service Providers - Throughout the course of treatment the social worker is the subject matter expert on VA and/or community resources. The social worker will collaborate with other service providers in reassessing the Veteran's needs. 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. Resource Usage/Development - The social worker is responsible for using the current social work resource file of VA and community social service programs and enhancing the content to the benefit of Veterans. The social worker will refer the Veteran to needed services. Advocacy - 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/caregiver. When appropriate and feasible, the social worker will educate and encourage the Veteran and/or family/caregiver to advocate on their behalf, thus fostering a sense of independence and empowerment. Crisis Intervention - The social worker is experienced in making rapid assessments and developing crisis management plans for admission to mental health inpatient programs. The social worker has access to multiple resources in addition to previously developed resources to meet the demands of a crisis. Education/Health Promotion and Prevention - The social worker provides education related to VA and community resources, entitlements, Advance Directives/Living Will, and will refer Veterans and/or family/caregiver to the appropriate interdisciplinary team member for identified health education needs. Supportive Counseling - The social worker will provide the Veteran and family/caregiver with ongoing, supportive counseling. The purpose of such counseling is to deal with the psychosocial impact of coping with acute, chronic, and/or disabling illness, and/or the onset of a catastrophic illness. Administrative Responsibilities - The social worker will enter all Veteran and family/caregiver contacts in the electronic record using appropriate formats and templates. This information will be entered in a complete, confidential, and professional manner to ensure information on the patient is shared with other VA staff. This information will be reviewed on a regular basis. The social worker will establish and maintain positive working relationships with employees, volunteers, consumers, and stakeholders within the VA and outside community agencies. The social worker will attend all appropriate staff meetings (interdisciplinary treatment team meetings, social work staff meetings, and other committees as appropriate, etc.) and perform other duties as required. The social worker will collaborate in the performance improvement processes and comply with performance measures as required by the VA for their specific population and/or program. Work Schedule: M-F: 7:30am- 4:00pm OR M-F: 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized