• Job Description

  Req#: 769416800
  The full-time social worker is based within the Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP) in the Primary Mental Health Section (North or South). The incumbent in this position independently provides an array of case management, longitudinal care coordination, and clinical psychotherapy/recovery services.
  
  Duties
  
  
  Major Duties Include, but are not limited to:
  
  The social worker functions in accordance with the policies, principles, professional ethics, and techniques of accepted Social Work practice to include the National Association of Social Work, professional licensing code, and state laws. Additional guides are available in the form of Veterans Health Administration directives, program guides, bulletins, and circulars, HCS memoranda, medical staff by-laws; applicable labor-management bargaining
  agreements; and external accreditation agencies utilized by the VA HCS. Incumbent is expected to independently practice and work as part of a multidisciplinary team model. This is not a supervisory position.
  
  Direct clinical and associated administrative responsibilities include:
  
  
  Requirements
  
  
  
  
  Qualifications
  
  
  Basic Requirements:
  • Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States.
  • English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed.
  • 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 Master of Social Work.
  • Licensure. 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.
  GS-9 Experience. GS-9 is the entry level grade for the GS-185 social work series and is used for social workers with less than one year of post-MSW experience and for social workers who are not yet licensed or certified at the independent practice level. Social workers at the GS-9 level are working toward completion of prerequisites for licensure or certification.
  
  Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
  • Ability to work with Veterans and family members from various socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, educational, and other diversified backgrounds utilizing counseling skills.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies.
  • 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.
  GS-11 Experience, Education, and Licensure. This is the full performance level of the position and requires an Experience/Education and a Licensure component. Experience/Education: Completion of a minimum of one (1) year of post-MSW degree 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) OR a doctoral degree in social work from a school of social work may be substituted for the required one (1) year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting. AND Licensure: Licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level is required.
  
  Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
  • Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services.
  • Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, educational and other diversified backgrounds.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  Physical Requirements: Must be in overall good health, able to sit at a desk working at a computer, engage in light to moderate physical activity including sitting, walking, bending, and carrying supplies. Social Worker must be able to perform primarily light and sedentary duties with occasionally moderate physical demands, exercise patience, and control emotions, with reasonable accommodation if necessary, without endangering the health and safety of the social worker or others. Position requires walking throughout the clinic and/or Medical Center, standing for extended periods of time, and involves sitting at a computer and in counsel and consultation with Veterans and interdisciplinary teams. Position may require some travel into the community to meet with community agencies and partners who aid and support the ECHCS and its Veterans. This position also requires close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; extensive reading;
  and repetitive motions of the wrists, hands, and/or fingers.
  
  References: VA Handbook 5005, Appendix G39. Social Worker Qualification Standard, GS-185.

• About the company

  The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with integrating life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 1700 VA medical centers and outpatient clinics located throughout the country.

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