The Social Worker is assigned to Mental Health Service line at the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center or a Community based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) and will provide Mental Health Services. Services to Veterans in Carl Vinson Medical Center or CBOC include provision of high-quality case management, individual and group therapy, clinical treatment, crisis intervention, advocacy, coordination of linkages to other appropriate VA or community service providers/agencies, as needed by the client. Basic Requirements: Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. 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 (MSW) 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. Please note: A doctoral degree in social work may not be substituted for the master's degree in social work. Licensure. Licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level. English Language Proficiency. Social workers must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Regulations. 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). Must pass a background check. Grade Requirements: GS-11 Social Worker Assignments. This is the full performance level for social workers. GS-11 social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work. They are assigned to all program areas, including inpatient or outpatient medicine, surgery, mental health, neurology, rehabilitation medicine, and geriatrics. Employees provide professional, independent social work services in the assigned area. Experience, Education and Licensure. Promotion to the GS-11 full performance level requires completion of a minimum of 1 year of post-MSW degree experience in the field of health care social work (VA or non-VA experience) and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level. OR, In addition to meeting basic requirements, a doctoral degree in social work from a school of social work may be substituted for the required 1 year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the KSAs below. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities 1. Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services. 2. 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. 3. 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. 4. 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. 5. 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. References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39, Social Worker Qualification Standard. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is a GS-11. Physical Requirements: Physical demands of the work are generally minor. The work is primarily sedentary. There is some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of light items such as papers, files, manuals and records. For additional information on Physical Standards please see VA Directive and Handbook 5019. http://www.va.gov/vapubs/ Preferred Experience: LCSW licensure preferred ["***This is an open continuous announcement. Certificates of eligible applicants will be issued as vacancies exist. Each location listed may or may not have a current vacant position. Clinical Functions (95%) Screening/Assessment - The Social Worker will develop a thorough psychosocial assessment of the veteran in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team, the veteran and family members/significant others. The goal of the psychosocial 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. This includes assessing the Veteran's learning needs regarding mental health issues as well as other problems including substance abuse, psychiatric and medical disorders. The social worker must possess working knowledge and experience in use of medical and mental health diagnosis, disabilities and treatment procedures, including acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology. Treatment Planning/Goal Setting - The Social Worker is responsible for contributing to the development of the treatment plan and setting achievable treatment goals with the veteran, family members/significant others and other Outpatient Mental Health clinical staff. The Social Worker must facilitate discharge planning through collaboration with Veteran and their families as well as inter disciplinary treatment ream members to ensure that appropriate discharge plans are executed in a timely manner. 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 family members/significant others of the available services and assisting them in establishing the appropriate referrals based on the veteran's preference or that of his 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 family members/caregiver. When appropriate and feasible, the Social Worker will educate and encourage the veteran to advocate on his/her own behalf, thus fostering a sense of independence and empowerment. Performs other clinical duties as assigned. Administrative Responsibilities (5%) The Social Worker is responsible for supporting the mission, policies and procedures of the Department of Veteran Affairs, The Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the appropriate Integrated Service Network (VISN) and the facility. The Social Worker will enter all Veteran/family 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 veteran 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 (i.e. team meetings, Social Work staff meetings, Social Work supervision meetings, committee meetings, workgroups, etc., as appropriate) 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. The Social Worker will participate in activities that obtain feedback from clients and work to enhance services as needed. The social worker will maintain a level of productivity and quality consistent with the complexity of the assignment and consistent with social work standard, Joint Commission standards and facility standards. This social worker is responsible for furthering one's own professional growth through continuing education and for ensuring education is appropriate to the area of assignment. The social worker is able to provide assistance with the orientation and learning of all experienced social workers and, if interested, to serve as a preceptor for social work students. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday; 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Recruitment Incentives: Authorized for external applicants only. Relocation Incentives: May be authorized for all applicants. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]
The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, providing care at 1,321 health care facilities, including 172 VA Medical Centers and 1,138 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics) to over 9 million Veterans enrolled in the VA health care program. VHA Medical Centers provide a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy. In addition, most of our medical centers offer additional medical and surgical specialty services including audiology & speech pathology, dermatology, dental, geriatrics, neurology, oncology, podiatry, prosthetics, urology, and vision care. Some medical centers also offer advanced services such as organ transplants and plastic surgery.
