The Licensed Clinical Social Worker provides Mental Health services to the Veteran population enrolled throughout the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System. Services include facilitation of psycho social assessments and provision of high-quality case management, individual and group psychotherapy, clinical treatment, crisis intervention, advocacy, and coordination of referral to other appropriate VA or community services providers/agencies, as needed by the Veteran. 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. English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken & written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). 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. Grade Determinations: GS-9 Experience, Education, & Licensure: None beyond the basic requirements. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Ability to work with Veterans & family members from various socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, educational, & other diversified backgrounds utilizing counseling skills. Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning & needs of Veterans & their family members, & to formulate & implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veterans problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, & assistance needed. Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, & groups to achieve treatment goals. This requires judgment & skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving, or crisis intervention techniques. Ability to establish & maintain effective working relationships & communicate with clients, staff, & representatives of community agencies. Fundamental knowledge of medical & mental health diagnoses, disabilities, & treatment procedures. This includes acute, chronic, & traumatic illnesses/injuries; common medications & their effects/side effects; & medical terminology. GS-11. Experience & 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) & 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 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. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community & other governmental agencies for services, & ability to coordinate services. Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments & treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, educational & other diversified backgrounds. Knowledge of medical & mental health diagnoses, disabilities & treatment procedures (i.e. acute, chronic & traumatic illnesses/injuries, common medications & their effects/side effects, & medical terminology) to formulate a treatment plan. Skill in independently implementing different treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, & groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical, & social problems to achieve treatment goals. Ability to provide consultation services to new social workers, social work graduate students, & other staff about the psychosocial needs of patients & the impact of psychosocial problems on health care & compliance with treatment. Preferred Experience: Licensed preferred, experience providing individual, couples, and group therapy, experience providing Evidence-Based Treatments. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is 9. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of 9 to 11. Physical Requirements: Physical demands of the work are generally minor, as the position requires sitting, standing, & walking. Some travel is required as the incumbent is required to conduct monthly active outreach in the community which may require traveling long distances. The emotional demands can be stressful in working with high-risk for suicide veteran population & their families. A high level of self-awareness is essential. Work, divided between office & clinical settings, is primarily sedentary. May require prolonged standing, moderate walking, & manual dexterity. Requires carrying light items, such as books, files, or laptop computer. ["VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf Social Work: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Social-Worker-Career-Flyer.pdf Duties & skills needed to be successful in this position include, but are not limited to: Incumbent will practice within the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) code of ethics. Incumbent will develop a psychosocial assessment of the veteran in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team, the veteran & family members/significant others. The incumbent demonstrates an understanding of the range of treatment & skills needed for all adult patients, being sensitive to human growth & development, age-appropriate needs, & concerns of the veteran, & be able to provide current & advanced techniques to the treatment of this veteran population. Incumbents possess a working knowledge & experience in use of medical & mental health diagnoses: disabilities, & treatment procedures, including acute, chronic, & traumatic illnesses, common medications, & their effects/side effects; & medical terminology. Working within the interdisciplinary treatment team, the incumbent will share in the development of a treatment plan with the veteran based on this psychosocial assessment. Incumbent is responsible for contributing to the development of the treatment plan & setting achievable treatment goals with the veteran, family members/significant others & other Outpatient Mental Health clinical staff. The incumbent is also responsible for facilitating discharge planning through collaboration with Veterans & their families as well as interdisciplinary treatment team members to ensure that appropriate discharge plans are executed in a timely manner. Incumbent provides individual, family, & group psychotherapeutic treatment of mental & emotional disorders & emotional pain using evidence-based psychological methods (i.e., ACT, CBT, CPT, PE, etc.). The purpose of psychotherapeutic treatment is to address the psychosocial impact of coping with severe mental illness(es), chronic/disabling illness(es), onset of a catastrophic illness, etc. The incumbent is responsible for educating the veteran & family members/significant others of the available services & assisting them in establishing the appropriate referrals based on the veteran's preference or that of his surrogate decision-maker. Incumbent understands the intimidation of bureaucracy & will act as an advocate when it serves the best interest of the veteran & family members/caregiver. When appropriate & feasible, the incumbent will educate & encourage the veteran to advocate on his/her own behalf, thus fostering a sense of independence & empowerment. Incumbent is experienced in making rapid assessments & developing crisis management plans for admission to mental health inpatient programs. The incumbent 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 his/her respective mental health unit/program & VA Medical Eastern Colorado Healthcare System. Incumbent provides education related to VA & community resources, entitlements, Advance Directives/Living Will & will refer veterans & family members/significant others to the appropriate interdisciplinary team member for identified health education needs. Incumbent will review the progress notes from the other providers to accurately determine the strengths & limitations of each veteran. The incumbent will educate the veteran, their family members/significant other & the team of all the options available to them & will collaborate with the veteran & family members/significant other on the preferred option. Work Schedule: Monday- Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade). Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year). Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 54112, 54113"]
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.
