Truman VA Medical Center is committed to Diversity and Inclusion. Together, we strive to create and maintain a working and learning environment that promotes professional growth and teamwork. We offer an inclusive, equitable, and welcoming environment where we celebrate our individual differences and unite as a team toward a common goal of providing outstanding service to our Nation's Veterans. 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 http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services. 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: (1) 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. (2) 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. (3) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:(a) 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.(b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.(c) 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.(d) 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.(e) 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. (4) 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. References: VA Handbook 5005/23, PART II, APPENDIX G39, Social Worker Qualification Standard. Physical Requirements: This position is mostly sedentary and requires walking, kneeling, bending, standing, and light lifting. ["VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU The Senior Social Worker uses advanced training and expertise to provide independent specialized assessment and treatment of Veterans who have complex and severe medical and mental illnesses, including but not limited to Substance Use Disorders, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and other Anxiety Disorders, Depressive Disorders, Traumatic Brain Injury, Cognitive Impairment Disorders, and Severe Mental Illness. Duties include, but are not limited to: Clinical Responsibilities: Psychosocial Assessment Performs comprehensive biopsychosocial assessments for Veterans and family members with complex physical and behavioral disorders to determine the nature of the presenting problem, biological, social, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral factors related to the presenting problem, and the impact of the presenting problem on the Veteran's physical, social, emotional, recreational, and occupational functioning. Diagnoses Based on the psychosocial assessment and using advanced practice expertise, incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of veteran patients, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses. Makes independent clinical diagnoses, decisions, and recommendations for agency action. Due to the complex nature of Veterans' diagnoses, the consequences of these decisions may be serious and results unpredictable. Treatment Planning Develops, implements, and documents the psychotherapeutic treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients, including prompt completion of clinical reminders. The incumbent formulates a mutually agreed upon treatment plan, which includes measurable goals, objectives, and treatment methods based upon the psychological assessment. The treatment plan is used to direct a course of treatment, is individualized to include patient preferences, and reflects a multidisciplinary approach to care (as clinically indicated). The plan is updated annually or more frequently if there is a change in the patient's condition or needs. The incumbent utilizes the Computerized Patient Record System and any other electronic software assigned by the ATP Psychologist Program Manager (e.g. Mental Health Suite) to document treatment planning and progress. Treatment plan documentation complies with the documentation and timeliness standards established by the Medical Center and The Joint Commission. Administrative Responsibilities: Designs, develops, and implements local ATP clinical programming, and executes ongoing program evaluation and data-driven quality improvement projects to monitor the effectiveness of social work clinical programming. The incumbent facilitates liaisons with other health care programs in order to effectively coordinate and improve services. Coordinates Social Work services with other services offered in the treatment program assuring such services are complementary and comprehensive. Directs activities to maximize effectiveness, efficiency, and continuity of care for Veterans. Provides case management services to those Veterans at high social or medical risk, serving as the liaison to other treatment programs. Represents the program in contacts with other agencies and the public. Regularly attends and actively participates in Behavioral Health Team meetings. Incumbent also attends and participates in administrative and informational meetings held by the Chief of Behavioral Health (or designee), Social Work Chief, and/or facility Director, as appropriate. The incumbent may also participate Other Significant Responsibilities. May serve as the Behavioral Health representative for Truman VA, VISN, and/or National committees, workgroups, task forces, as pertains to the incumbent's position and expertise and as assigned by the ATP Psychologist Program Manager and/or Chief of Behavioral Health. This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM Telework: Ad Hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Authorized. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]

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