Summary

The Senior Social Worker (BHIP) functions as a member of the Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program team providing outpatient mental health services to Veterans. Located at the VA Medical Center, an outlying Primary Care Clinic, or Pahrump Community Based Outpatient Clinic. Responsible for treating Veterans with chronic mental health concerns. They provide immediate, direct and on-site access for social work consultation, assessment, and mental health treatment as clinically indicated.

Qualifications

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 and 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 tohttp://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a Master 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 tohttp://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/
• 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)
• Grandfathering Provision
• The following is the standard grandfathering policy for all title38 hybrid qualification standards
• Please carefully review the qualification standard to determine the specific education and/or licensure/certification/registration requirements that apply to this occupation.(1)All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation
• For employees who do not meet all of the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:(2)Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure or certification, may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.(3)Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.(4)Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all of the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.(5)If an employee who was retained in an occupation listed in 38 U.S.C. §
• 7401(3) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation
• NOTE: If social workers covered under the grandfathering provision of the 1991 Federal law regarding licensure or certification of VHA social workers leave the GS- 0185 social work series, they lose the grandfathering protection
• If they choose to return at a later date to the GS-0185 series, they must be licensed or certified to qualify for employment as a social worker
• GS-12 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
• 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
• 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
• Preferred Experience: EBT Skills Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• Physical Requirements: In accordance with VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services.

Duties

• Senior Social Worker - BHIP, is responsible for treating Veterans with more chronic mental health concerns
• They provide immediate, direct and on-site access for social work consultation, assessment, and mental health treatment as clinically indicated
• Senior Social Worker operates within a multidisciplinary team matrix, actively collaborates, and coordinates Veteran care with other clinical and administrative supporting services
• They provide evidence-based therapeutic interventions supported by the standards of care within the social work community
• implements and meets performance requirements for quality and timeliness of clinical care
• employs recovery-oriented interventions
• and successfully completes other clinical duties as assigned
• Senior Social Worker may also participate in interviews for positions in the Behavioral Health/Mental Health Clinics
• Duties may include but are not limited to: Provides clinical services including direct care to Veterans enrolled in BHIP
• Effectively uses professional skill, objectivity, and insight
• Clinical training, insight, and experience to interpret data and to identify viable treatment options
• Assesses high risk factors, acuity and need for services
• Establishes, implements, and maintains referrals and screening procedures
• Develop screening procedures that involve a multidisciplinary team approach
• Ensure screening criteria are met and procedures are maintained
• Assesses at risk factors and develops a preliminary disposition plan, involving the Veteran and the family/significant other
• Performs insightful assessment of serious and complicated cases involving psychiatric illness, catastrophic medical conditions, dementia, and other high-risk diagnoses
• Develops comprehensive treatment plans in coordination with interdisciplinary team members, including goals, objectives and interventions for psychosocial clinical treatment
• Adjusts and updates to the treatment plan and interventions based on the Veteran's changing needs, response to interventions, and to improve outcomes
• Participates in the assignment of Veterans to treatment teams and programs
• Consults with other specialists in planning treatment for Veterans with co-morbidities
• Consults with urgent care, medical, and specialty clinics at VASNHS
• Provides individual, family, and group therapy services in accordance with the needs identified in the Veteran's treatment assessment and treatment plan
• Responsible for all entries in the Veteran's medical record (CPRS) and timely completion thereof, including discharge summaries and patient encounters
• Responsible for completion of all assigned clinical reminders for patients under their care, and performance measures assigned Behavioral Health Service
• Participates actively in Performance Improvement (PI) activities
• Fully accountable for practice, including entering Veteran visits, measuring outcomes to interventions, and meeting productivity standards
• Ensures timely completion of assessments, treatment plans, discharge plans, and safety plans
• Participates fully in peer review, assessing the quality of professional social work practice standards provided in the organization
• Responsible for identification of patient problems requiring consultation with other multi-disciplinary medical center staff and making appropriate referrals
• Serves as a consultant, liaison, and point of contact for programs within Behavioral Health Service, throughout the hospital, and within the community
• Participates in education/CME lectures, research, specialty care programs, and/or clinics as assigned by the Associate Chief of Staff, Behavioral Health or Executive Leadership
• Participates in local, VISN, and national committees/community networking activities as requested by the Associate Chief of Staff, Behavioral Health or Executive Leadership
• Participates in research as appropriate through case finding and referral of Veterans to clinical investigators engaged in research or through participating in research studies
• Applies new approaches to Veteran care through integration of approved investigative and research methods, basing interventions on evidence-based effectiveness
• Promotes Veteran independence and achievement of optimal health through appropriate psychosocial education, care coordination, and community referrals
• Provides education related to VA and community resources, entitlements/benefits, and Advance Directives and Living Will
• Refers Veterans and their families and significant others for counseling in health promotion and disease prevention and to appropriate VASNHS clinical staff for other identified health education needs
• Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday - Friday Compressed Schedule: Authorized Telework: Authorized (Ad hoc) Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 00814F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized