Summary

This position is located at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center (CVAMC). The Cincinnati VAMC is a 1B Health Care Facility within the VA system. The Medical Center is comprised of an affiliated General Medical - Surgical - Mental Health - long-term care treatment and six Community Based Outpatient clinics (CBOCs) situated around Ohio - Kentucky - and Indiana.

Qualifications

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
• Citizenship
• Be a citizen of the United States
• (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3 - section A - paragraph 3g this part)
• 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 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/ Different states have different levels of licensure or certification - making it difficult for VHA staff to determine the independent practice level
• Each state - Puerto Rico - and the District of Columbia completed surveys identifying the level of licensure or certification allowing independent practice
• Copies of the surveys are on file in the VHA Office of Care Management and Social Work Services - and a summary spreadsheet of the levels of licensure or certification is available to social work professional standards board members for purposes of determining whether the social worker's level of licensure or certification meets the VHA qualification standards
• All states except California use a series of licensure exams administered by the ASWB
• Information can be found at https://www.aswb.org/
• The ASWB is the association of boards that regulates social work
• ASWB develops and maintains the social work licensing examination used across the country and is a central resource for information on the legal regulation of social work
• The ASWB offers three examinations
• The master's examination is generally used by states for the independent practice level of licensure or certification - while the advanced generalist and the clinical examinations are used for the advanced practice level of licensure or certification
• Differences between the master's and the advanced exams demonstrate the expectation that advanced practice social workers will have a more sophisticated knowledge of practice theory and its application
• 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)
• Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment - the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates
• Social Worker (Program Coordinator) - GS-12 Experience and Education
• One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level
• Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment - demonstrating progressively more professional competency
• Candidate may have certification or other post-master's degree training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship - or equivalent supervised professional experience
• Licensure/Certification
• Individuals assigned as social worker program coordinator must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level - and must be able to provide supervision for licensure
• (See Licensure requirements above) Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation - negotiation - and monitoring
• Knowledge and ability to write policies - procedures - and/or practice guidelines for the program
• Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program
• Skill in organizing work - setting priorities - meeting multiple deadlines - and evaluating assigned program area(s)
• Ability to provide training - orientation - and guidance within clinical practice
• 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
• Program coordinators at the GS 12 grade level are administratively responsible for a clinical program providing treatment to Veterans in a major specialty area - such as but not limited to: Spinal Cord Injury - Homeless Continuum Veteran Program - Hospice and Palliative Care Program - Suicide Prevention Program - Veterans Justice Outreach - Caregiver Support Program and Community Nursing Home Program
• The program coordinator may be the sole practitioner in this specialty at the facility and typically provide direct patient care services in the program area
• The program coordinator oversees the daily operation of the program - develop policies and procedures for program operation - and prepare reports and statistics for facility - VISN - and national use
• They may be responsible for the program's budget - developing and monitoring staff compliance with practice - standards and guidelines on documentation - workload - data entry - ethical practice and service delivery
• The program coordinator provides analysis and evaluation of clinical program data and computerized programs to identify system-wide trends and needs to enhance the quality of service
• They may be responsible for - or contribute to - the program's resource and fiscal management - monitoring control points developing the annual budget - operating within that budget - and accounting for appropriated funds
• The program coordinator is administratively responsible for the clinical programming and prepares reports and statistics for facility - VISN - and national use
• They provide leadership - direction - orientation - coaching - in-service training - staff development - and continuing education programs for assigned staff
• They initiate and conduct a variety of program or service audits and complete designated clinical practice audits and reports - including productivity assessments
• They oversee program operations and evaluations - identifying areas for improvement - gathering relevant data - assessing the data - developing and implementing ideas for improvement and evaluating efficacy of improvement efforts
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 - Employee Occupational Health Services

Duties

• The Suicide Prevention Coordinator is a very complex assignment - working in the facility and community - to provide advocacy - training - and clinical consultation for the most vulnerable - high-risk patients
• Identifies veterans at risk for suicide - tracking appointments and coordinating enhanced care as needed
• educates providers - veterans - families - and members of the community about risk factors and warning signs for suicide - and identifying treatment options
• Duties include but are not limited to: Maintains a list of patients determined to be at high-risk for suicide and monitor their care to ensure that enhanced-care services are being delivered by treatment team/clinical providers
• Tracks any no-show appointments by these patients and following up with the patient as soon as possible to reschedule the appointment
• Maintains awareness of suicide treatment options and making recommendations to the patient's provider when new options become available
• Consults/collaborates with providers of high-risk patients for purposes of education and facilitating best practice
• May optionally provide direct patient care for same purpose
• Facilitates the implementation of Level I Patient Record Flags and completion of Suicide Behavior Report - Suicide Safety Plan - and all other required documentation
• Responds to consults from the Suicide Prevention Hotline and contacts veterans to engage them in treatment and reports back to the Hotline Staff about the results of interventions
• Provides training to clinical and non-clinical staff in the Medical Center - Community Based Outreach Clinics (CBOC's) and community about risk factors - warning signs - treatment options and resources
• Promotes the use of evidence-based interventions and strategies for suicide prevention in the Medical Center
• Responsible for participation in the facility Aggregated Reviews related to suicidal behaviors and serves as a team member or consultant to the Patient Safety Office for individual RCA's related to suicidal behaviors as needed
• Works closely with VA and community resources such as VSO's and other community groups to assure that they are aware of how to recognize Veterans at risk for suicide and their options for getting these Veterans assistance
• Responsible for development and maintenance of professional standards of service - coordination of suicide prevention services with other programs - represents the program in contacts with the community and has substantial accountability for program effectiveness and evaluation
• Other duties as assigned: Interviews patients - family - and significant others to obtain pertinent clinical crisis/triage information
• Reviews and summarizes pertinent Psycho-social information - records appropriate information in veterans' chart
• Functions with a high degree of independent judgment - responding quickly to the needs of the patient and utilizes innovative and carefully controlled Psycho-social assistance in emergency situations
• Provides psychiatric crisis/triage services under the supervision of a privileged Mental Health clinician
• Provides supportive counseling in the development and utilization of community resources
• Responsible for completing Issue Briefs related to suicidal behavior and submitting IBs to the Director's Office for notification to the VISN and VACO
• Work Schedule: Monday-Friday - 7:30am to 4:00pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 92653-0 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized