The Social Worker serves as a core member of the interdisciplinary Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) treatment team which is a specialized outpatient Patient Aligned Care program. The incumbent works independently to provide psychosocial interventions and case management services to veterans with complex medical, social, and behavioral conditions in which routine clinic-based care is not effective.

Duties

Patients served under HBPC typically are those who have impaired mobility due to disability or functional limitation, inability to cope with the clinic environment due to cognitive, physical, or psychiatric impairment, and the need for frequent coordinated interventions from multiple disciplines, therefore care is delivered to the patient in their home environment. Incumbent utilizes advanced practice skills, knowledge, and judgment to develop and measure effectiveness of social work practice and services, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services. Coordination of specialized services and programs is also provided. Encounters/visits are made in the home-setting and government cars are available for travel to the patient's residence. Incumbent must be physically able to maneuver home structures with obstacles, stairs, and pets. Scope of HBPC Clinical Social Worker: The clinical social worker coordinates a variety of case management responsibilities including outreach, interdisciplinary activities, psychosocial assessments, treatment planning, consultation/education to other health care facility staff, and community-based service providers. The incumbent reports directly to the HBPC Program Director or designee who provides administrative supervision and oversight of the HBPC program. The HBPC Program Director has the authority to grant all scheduled leave and educational submission requests by the incumbent. It is the incumbent's responsibility to ensure adequate HBPC patient coverage is available during all approved leave. Discussion and final concurrence from the HBPC Program Director regarding collateral assignments or work groups is necessary prior to acceptance. The social worker receives clinical guidance/mentoring as it relates to Social Work practice in collaboration with Social Work Service. The incumbent is responsible for keeping the HBPC Program Director and social work department supervisor informed of new developments within his/her practice impacting current responsibilities and tasks as well as keeping HBPC Program Director and social Work Service Supervisor apprised of problems and recommended solutions to problems encountered in the incumbent's area of responsibility. The incumbent practices autonomously, using professional judgment and expertise to make decisions about services and treatment provided to Veterans and their significant others/family members. Although it is an expectation of the incumbent to make independent judgments and decisions in provision of services to clients regardless of complexity and difficulty of the problems presented, he/she must demonstrate the ability to function as an integral team member within the HBPC interdisciplinary treatment team. The incumbent practices at an advanced level and independently gathers relevant information to guide practice and patient care. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Telework: May be authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

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. 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/. Exception. VHA may waive the licensure or certification requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified, pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure/certification examinations. This exception only applies at the GS-9 grade level. For the GS-11 grade level and above, the candidate must be licensed or certified. At the time of appointment, the supervisor, chief social work or social work executive will provide the unlicensed/uncertified social worker with the written requirements for licensure or certification, including the time by which the license or certification must be obtained and the consequences for not becoming licensed or certified by the deadline.] 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: Social Worker, GS-9 (1) Experience, Education, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements. (2) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Ability to work with Veterans and family members from various socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, educational, and other diversified backgrounds utilizing counseling skills. (b) Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veterans problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed. (c) Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups to achieve treatment goals. This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving, or crisis intervention techniques. (d) Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies. (e) Fundamental knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures. This includes acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries; common medications and their effects/side effects; and medical terminology. Social Worker, GS-11 (1) Experience and 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) and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level. OR (2) 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. (3) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services. (b) 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. (c) 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. (d) 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. (e) 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 Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G39 Social Worker Qualification Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. Physical Requirements: The incumbent completes home visits to veterans residing within a 60-mile radius of the respected campus assigned and as assessed required by the Interdisciplinary Treatment team. This position requires visual acuity, keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity. This position requires potentially extended periods of continued walking, standing, stooping, sitting, bending, pulling, and pushing. Transferring patients and objects may be required. The incumbent is expected to use proper preventive ergonomic technics to perform duties. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Northern Indiana HCS 1700 East 38th Street Marion, IN 46953 US
• Name: Andrea Bower
• Phone: 765-617-2998
• Email: [email protected]