The incumbent serves as the Social Work Coordinator for the Community Nursing Home (CNH) Program within the Community Nursing Home (CNH). The incumbent is responsible for administrative and clinical care needs of the Community Nursing Home program. The program coordinator oversees the daily operation of the program, develops policies and procedures for program operation, and prepare reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and National use.

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: Candidates must 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 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 to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/ Grade Determinations: Appointment to the GS-12 grade level requires completion of a minimum of one year of post-MSW experience equivalent to the GS-11 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 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. References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: Traveling throughout the Honor Annex, Medical Center, and the community is required as is performing activities involving sitting, walking, standing, bending, climbing stairs, reaching with hands and arms, and carrying such items as books, papers, and files. The incumbent must have good manual dexterity and keyboarding skills. The incumbent must be able to communicate efficiently by expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word. In addition the incumbent must be able to utilize, view and read information on computer screens, operate a pager and the required phone equipment. In carrying out responsibilities it will be necessary for the incumbent to travel into the community where he/she conducts interviews and provides interventions with the Veterans, their families, representatives from community health and welfare agencies, and law enforcement agencies. The incumbent must possess current driver's license; have valid, current car insurance; and drive a government vehicle in carrying out professional duties when deemed necessary. He/she must pass a driving physical exam given to all government employees who transport patients as part of their duties. He/she will also be required to satisfactorily pass a driving record background check. Social worker duties include personal encounters with patients, visitors, and other employees. These individuals may experience crisis, may become volatile and require de-escalation techniques, as well as extreme patience. Social Workers are required to have excellent communication and interpersonal relationship skills to interact with individuals with a wide variety of medical and psychiatric conditions including handling potentially aggressive behavior.

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 VA St Louis Health Care System 1 Jefferson Barracks Drive St. Louis, MO 63125 US
• Name: Mary Davila
• Phone: 210-573-0129
• Email: [email protected]