The Senior Social Worker independently provides clinical and case management services at an advanced practice level to veterans admitted to inpatient surgery and the surgical intensive care unit (SICU) to address biological, psychological, social, and disposition needs from an acute hospitalization. The incumbent coordinates and provides integrated health interventions, psychosocial education, and discharge planning to pre-surgical patients.

Duties

The position is assigned to Durham VA Health Care System's (DVAHCS) 1A tertiary care facility. The Senior Social Worker serves as a facility-wide consultant to social workers and other interdisciplinary staff in planning psychosocial interventions and discharge planning for veterans who are scheduled for surgeries or who are presently admitted to DVAHCS for a surgical procedure. Major duties include, but are not limited to: A. Screening and Psychosocial Assessments- Interviews veterans and their family members/significant others to establish facts about the veteran's biopsychosocial functioning, presenting problems and their causes, and the impact of such problems on the veteran's functioning and health as part of a comprehensive psychosocial assessment. B. Treatment Planning/Goal Setting - A range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used with the chronically and acutely ill patient population and incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment. Determines realistic goals with the veteran. C. Referral to service providers-Arranges appropriate referrals to a variety of VA and/or community resources. Collaborate with other service providers in re-assessing the veteran's needs during the eligibility determination process, coordinating access to information needed for the referral. D. Resource Usage/Development -Developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services. Monitor patterns of resource availability, identifying unmet needs and resulting impact on the veteran's psychosocial functioning. E. Advocacy-Advocates for veterans to ensure that they have access to necessary care and resources within VA and in the community. When appropriate and feasible, educate and encourage the veteran and his or her family/caregiver to advocate on his/her own behalf, fostering independence and empowerment. F. Crisis Intervention - Assists in mitigating any medical or psychiatric crises arising in presenting surgical veterans, and participates in developing crisis management and safety plans to minimize the event of future crises. Assisting veterans' family members with crisis management in the intensive care unit and acute surgical setting by providing supportive counseling, education, and care planning. G. Education/Health promotion and prevention -Provides education and instruction to the patient/family about VA and community resources, options for placement, VA entitlement programs, and benefits. Trainings on Quality Improvement implementation for all areas of SWS. Leads Quality Improvement initiatives for specified work groups in the Social Work Service. H. Supportive counseling -Counseling to veteran and the family/caregiver in coping with the psychosocial impact of chronic and disabling illnesses, the onset of catastrophic illness, end-of-life and bereavement issues, domestic violence, and abuse. Evaluate the need for more specialized mental health care and/or substance abuse treatments and refer to appropriate VA or community resources as indicated. I. Organ Transplant and Advanced Directives-Works in conjunction with referring medical staff to ensure veterans and their families/caregivers understand Advanced Directives, Living Wills, organ-matching process, VA organ transplant regulations, post-transplant complications and myths regarding organ donation. Advocates for veterans' health care wishes and articulate patient rights regarding advanced Directive documents. Coordination of organ transplant documentation and education during psychosocial assessments. J. Administrative responsibilities -Teach and mentor staff and students in the specialty area of practice as well as writing policies, procedures, and/or guidelines. L. Quality Improvement - The oversight of all quality improvement process initiatives, projects, and research within the Social Work Service. Develops, performs, and analyzes needs assessments. Provides procedural guidance and protocol for system re-design proposals, and acts as a liaison. Managing data and outcomes and recommends changes to policy and procedures. M. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. Telework: Situational (i.e. Ad-Hoc) Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 00000 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: Must be proficient in spoken and written English Education: 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 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 accreditation standards for a master of social work. Licensure: 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. 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). Preferred Experience: At least two (2) years of Medical/Surgical experience; At least two (2) years of experience as an LCSW; and Previous experience with community placement for patients with post-surgery needs. Grade Determinations: 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. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate 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. References: VA Handbook 5005/120 PART II APPENDIX G39 September 10, 2019 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: Must be in overall good health, able to sit at a desk working at a computer, engage in light to moderate physical activity including sitting, walking, bending, and carrying supplies. Applicants must be able to perform primarily light and sedentary duties with occasionally moderate physical demands, exercise patience, and control emotions, with reasonable accommodation if necessary, without endangering the health and safety of the applicant or others. Position requires walking throughout the clinic and the Medical Center, standing for extended periods of time, and involves sitting at a computer and in counsel and consultation with Veterans and interdisciplinary teams.

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 Durham VA Medical Center 508 Fulton Street Durham, NC 27705 US
• Name: Nerissa Mckinnie
• Phone: 706-434-9315
• Email: [email protected]