The Senior Social Worker (Palliative Care) serves in support of the facility's Geriatric Palliative/Hospice Care Social Work Service at the South Texas Veterans Health Care System (STVHCS). This position is eligible for Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP)

Duties

The Senior Social Worker will function as an active member of the Geriatric & Extended Care (GEC) Palliative Care Interdisciplinary Team by providing consultation or case management as patient circumstances dictate. Duties include but are not limited to: Conduct psychosocial assessments to determine needs of veterans and family members Actively participate in the treatment planning process with other members of the interdisciplinary team Participate in discharge planning with other disciplines and will be responsible for ensuring that discharge plans are executed in a manner that is timely and appropriate for those patients whose care is assumed by the palliative team Provide individual, family and group counseling as appropriate Provide consultation/education to veterans and families on community resources, advance directives and VA benefits Act as a consultant to other team/staff members Provide consultation/education to medical residents on social work practice and VA policy and procedure Act as liaison between VA and community resources, to include marketing and public relation duties as needed Provide case management to veterans and families, as needed, throughout the continuum of care Provide a full range of social work services within commonly accepted standards of social work practice which includes case work, individual, family and group counseling, discharge planning, case management and other services as appropriate Address Advance Directives and Organ Donation in accordance with the standards of their work area Provide wellness/prevention education and facilitate Patient/family support groups as appropriate Coordinate treatment and communicate with the care lines to facilitate continuity of care for veterans Participate in committee assignments, as deemed necessary by the service manager Maintain data and statistical compilations to comply with JCAHO, VA and medical center policy and procedures Assist patients and their significant others with coping and dealing with the loss and grief experiences in disability, terminal illness and death May be assigned inpatient, outpatient, or a combination of both settings Assist with the Palliative Education Interdisciplinary Team by providing instruction/clinical oversight to fellows enrolled in the program Other duties as assigned Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00a.m. to 4:30p.m. Telework: Available - 3 days per pay period Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 0000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Contact the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

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. 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/. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. ? 7403(f). 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 for Senior 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, 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. Preferred Experience: EBP Certification Prior experience in similar role or with population served Clinical supervision certification Quality or utilization management experience Former VA Trainee References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/120 PART II APPENDIX G39, September 10, 2019 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: light lifting, under 15 pounds, light carrying, under 15 pounds, reaching above shoulder, use of fingers, both hands required, walking 6 hours, standing 6 hours, repeating bending 2-4 hours, ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously, specific visual requirement far vision 20/30, ability to distinguish basic colors, hearing (aid may be permitted), emotional and mental stability, sit for extended periods, performs independently, cognitive stability.

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.

NOTE:This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.

NOTE: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application.

NOTE: If your school was accredited by the Council on Social Work Education at the time of graduation but is no longer listed on the Council on Social Work Education website, you must provide documentation of accreditation with your application packet.

Contacts

• Address Audie L Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital 7400 Merton Minter Boulevard San Antonio, TX 78229 US
• Name: VISN 17 SSU USAS Group
• Email: [email protected]