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.

Duties

Interviews veterans and their family members/significant others to establish facts about the veteran's situation, presenting problems and their causes, and the impact of such problems on the veteran's functioning and health as part of a psychosocial assessment. Is familiar with VA treatment and benefit programs. Uses subjective and objective data in making clinical assessment of the veteran's needs. Effectively uses professional skill, objectivity, and insight. Uses advanced clinical training, and experience to identify viable treatment options and makes appropriate referrals for care. Serves veterans as inpatients or outpatients who often have severe crises, lack family or community supports, frequently fail to comply with instructions and treatment, or have significant deficits in coping skills and require continuing professional psychological support. Evaluates independently the client's situation, including the veteran's reaction and ability to deal with it, and arrives at a reasoned conclusion. Based on the psychosocial assessment, uses professional judgment and advanced practice skills to make a psychosocial diagnosis. Assesses at-risk factors and develops a preliminary disposition plan involving the veteran and family or significant others. Assesses serious and complicated cases involving psychiatric illness, catastrophic medical conditions, dementia and other high-risk diagnoses. Makes independent professional decisions and recommendations for treatment. Consequences to the veteran may be serious, and the results are often unpredictable. Finds on an inpatient/outpatient basis a suitable means of treatment to help veterans and/or significant others cope with stressful situations. Treatment is aimed at helping veterans find practical solutions to problems. Develops psychosocial treatment plans in coordination with interdisciplinary team members, including goals for treatment. Using known available resources and the initial assessment of the veteran's likelihood to accept differing types of assistance, makes initial and continuing decisions regarding use of VA and non-VA services and referrals. Arrives at a reasoned conclusion as to the preferred course of agency action. Provides independent consultation and makes recommendations to interdisciplinary team on course of treatment. Concludes independently the appropriate action, even in instances where actions can have serious impact on the life of the veteran. This might include long-term institutional or nursing home care or separation from family members. These decisions are based on the Primary Care Social Worker's practice skills, professional judgment and expertise regarding the veteran's self-care capability. The family support system, the veteran's health care needs and possible consequences. Takes responsibility for clinical Social Work practice in the areas and programs to which assigned, including promotion of Social Work services as a key component of treatment. Participates in professional peer review, case conferences, or other organized means. Is active in and accepts responsibility for the development and maintenance of professional standards of treatment. Provides clinical services to veterans and family members/significant others in support of the veteran's treatment. Gives advice, guidance, emotional support, and other assistance. Provides individual and group counseling services, including psychotherapy in some settings. Assists and encourages veterans an significant others in facing problems, thinking them through, evaluating the situation realistically, considering alternative courses of action, and arriving at plans for using resources to resolve problems. Assists Veterans with Digital Divide/Telehealth issues. Coordinates care and services with resources and service-lines in the Sheridan VA HCS and in the community. Enters all veteran/family contacts in the electronic record using appropriate formats and templates. This information must be entered in a complete, confidential, and professional manner to ensure information on the patient is shared with other VA staff. This information is to be reviewed on a regular basis. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30 pm Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 55870 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized EDRP Authorized: Contact [email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

***This is an open continuous announcement until December 29, 2023. Qualified applicants will be considered and referred as vacancies become available. *** Basic Requirements: 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 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. GS-12, Senior Social Worker 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, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 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. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. 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. 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. 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: 3 years of out patient social work experience References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39 Physical Requirements: This position provides direct services to patients and their families through casework. Must be physically and mentally able to efficiently perform the essential functions of this position without hazard to themselves or others. Normal work of the position requires visual acuity (with the ability to read typewritten characters without strain, corrective lenses permitted), keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity. This position requires potentially moderate levels of lifting and carrying (15-44 pounds). May occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium, dementia, or psychiatric disorders. Must be mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs. Must complete annual Employee Health requirements, such as annual TB screening or testing, as a condition of employment. Must have a valid driver's license in a state. May be expected to operate a Government Vehicle.

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 Sheridan VA Medical Center 1898 Fort Road Sheridan, WY 82801 US
• Name: Cory Carter
• Phone: 702-791-9000 X15094
• Email: [email protected]