The Primary Care Mental Health Integration Social Worker is a full-time position aligned under Behavioral Health ICC. The Syracuse VAMC is a large social work service located in a highly complex (complexity level 1a) VA facility, covering thirteen (13) counties and including seven (7) CBOCs. It provides diverse services to Veterans, families and caregivers, and is an affiliated tertiary care health care system.

Duties

Duties include, but are not limited to the duties below: Diagnose mental disorders. Accepts formal consultation requests as well as "warm handoffs" from primary care providers and conducts brief psychosocial assessments. Facilitates connecting Veterans with the most appropriate behavioral health services Uses a population-based approach (1-6 sessions) to address behavioral health concerns for Veterans in need of only short-term care. Provides behavioral based interventions for treatment of medical disorders (e.g. pain management, smoking cessation, weight management). Consults and collaborated with primary care staff. Also consults with peers and supervisors on a wide variety of patient care issues. Participates in Primary Care meetings and activities, as appropriate. Participates in monthly PCMHI Staff meetings, typically by conference call Participates in program evaluation, clinical outcomes management, and research activities, as needed. May provide telephone and/or telehealth PCMHI services to other community based clinics of the Syracuse VA. Responsible for supporting the mission, policies and procedures of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN), and the facility. Serve on committees, work groups, and task forces at the facility as deemed appropriate by the supervisor or Chief of Social Work Services. Mindful of keeping their supervisor apprised of problems and recommended solutions to problems encountered in the incumbent's area of responsibility. Responsible for furthering one's own professional growth through continuing education and for ensuring the continuing education appropriate to the area of assignment. Provide assistance with the orientation and learning of less experienced social workers and, if interested, to serve as a preceptor for social work students. Demonstrate knowledge and skill in the used of software applications for drafting documents and data management as well as other computer systems in use by the VHA. Maintain a level of productivity and quality consistent with the complexity of the assignment and consistent with Social Work standards, Joint Commission standards and facility standards. Participates in a rotation of on-call social workers, including modification of tour of duty to accommodate patient care needs on weekends. May provide supervision to a Social Work Intern or be generally involved with the MSW training program. Performs other related duties, as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:30AM-4:00PM Telework: Eligible Virtual: This is not a virtual position. 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. 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.] Grade Determinations: GS-9 (Entry Level) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the basic education requirement, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Ability to work with Veterans and family members from various socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, educational, and other diversified backgrounds utilizing counseling skills. 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. 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. Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies. 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. GS-11 (Full Performance Level) 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, 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. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services. 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. 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. 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. 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 HANDBOOK 5005/120 PART II APPENDIX G39 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-9 to GS-11.

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 Syracuse VA Medical Center 800 Irving Ave Syracuse, NY 13210 US
• Name: Karl McPherson
• Phone: 518-466-6400
• Email: [email protected]