This position is organizationally aligned under Social Work Service at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, WI, a Level 1b complexity VHA Facility. The primary purpose of the Medical Social Work Associate (SWA) is assessment and case planning/management services, designed to improve Veteran's physical and mental health, enhancing their ability to remain or return to stable, independent community settings.

Duties

The medical SWA's primary responsibility is to assist the medical (inpatient and outpatient) Social Work staff with the administrative and clinical needs of the Veterans. Overall responsibilities include provision of direct client services, actively supporting and contributing to team initiatives and utilizing VA and community resources to meet the needs of Veteran patients most appropriately. The medical SWA will provide services in accordance with the limited Scope of Practice as outlined. The incumbent provides services to selected cases as assigned by the appropriate MSW. The medical SWA expedites treatments and implements objectives for the patient providing total social services to selected cases in which goals can be achieved by use of the knowledge, skills, etc. in which the SWA has been trained. The medical SWA helps Veterans, and their families fill out applications, forms (including but not limited to Advance Directive paperwork), gathering information, handling details around discharge planning including nursing home placements, home health, visiting nurse and other services, collecting information including contact information about the patient's significant others. Completes necessary paperwork on routine discharges and providing limited support to the family and the Veteran as they struggle with the factors associated with an illness. Provides those services that support the social workers' treatment or discharge planning responsibilities. Such supportive services may include: Acquiring or following up on the acquisition of documents, reports, or information needed for social work treatment or discharge planning. Making telephone calls or personal contacts on behalf of social workers to providers, nurses, families, community nursing home personnel, community agencies, significant others. Follow-up with Business Office, veteran service organizations and community agencies about patient transportation. Follow-up with prosthetics about medical equipment and other members of the interdisciplinary team regarding referrals to VA and community providers. The incumbent supports both inpatient and outpatient in Advance Care Planning discussions with Veterans and families; facilitation of group advance care planning; complete Advance Directive paperwork with Veterans. The incumbent completes Life Sustaining Treatment reviews for inpatient admissions to ensure accuracy and refers inaccuracies to the appropriate team member for follow up and reconciliation. Assist Veterans, families, and caregivers in understanding medical protocol and VA benefits, providing referral services to the appropriate organization or department for application to benefits. May autonomously manage a caseload with supportive supervision. Perform other duties as assigned. VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: HR Specialist Total Rewards Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position.Telework: Adhoc Position Description/PD#: Social Worker Associate/PD235440 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/29/2023. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-08 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in major fields of study such as: social welfare, sociology, psychology, public administration, philosophy, education, anthropology, history, economics and/or English.(Transcripts are Required for consideration). OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: CommunicationCustomer Service (Clerical/Technical)Technical DocumentationVeteran and Customer Focus Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: The incumbent sits comfortably when completing clinical documentations. Other activities include standing, and minimal lifting less than 20 pounds. A significant amount of walking throughout the medical center is required for face-to-face contact with Veterans, family members, community agencies and medical center staff. The incumbent may be required to push the wheelchairs of Veterans with limited mobility when providing escort services. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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 William S Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital 2500 Overlook Terrace Madison, WI 53705 US
• Name: Cecile Ovalle
• Phone: (845) 728-4127
• Email: [email protected]