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

Acts as the sole practitioner for mental health inpatient social work and provides direct Veteran care. Attends weekly VISN coordination-of-care calls to monitor referrals into outside facilities; monitors treatment progress ; and coordinates with the referral's distant site discharge planning. Oversees the reintegration of Veterans. Refers both inpatients and outpatients to VA programs outside of our facility. Interviews Veterans and conducts Biopsychosocial Assessments and interviews their family members/significant others to establish facts about the Veteran's situation. Interprets and explains VA's treatment and benefit programs. Reviews all data, and makes a clinical assessment, identifying needs and strengths. Uses advanced clinical skills to identify treatment options. Serves Veterans who tend to have serious frequent and severe crises, lack family or an adequate community support network, be poor at self-monitoring, have significant deficits in coping skills and require continuing professional psychological support. Assesses at risk factors and develops a preliminary disposition plan. Performs insightful assessment of serious and complicated cases. Makes independent professional decisions and recommendations. Finds a suitable means of treatment to help Veterans and/or significant others cope with stressful situations. Develops and provides biopsychosocial treatment plans in coordination with interdisciplinary team members. Evaluates his/her practice as a social worker on an on-going basis through participation in professional peer review, case conferences, research studies. Makes adjustments to the biopsychosocial treatment plan and interventions based on changing needs and response to interventions. Consults with other specialists in planning treatment for Veterans with co-morbidities. Provides individual and group counsel services, in some settings including psychotherapy. Develops working relationships and agreements with other organizations. Receives and completes consults requesting services form interdisciplinary team members and from other social workers on complex, difficult cases, using advanced practice skills and expertise. Schedules and Monitor Discharge Engagement appointments in order to ensure continuity of care for Veterans. Establishes a continuing relationship with the Veteran, evaluating progress towards goals and adjusting the treatment plan. Monitors Veteran's progress, maintains comprehensive documentations, ensures expert diagnosis and treatment of clinical disorders, and shows competent discretion in decision to adjust treatment. Completes Comprehensive Suicide Risk Evaluations on the mental health unit. Assists nursing staff with Suicide Prevention Safety Planning and Lethal Means Counseling. Documents independently in the medical records utilizing paper and/or electronic formats, including psychosocial assessments, diagnostics, treatment, progress notes, follow up and referral. Explains Veteran's treatment and progress to third parties. Manages the quality control and evaluation of the professional services provided. Identifies consistent qualities of successful treatment and of failed treatment. Directs/coordinates clinical and psychosocial services and is accountable for the overall effectiveness of the services provided. Coordinates Social Work services with other services offered in the treatment program. Provides case management services to these Veterans. Provides training to students, residents, interns and fellows form other disciplines. . Supports facility Suicide Prevention Program efforts. Maintains knowledge of Suicide Prevention Program duties. Inpatient mental health social worker duties to included but not are not limited to: Responding to Veterans Crisis Line consults. Cordinating care and providing support to Veterans on a High Risk for Suicide Flag and/or REACH VET list. Completing Suicide Prevention Program consults. Reviewing and responding to Suicide Behavior and Overdose Reports. Participating in Suicide Prevention outreach activities and support. Providing Suicide Prevention in the Emergency Department through outreach, following and coordinating of care. Participating as an active member n the Mental Health Environment of Care Committee and completing Suicide Prevention Environment of Care rounds and evaluations. Implementing the Suicide Risk Identification Strategy by completed Comprehensive Suicide Risk Evaluations and Suicide Prevention Safety plans. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8AM-4:30PM Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 55433-A, 55432-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Contact Jillana Martinez, [email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more 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 Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). -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. -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. -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. -Grandfathering Provision All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard, September 10, 2019, are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all of the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure or certification, may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all of the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. If an employee who was retained in an occupation listed in 38 U.S.C. § 7401(3) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. Grade Determinations: GS-09 Experience, Education, and Licensure None beyond the basic requirements. AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities KSAs In addition to the experience above, 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 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-09 grade level in the field of health care or other social work-related settings, (VA or non-VA experience) 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. AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) 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. Preferred Experience: None References: VA Handbook 5005, 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-09 to GS-11. Physical Requirements: Physical demands of the work are generally minor, as the position requires sitting, standing and walking. The emotional demands can be stressful in working with high-risk for suicide Veteran population and their families. A high level of self-awareness is essential. Work, divided between office and clinical ward settings, is primarily sedentary. May require prolonged standing, moderate walking, and manual dexterity. Requires carrying light items, such as books, files, or laptop computer.

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 VA Western Colorado Health Care System 2121 North Avenue Grand Junction, CO 81501 US
• Name: Maria Romero
• Phone: 970-263-5098
• Email: [email protected]