Social workers at this level are licensed or certified to independently practice social work. They are assigned to all program areas, including but not limited to: inpatient or outpatient medicine, mental health, neurology, rehabilitation medicine, and geriatrics. Employees provide professional, independent social work services in the assigned area. This announcement is intended to fill multiple program areas, and you will be given and opportunity to select your interest upon application.

Duties

VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU Our current vacancies exist in Inpatient Behavioral Health, Inpatient Medical, Health Care for Homeless Veterans Program (HCHV), Primary Care, Community Living Center (CLC), and Float Medical which can perform duties in a multitude of program settings. Duties can include, but are not limited to: Independently performs case finding functions and outreach, identifying and screening patients for psychosocial needs. Independently conducts psychosocial assessments. Develops treatment plans in collaboration with the Veteran/family and with the interdisciplinary treatment team. Offers psychosocial interventions and measures outcomes to interventions. Coordinate community-based services, including information and referral for additional services from other VA programs, other government programs and community agency programs. Provides short term crisis intervention counseling for patients and families as needed. Maintains confidentiality and complies with professional ethics according to professional and Departmental standards. Intervenes with appropriate individuals/departments/agencies regarding delays in service that may have an impact on quality of patient care, length of stay or inappropriate patient admissions. Participates in data collection for departmental quality assessment activities. Work Schedule: Daylight, Monday - Friday. Specific tour will be shown when selecting areas of interest upon application. Compressed/Flexible:No Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Must be a citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency: 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. 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. 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: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. GS-11 Level: Experience: 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, (VA or non-VA experience).OR Education: 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. Transcripts must be submitted with your application. *please note this is in addition to the basic requirements 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. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. Physical Requirements: Work is primarily sedentary in an office environment. Depending on the assignment for which you are selected a physical may be required if a driver's license is required to complete the basic duties of the job.

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 Pittsburgh VA Medical Center 1010 Delafield Road Pittsburgh, PA 15215 US
• Name: Amberly Betsill
• Phone: (412) 822-3105
• Email: [email protected]