Job opening: Social Worker (BHIP)
Salary: $68 433 - 107 633 per year
Published at: Oct 16 2023
Employment Type: Full-time
This is an open continuous announcement until January 16, 2024 . Qualified applicants will be considered and referred as vacancies become available.
Applicant Expiration: Applicants will remain active for 3 months after their initial application is received and/or updated. After that time, you must update your application through your USAJobs account if you would like to be made active again for possible consideration during the open period.
Duties
VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU
The BHIP Social Worker is a professional Social Worker assigned to Mental Health Clinics within the Veterans Affairs Health Care System including outpatient clinics at Hillandale and Community-Based Outpatient Clinics at Raleigh CBOC's, Greenville HCC, and Morehead City CBOC.
The Social Worker provides clinical psychosocial and case management services under services under supervision of a licensed clinical social worker at an advanced practice level to eligible Veterans and their family members to meet their biopsychosocial needs. Their health care and psychosocial problems and needs are complex and require a high degree of clinical oversight and creative problem solving. The Social Worker is required to interact not only with the patient but also family, significant others, community agencies, and other staff.
FUNCTIONS OR SCOPE OF ASSIGNED DUTIES (Include but are not limited to):
Interviews Clients and Conducts Psychosocial Assessments: 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 comprehensive psychosocial assessment. Interprets and explains VA's treatment and benefit programs.
Makes Psychosocial Diagnoses: The Social Worker evaluates 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 clinical practice skills to make a psychosocial diagnosis, under close clinical supervision. Assesses at-risk factors and develops a preliminary disposition plan involving the veteran and family or significant others. Performs insightful assessment of serious and complicated cases involving psychiatric illness, catastrophic medical conditions, dementia and other high-risk diagnoses. The Social Worker makes professional decisions and recommendations for agency action. Consequences to the veteran may be serious, and the results are often unpredictable.
Plans Effective Treatment: Develops psychosocial treatment plans in coordination with interdisciplinary team members, including goals for psychosocial clinical treatment. Using known available resources and the initial assessment of the veteran's likelihood to accept differing types of assistance, make 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 consultation and makes recommendations to interdisciplinary team on course of treatment. Coordinates screening of patients for specific mental health programs, such as MHICM, SAOP, HCHV, PRRC, PCT, and provides ongoing treatment per mental health program guidelines.
Implements 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 and 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.
Evaluation, Education, Supervision, Coaching, and Mentoring: Establishes a continuing relationship with the veteran, evaluating progress towards goals and adjusting the treatment plan as appropriate. Meets with veteran to assess accomplishments and re-establish goals. Monitors veteran's progress, maintains comprehensive documentation, ensures expert diagnosis and treatment of clinical disorders, and shows competent discretion in decision to adjust treatment. Makes recommendations for care and changes to interdisciplinary treatment plan.
Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 8:00a.m.-4:30p.m.
Compressed/Flexible:May be available
Telework: May be available at the discretion of the Service Chief or equivalent
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 1497FA
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
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/.
English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f)
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.
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:
Social Worker, GS-9: Experience, Education, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
(a) Ability to work with Veterans and family members from various socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, educational, and other diversified backgrounds utilizing counseling skills.
(b) 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.
(c) 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.
(d) Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies.
(e) 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.
Social Worker, GS-11Experience 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, (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.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
(a) Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services.
(b) 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.
(c) 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.
(d) 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.
(e) 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:
Clinical experience (i.e.: psychosocial assessments; treatment planning; individual & group psychotherapy)
History of working with multidisciplinary team
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.
Physical Requirements: Must be in overall good health, able to sit at a desk working at a computer, engage in light to moderate physical activity including sitting, walking, bending, and carrying supplies. The Social Worker must be able to perform primarily light and sedentary duties with occasionally moderate physical demands, exercise patience, and control emotions, with reasonable accommodation if necessary, without endangering the health and safety of the Social Worker or others.
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 Durham VA Medical Center
508 Fulton Street
Durham, NC 27705
US
- Name: Tierra White
- Phone: 919-827-2514
- Email: [email protected]