The Senior Social Worker will provide advanced practice services to Veterans and guidance/direction to Primary Care Social Workers working on Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACT) and in Primary Care Clinics. The programs are part of the Durham Veterans Affairs Health Care System (DVAHCS). The Senior Social Worker may be assigned to any PACT team across DVAHCS, including virtual assignments.

Duties

VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU The Senior Social Worker must have advanced knowledge of the PACT team approach and the role of each health and allied health care team members as well as an understanding of the role of the social worker in the PACT model. The Senior Social Worker independently provides clinical and case management services at an advanced practice level to Veterans with a myriad of medical and mental health diagnosis as well as their family members. These advanced interventions address biological, psychological, social, and environmental needs. The Senior Social Worker serves as a team lead consultant to social workers in primary care and other interdisciplinary staff in planning services for Veterans who are in need of health care & psychosocial services. Veterans treated come from an expansive, rural, resource-limited geographic area. Their health care and psychosocial needs are complex and require a high degree of clinical oversight and creative problem solving. Functions or scope of assigned duties include but are not limited to: Screening and Psychosocial Assessments The Senior Social Worker completes thorough assessments to determine the presenting problem, to determine in-home factors impacting the problem, and to determine obstacles to treatment and/or follow through with recommended treatments. The Social Worker utilizes this assessment in facilitating the Veteran's maximum use of treatment for attainment of the highest level of independence that is possible and practicable. Must understand caregiver stressors, conduct caregiver assessments and provide appropriate caregiver specific interventions. Case Management Expertise The Senior Social Worker participates in team meetings with members of the outpatient interdisciplinary team in order to coordinate a collaborative effort to meet the agreed upon goals for a Veteran's treatment needs. The Senior Social Worker facilitates action for community placements through collaboration with Veterans and their families as well as interdisciplinary treatment team members to ensure that appropriate community placements are completed in a timely manner. The Senior Social Worker possesses skills and knowledge to provide case management services to Veterans and their families throughout the continuum of care. The Social Worker will be able to appropriately utilize principles of human growth and development over the life span and will be able to assist Veterans in coping with the loss and grief experiences from disability and terminal illness. Treatment Planning/Goal Setting & Supportive Counseling The Senior Social Worker will provide services that will include but are not limited to interventions to increase access to care, including transportation assistance and Advanced Directives and other Advanced Care Planning, economic assistance, including assistance with medical bills, financial aid services and strategies to increase income (employment, vocational rehabilitation, VA benefits, disability), and/or reduce expenses, find the appropriate housing for the patient's level of need (affordable independent housing, homeless shelters, group and family care homes, Veterans Homes, assisted living, nursing homes, respite care, hospice care) and order necessary services to assist with functional decline. The Senior Social Worker must possess a working knowledge and experience in use of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures, including acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology. The Senior Social Worker actively participates as a member of the interdisciplinary treatment team; actively participates through collaboration with Veterans and family as well as interdisciplinary treatment team members in the development and implementation of treatment goals and interventions. Establish and maintain effective therapeutic relationships The Senior Social Worker has a high level of skill to develop a therapeutic relationship with Veterans in the Primary Care Clinic and/or their families. The Social Worker independently works with Veterans and their families who are experiencing a wide range of complicated medical, psychiatric, emotional, behavioral, financial, legal and psychosocial problems. Effective social work in the Patient Aligned Care Team context often occurs over a series of visits. The Senior Social Worker must possess and demonstrate ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing with people from varied backgrounds. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00a.m.-4:30p.m. Telework: May be available at the discretion of the Service Chief or equivalent Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized 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. 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). 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: Senior Social Worker, GS-12 Experience/Education: The candidate must have at least two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which, one year must be equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Senior social workers have experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment. Senior social workers are experts in their specialized area of practice. Senior social workers may have certification or other post-masters training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship or equivalent supervised professional experience in a specialty. Licensure/Certification: Senior social workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which included an advanced generalist or clinical examination, unless they are grandfathered by the state in which they are licensed to practice at the advanced practice level (except for licenses issued in California, which administers its own clinical examination for advanced practice) and they must be able to provide supervision for licensure. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations. This includes individual, group, and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. Knowledge in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes. Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in the service delivery area, as well as role modeling effective social work practice skills. Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the social work profession, and to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area. Preferred Experience: Screening & Psychosocial Assessments Case Management Expertise Treatment Planning/Goal Setting & Supportive Counseling; Ability to Establish & Maintain Effective Therapeutic Relationships Ability to Provide Treatment/Education/Consultation Administrative Functions Primary Care SW experience Independent Licensure and Billing Experience with Multidisciplinary Team Program/Service Coordination References: VA HANDBOOK 5005, PART II, APPENDIX G39 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12 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]