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

Serves as a senior Social Worker in the Behavioral Health service line under the Recovery Program at the El Paso VA Health Care System (EPVAHCS) providing treatment to patients with mental health issues involving sexual trauma. The incumbent will be part of an interdisciplinary team. Performs specialized treatment of complex physical or mental illness. Incumbent incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of veteran patients, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. The MST Coordinator is assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program operations, development and is accountable for program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. Responsible for reviewing all incoming consultations for Military Sexual trauma and Therapy Services Clinic services and manages all referrals received through multiple referral sources. Participates in MST Quality Reviews as applicable to the requirements of MST/ MHC Handbook for the purpose of program evaluation and service pattern modification based on unmet Veteran needs and/or systemic barriers to care. Coordinates the flow of Military Sexual Trauma Programs as directed by Supervisor, Therapy Services and/or Associate Chief of Staff, Behavioral Health Services. Provides guidance to staff regarding clinical issues as well as problems with documentation and/or CPRS issues. Provides individual, group, and family psychotherapy and advanced level case management interventions used in the treatment of veterans with traumatic brain injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder, addictions, and other serious disorders. Develops and implements methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in specialty areas, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services. Demonstrates the ability to design changes based on empirical findings. Offers consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients treated in specialist areas, rendering professional opinions based on experience and expertise and role modeling effective social work practice skills. Recommend changes in military sexual trauma treatment processes to BH Leadership to improve quality of care to veterans. Teach and mentor staff and students in the special area of practice and to provide supervision for licensure or specialty certifications. Provides direct social work services to veterans, family members and significant others. Independently conducts psychosocial assessments, including PTSD screens. Develops treatment plans in collaboration with the veteran/family and with the interdisciplinary treatment team. Skill to offer psychosocial interventions and measures outcomes to interventions. Treatments are evidence based. Coordinates community-based services, including information and referral for additional services from other VA programs, other government programs and community agency programs. Independently identifies high-risk patients and provides case management services. Provides crisis intervention services, seeking to address the cause as well as the presenting complaint, coordinates family conferences and serves as liaison to family members. Has knowledge and experience in use of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities and treatment procedures, including acute, chronic and traumatic illness/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology. Establishes and maintains effective therapeutic relationships with veterans and their families. Maintains caseload of patients with PTSD, especially PTSD due to MST. Independently works with patients and families who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical and social problems utilizing individual, group and family counseling and therapy skills. Independently provides consultation services to other staff regarding the psychosocial needs of veterans and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and adherence to treatment plan. Able to evaluate incumbent's own practice through professional practice review, case conferences, and other organizational means. Incumbent communicates effectively, both orally and in writing, with people from varied backgrounds. General knowledge of veterans' benefits and services relating to special programs, service-connected compensation and non-service-connected pension. Facilitates referrals based upon veterans needs and eligibility. Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday- Friday; 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: Available (Ad Hoc) Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: Senior Social Worker (Military Sexual Trauma Coordinator) Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Contact the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

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/. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f) 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, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:(a) 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.(b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.(c) 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.(d) 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.(e) 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. Assignments. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Senior social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced level. Senior social workers typically practice in a major program area such as but not limited to: Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center or Polytrauma Network Site; a Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Center, or a national VHA referral center, such as a national Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or a national Transplant Center, or other program areas of equivalent scope and complexity. The senior social worker may be assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. Assignments include clinical settings where they have limited access to onsite supervision such as CBOCs or satellite outpatient clinics. The senior social worker collaborates with the other members of the treatment team in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans, ensures equity of access, service, and benefits to this population, ensures the care provided is of the highest quality. The senior social worker provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned social work staff. They serve on committees, work groups, and task forces at the facility, VISN and national level, or in the community as deemed appropriate by the supervisor, Social Work Executive or Chief of Social Work Services. This assignment is to be relatively few in number based on the size of the facility/service and applying sound position management. This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and cannot be used as the full performance level of this occupation. Preferred Experience: Experience in working with Veteran Population with 2 years' experience in Sexual Trauma. Clinical experience with mental health diagnosis to include PTSD, Substance Abuse and other Dual Diagnosis related to Sexual Trauma. Clinical Proficiencies in Suicide Risk Assessment. Experience with Evidence Based Treatment for individual and group therapy. At least 1 year experience in writing press release and providing media interviews. Experience in developing and implementing large scale outreach events. References: VA Handbook 5005/120 Appendix G39 dated September 10, 2019. 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: The work is sedentary. Some work may require movement between offices, hospitals, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work. Work may also require walking/standing, in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site. Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Failure to provide transcript may result in non-referral of your application if your education cannot be verified.

Must 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.

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.

Note: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application.

Contacts

• Address El Paso VA Clinic 5001 North Piedras Street El Paso, TX 79930 US
• Name: VISN 17 SSU USAS Group
• Email: [email protected]