The Chalmers P. Wylie VA Outpatient Clinic is a medical clinic which provides a full range of ambulatory health care services to eligible veterans. The Spinal Cord Injury Program is a comprehensive team which delivers primary care to Veterans with spinal cord injuries in a longitudinal rather than episodic fashion and which has as its focus: prevention, health promotion, coordination and chronic disease management.

Duties

The Incumbent: Must have a high level of skill and expertise to establish and maintain effective therapeutic relationships with Veterans in the Primary care clinic and/or their families. Should be able to work independently with Veterans and their families experiencing a wide range of complicated medical, psychiatric, emotional, behavioral, financial, legal and psychosocial problems. Must have 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 act model. Must independently complete thorough psychosocial assessments to determine the psychological functioning and needs of Veterans and/or their families. Must actively participate as a member of the interdisciplinary treatment team and actively participate through collaboration with Veterans and family as well as interdisciplinary treatment team members in the development and implementation of treatment goals and interventions. Must possess a working knowledge and experience in use of medical and mental health diagnoses. Must possess skills in mental health assessment, crisis intervention, suicide risk assessment and brief treatment. Must facilitate 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. Must have an understanding of caregiver stressors, ability to conduct caregiver assessment and provide appropriate caregiver specific interventions. Must serve as a liaison between Veterans and/or their families and VA and community resources in order to ensure thorough delivery of services. Must possess knowledge and ability to independently implement treatment modalities and evidence based practices as well as provide educational classes, and/or supportive groups for Veterans and families, including shared medical appointments. Must provide consultation and education to Veterans and their families regarding community resources. Must be able to provide consultation to other treatment teams and staff members regarding the psychosocial needs of Veterans and/or their families. Must maintain knowledge of Veterans benefits and services, community resources and process for making appropriate referrals to the community and other governmental programs or agencies. Must possess skills and knowledge to provide case management services to Veterans and their families throughout the continuum of care. Must have knowledge of the signs and symptoms of abuse, neglect and exploitation. Must possess and demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing with people from varied backgrounds. Serves on committees, work groups and task forces at the facility. Mindful of keeping their supervisor apprised of problems and recommends solutions. Responsible for furthering ones own growth. Able to assist with the orientation and learning of less experienced social workers. Demonstrates knowledge and skills in the use of software applications to draft documents and data management. Able to maintain productivity and quality consistent with assignments. Willing to modify tour of duty as necessary to accommodate the needs of Veterans patients. Responsible for supporting the mission and values of VHA Work Schedule: Monday- Friday, 08:00 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. Telework: Ad Hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 92160-0. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized. Financial Disclosure Report: Not require. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services.

Requirements

Qualifications

Basic Requirements: a. Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. b. 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. c. 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/. To Qualify for the 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 socioeconomic, 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. To Qualify for the GS-11: (1) 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-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 (2) 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. (3) 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.

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 Chalmers P Wylie Veterans Outpatient Clinic 420 North James Road Columbus, OH 43219 US
• Name: Semhar Berhe
• Phone: 708-953-0479
• Email: [email protected]