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

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 4:00pm to 12:30am Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Contact [email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required The Senior Social Worker functions as part of the treatment team in the Emergency Department (ED). The incumbent is required to exercise independent judgment and decision making in the formulation of the treatment plan with the treatment team. Must have extensive skills in utilizing VA and community resources. Have extensive experience in providing accurate psychosocial and DSM diagnoses, working with at-risk veterans, assessing risk factors and determining appropriate level of care for persons presenting to the ED. Additional responsibilities include an ongoing assessment of the patient's progress and treatment, developing discharge plans when the patient's condition makes this feasible, providing guidance to treatment team members and colleagues, helping coordinate enhanced care for veterans at high risk, and helping coordinate follow up psychosocial and Mental Health Care for veterans who are not being admitted to a higher level of care within VA Duties of the position include, but are not limited to: Develop an assessment of the veteran in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team, the veteran, family members, and significant others. The goal of the assessment is to highlight the veteran's strengths, limitations, and internal/external supports, risk factors, and service needs to optimize the veteran's functional status. Evaluates the veteran's situation, abilities, and capabilities and arrives at a reasoned conclusion including an assessment of vulnerability and prioritization for emergency intervention. Assesses at-risk factors and develops a preliminary plan. Performs an insightful assessment of serious and complicated cases involving psychosocial needs and/or psychiatric illness, which may also include catastrophic medical condition, dementia, traumatic brain injury, and other high-risk diagnoses. Reviews all data, subjective and objective, and makes a clinical assessment identifying emergent needs and appropriate level of care needed to address risk factors and needs. Special attention will be provided to high-risk and vulnerable populations who have frequent ED visits, hospitalizations, or are at increased risk for readmission due to social, medical, and mental health circumstances. High level of skill and expertise to establish and maintain effective therapeutic relationships with highly complex Veterans and their families. Provides education related to VA and community resources, entitlements, Advance Directives/Living Will, and refers veterans/families to the appropriate resources or interdisciplinary team members for identified health education needs. Review the progress notes from the other providers to accurately determine the strengths and limitations of each veteran being referred for mental health and psychological services. Assess and provide interventions to Veterans and their families who are experiencing a wide range of complicated medical, psychiatric, emotional, behavioral, financial, legal, and psychosocial problems. Interventions are conducted in the Emergency Department. Demonstrates an advanced understanding of the range of treatment and skills needed for all adult patients, including geriatric patient related to their physical limitations, psychological needs, and age-associated illnesses and conditions. Understanding of the problems of advancing age and respect for the diversification of the aging veteran population, being sensitive to human growth and development, age-appropriate needs and concerns of the geriatric veteran, and be able to provide current and advanced techniques to the treatment of this veteran population. Collaborate with other service providers in reassessing the veteran's needs. Responsible for educating the veteran and/or caregiver of the available services and assisting them in establishing the appropriate referrals based on the veteran's preference or that of his/her surrogate decision-maker. Responsible for working to coordinate ongoing care for veterans after discharge from the emergency department to ensure that a continuum of care is provided for this population. Responsible for helping coordinate after care treatment appointments for high-risk veterans discharged from mental health inpatient programs. Documents independently in the medical records, utilizing paper and/or electronic formats, including psychosocial assessments, diagnostics, treatment, progress notes, follow up, and referral. Other duties as assigned by management.

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). Grandfathering Provision: The following is the standard grandfathering policy for all title 38 hybrid qualification standards. Please carefully review the qualification standard to determine the specific education and/or licensure/certification/registration requirements that apply to this occupation. All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all of the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure or certification, may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all of the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. If an employee who was retained in an occupation listed in 38 U.S.C. 7401(3) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. NOTE: If social workers covered under the grandfathering provision of the 1991 Federal law regarding licensure or certification of VHA social workers leave the GS-0185 social work series, they lose the grandfathering protection. If they choose to return at a later date to the GS-0185 series, they must be licensed or certified to qualify for employment as a social worker. 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. References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G39 Preferred Experience: Experience working in an Emergency Department setting. 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: Incumbent will work primarily at a desk or in meeting rooms, patient rooms, mainly typing, working on the phone, meeting with patients and families for assessments and discussions. Incumbent will also perform home visits on occasions and may be driving to and from patients' homes. There is no heavy lifting required.

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 VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System 975 Kirman Avenue Reno, NV 89502 US
• Name: Brittany Strite
• Phone: 3045797687
• Email: [email protected]