This Social Worker is assigned to Women's Residential Program (WRP) for the treatment of substance use disorders and/or post traumatic stress disorder in the Mental Health Service line at VA Puget Sound Health Care System located in Tacoma, Washington. The WRP falls under the Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (MHRRTP). The Social Worker has responsibility to provide direct services for Veterans, their families and caregivers.

Duties

Duties include, but are not limited to: Provide a full range of services within the Social Work Scope of Practice based on Veteran needs, acuity level, and preferences for care. Provide mental health and psychosocial assessment and diagnostic services for Veterans with a broad range of mental health issues, including services for patients with a myriad of mental health and psychosocial needs requiring diagnostic and intervention skills. Provide services to patients regarding the biopsychosocial management of chronic physical conditions, including chronic pain, among others. Provide education to patients and family members regarding mental disorders and best practices approaches to treatment. Provide consultation and psychoeducation to Veterans and Veteran families on topics including community resources, Advance Directives, VA benefits, budgeting, activities of daily living, and recovery goals. Provides evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions for the treatment of SUD and/or PTSD as indicated and appropriate for the specific job setting and duties of the social worker, including individual and group psychotherapy in a DBT based program. EBPs may include, but are not limited to, DBT, CBT for SUD, CPT, and PE. Provides consultation to health care providers about assessment findings and treatment plan for patients to ensure that care is coordinated, collaborative, and integrated within the Medical Center. Develops, implements, and documents the mental health treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients, as indicated and appropriate for the specific job setting and duties of the social worker. Coordinates community-based services, including information and referral for additional services from other VA programs, other government programs, and community agencies. Possesses general knowledge of Veteran's benefits and services relating to special programs, service-connected compensation, and non-service-connected pension. Fulfill ethical responsibilities to Veterans, colleagues and VA in accordance with NASW Code of Ethics, VHA Code of Ethics, and local ethics policies. Develops working relationships with the community and VA providers to whom referrals are most often made and becomes knowledgeable with what community and VA resources are available to Veterans. Refers Veterans to a wide variety of VA and community resources. Document all Veteran care in the electronic health record in accordance with facility policy, VHA Directive 1162.05 (and revisions), and program-specific SOPs. Take responsibility for improving professional competencies by participating training programs and continuing education. Maintain accurate records of trainings in accordance with VA policies and state licensure requirements. Evaluate own practice through professional peer review, case conferences, and other means. Adheres to all Facility and Service Line policies and practices for delivery clinical care, including but not limited to risk assessment, means reduction, professional conduct requirements, and electronic medical record conventions. Achieves minimal clinical workload expectations as established by the Service Line. Complies with all Facility and Service Line policies and expectations concerning administrative practices. Maintain familiarity and responsibility for all behavioral health performance measures. Serve as Mental Health Treatment Coordinator, Senior Social Worker for the entire WRP. May also assist in Admission Coordinator duties for all Veterans referred to the WRP. The Senior Social Worker may also be assigned to do the following: Provides specialized assessment and treatment (individual therapy, group therapy, and psychoeducation) for Veterans in residential programs. Consults with other disciplines and clinics regarding provision of specialty care with a residential setting. Provide support to other programs in the MHRRTP as needed. Actively participate in facility committees relevant to MHRRTP specialty care. Formally supervise trainees & unlicensed staff in the provision of residential care. Actively participate in facility committees relevant to MH RRTP specialty care. Provide supervision to Social Worker interns/trainees as requested. Provide training, education, and consultation to trainees, VA staff, and community partners as a subject matter expert in specialized practice area(s). Work Schedule: 8:00AM - 4:30PM Monday - Friday Telework: Available (Ad-hoc only at the discretion of leadership) Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 00000 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

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. 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: Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g this part). English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f). 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. (COPY OF TRANSCRIPT WITH CONFERRED DATE REQUIRED) 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. (COPY OF ADVANCE PRACTICE LICENSE REQUIRED FOR GS-12) 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 (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, candidates 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. Preferred Experience: Experience in treatment of substance use disorders, treatment of PTSD, and working with female veterans. References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39, September 10, 2019 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: Light lifting and carrying (under 15 lbs.), and operation of motor vehicle. Environmental factors include working closely with others and working alone.

Education

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.

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 Puget Sound Health Care System 1660 South Columbian Way Seattle, WA 98108 US
• Name: Gabriel Johnson
• Phone: (503) 220-8262 X53014
• Email: [email protected]