The incumbent accepts and supports the guiding principles of the Medical Center. Performs assigned duties in a manner that promotes quality health care, outstanding customer service, and the maintenance of an environment committed to serving veterans. Actively supports the team concept and functions as a team player. Contributes to team initiatives and continuously strives to improve the effectiveness of the team(s) to which s/he is assigned.

Duties

Major Duties Include (but not limited to): Works with Social Workers who accompany an interdisciplinary team at the Lake City VA Community Living Center, which includes Long Term Care, Short Term Rehab, and Palliative Care neighborhoods. Social Work Associate can also assist with other inpatient and outpatient areas of the hospital, as directed by supervisor Provides services to selected cases as referred by the appropriate team members and functions as a Community Resource Specialist (CRS). Triage Veterans seeking treatment in an inpatient short term rehab or long term care setting. Works with the treatment team and Veteran to implement objectives by supporting the identified goals, which can be achieved by use of the knowledge, skills, abilities, in which s/he has been trained. Assist with completing necessary paperwork, providing support to the Veteran and/or caregiver who may potentially struggle with the factors associated with a debilitating illness or a change in functional status. Inpatient geriatric setting where Social Work Associate would assist in providing social work support and case management/care coordination follow-up. This includes handling details around case management/care coordination including Veterans benefits, Medicaid applications, assisted living facilities and contract community nursing home placement. Acquiring or following up on the acquisition of documents, reports, or information needed for social work treatment. Make telephone calls or personal contacts on behalf of social workers to providers, nurses, families, community nursing home personnel, community agencies, significant others. Follow-up with Business Office, Veteran service organizations, internal and external resources regarding referrals to VA and community providers. Interviews Veterans or the Veteran's caregiver either face to face or by telephone to assist with the development of a Veteran centered plan to meet the identified needs and to establish the nature and extent of their problems, assist in deciding the appropriate course of action, providing the services indicated in their scope, and providing follow-up to ensure continuity of care. Investigates community resources and makes information about them available to social work sta. Reviews Veterans legal next of kin and emergency contacts and ensures electronic health record demographics reflects accurate information. Providing social services, social work support, and case management/care coordination follow-up to ensure seamless transition from inpatient to outpatient care. Documents all Social Work Associate activities in the Veteran's electronic medical record in accordance with service and Medical Center policies. Participates in program planning and in the development of sound working relationships with Medical Center personnel, community agencies, and other governmental and community agencies. Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM Virtual: This is NOT a virtual position. Selected applicant MUST physically report to the Lake City VA Medical Center. Position Description/PD#: Social Work Associate/PD06000A

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/12/2023. GS-08 Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current VA/VHA employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-08 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. -AND- Individual Occupational Requirements (IOR): This position has an IOR which must be met to qualify for the position. EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENT: Do you possess a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in major fields of study such as: social welfare, sociology, psychology, public administration, philosophy, education, anthropology, history, economics and/or English? OR SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-7) in the normal line of progression of the position and Two years of experience as a social welfare worker or social work assistant in a voluntary, public, social, or health agency, which must have included 1 year in a medical setting. Specialized experience is experience in a program of direct social welfare services that required the application of program policy and operations knowledge in providing social welfare services and/or assisting social workers. -AND- GS-08 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: utilizing general counseling techniques and crisis intervention to use in support of MSW social workers' clinical work; fact/data gathering (social history) to identify needs of the problems/issues confronting the patient and recommendations with regard to strength-based approach to resolution; documents activities in the patient's medical record in accordance with policies; assisting with applications/paperwork, forms (including but not limited to Advance Directive paperwork), gathering information, handling details around case management/care coordination including patient benefits, Medicaid applications, assisted living facilities and contract nursing home placements; assisting with following up on the acquisition of documents, reports, or information needed for social work treatment. Note: IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Verbiage displayed on your resume or application must contain your own words. You may refer to the specialized experience located within the vacancy announcement, to assist with describing work experiences; however, resumes or applications received that copied verbatim from the announcement will be evaluated and may be reviewed as falsifying your experience or application. **PLEASE NOTE; TIME IN GRADE, IOR AND SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE FOR A GS-08 ARE 3 COMPLETELY SEPARATE ITEMS AND ALL 3 MUST BE MET TO MEET MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS*** You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Critical ThinkingInterpersonal SkillsOrganizational StewardshipVeteran and Customer Focus Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. PHYSICAL DEMANDS-The work involves sitting, standing, and walking and is carried out within the confines of the office/work space provided. WORK ENVIRONMENT-Work will be done in Ambulatory Care/specialty care clinic locations and other areas of the medical center. Much of the work will be carried out in the integrated team work space. The incumbent works in proximity to Veterans and is therefore, occasionally exposed to communicable diseases. The incumbent may also be subjected to hostile behavior during an interview and defensive maneuvers to protect self may be necessary. Incumbent may be required to drive a government vehicle to other sites of care; community meetings; outreach events or other appropriate functions. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

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 Malcom Randall Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 1601 Southwest Archer Road Gainesville, FL 32608 US
• Name: Lauren Bianchi
• Phone: 216-447-8010 X49802
• Email: [email protected]