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

Requires readiness for a Clinical Deployment Team (CDT) a staff dedicated to the continuity of Veteran healthcare and support to communities in times of crisis. Able to deploy, within the team's scheduled deployment windows, to any event within 72 hours of notification with the ability to work seamlessly with receiving facility or agencies. Works under a high stress healthcare environment, possibly in austere conditions, or in an emergency setting, while maintaining awareness of the critical elements of an emergency deployment by processing information from various sources. Provides direct patient care when deployed to an emergency, within the CDT staff's scope of practice/privileges/licensure/functional statement, with the resources available. Maintains clinical competencies particular to the CDT role by participation in emergency response exercises and code teams. Participates in CDT specific training activities (e.g., conferences, exercises, simulations, specific competencies, certifications). Maintains clinical competencies particular to the CDT role by participation in emergency response exercises and code teams. Makes psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. Conducts Interventions and treatment modalities in specialty treatment programs or with special Veteran populations. Includes individual, group, and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management interventions used in the treatment of veterans with polytraumatic injuries, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, visual impairment, post-traumatic stress disorder, etc. Assesses suicidal risk utilizing clinical judgment and demonstrates an ability to intervene appropriately. Develops and implements methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services. Coordinates the delivery of specialized psychosocial services and programs. Ability to design system changes based on empirical findings. Renders professional opinions based on experience and expertise and role modeling effective social work practice skills. Ability to teach and mentor staff and students in the specialty area of practice and to provide supervision for licensure or for specialty certifications. Writes policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the specialty population or specialty treatment program. Facilitates 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. Community placements can involve but are not limited to referrals to contract nursing homes, Community Living Centers, residential care homes, inpatient and outpatient hospice services. Serves as a liaison between Veterans and/or their families and VA and community resources in order to ensure thorough delivery of services. Provides consultation and education to Veterans and their families regarding community resources, VA benefits and specialty programs, and advance directives. Provides consultation to other treatment team and staff members regarding psychosocial needs of Veterans and/or their families and the impact of the identified psychosocial problems on the Veteran's health care planning and compliance with treatment. Maintains knowledge of Veteran's benefits and services, community resources, and process for making appropriate referrals to community and other governmental programs or agencies. Possesses skills and knowledge to provide case management services to Veterans and their families throughout the continuum of care. Able to appropriately utilize principles of human growth and development over the life span and will be able to assist Veterans in coping with the loss and grief experiences from disability and terminal illness. Serves on committees, work groups, and task forces at the WCHCS as deemed appropriate by the supervisor and Chief of Care Management and Social Work Services. Provides assistance with the orientation and learning of less experienced social workers and to serve as a preceptor for social work students. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: May be reviewed based on the needs of the organization. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 571840 Relocation 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

***This is an open continuous announcement until June 19, 2024. Qualified applicants will be considered and referred as vacancies become available. *** 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 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. GS-12, Senior Social Worker 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. Preferred Experience: Readiness to apply professional skills to a range of emergency situations. References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39 Physical Requirements: May require strenuous physical activity to include carrying persons and equipment, walking long distances over difficult terrain, running, climbing, working long hours in primitive or arduous conditions, long periods of standing, and bending and stooping. Maintain VHA physical fitness requirements, vaccinations, and safety precautions related to infection control, and occupational safety requirements and preventative measures, such as personal protective equipment (PPE) requirements.

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 Western Colorado Health Care System 2121 North Avenue Grand Junction, CO 81501 US
• Name: Cory Carter
• Phone: 702-791-9000 X15094
• Email: [email protected]