The Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) Social Worker located in the Primary Care Clinic areas provides medical Social Work services to the Veteran population enrolled at the Orlando VA Health Care System. Services include provision of high-quality case management, clinical treatment, advocacy, and coordination of linkages to other appropriate VA or community service providers and/or agencies as needed by the Veteran and/or caregiver.

Duties

The Social Worker's role includes independently providing psychosocial support to a special Veteran population with highly complex health and/or mental health problems and the provision of short-term, solution focused counseling with Veterans and/or their families. The purpose of such counseling is to deal with the psychosocial impact of coping with chronic/disabling illness(es), onset of a catastrophic illness. Some of the duties include, but are not limited to; Provides a full range of social work services within commonly accepted standards of social work practice which includes case work, Measurement Base Care, individual, family and group counseling, discharge planning, case management and other services as appropriate. Will develop an assessment of the Veteran in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team, the Veteran, family members and significant others. Responsible for developing a treatment plan and setting achievable treatment goals with the Veteran/family. Demonstrates an understanding of the range of treatment and skills needed for all adult patients including geriatric patients related to their physical limitations, psychological needs and age associated illnesses and conditions. As the PACT Social Worker is the subject matter expert on VA and/or community resources, the social worker provides education related to VA and community resources, entitlements, Advance Directives/Living Will and will refer Veterans/families to the appropriate interdisciplinary team member for identified health education needs. Experienced in making rapid assessments and developing crisis management plans for Veterans within the VA and community. Coordinate treatment and communicate with other social workers and community program coordinators to include NIC, CNH, and TCM, Behavioral Health Programs, Homeless Program, Suicide Prevention etc, to facilitate continuity of care for Veterans. Will actively contribute to the success of local organizational goals within PACT and will participate in activities that obtain feedback from Veterans and/or caregivers and work to enhance services as needed. Other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: The primary tour of duty will be M-F 8am to 4:30pm. However, the selectee may also be required to work various shifts on a permanent or temporary basis, based on the needs of the service and patient care. Telework: May be available - as determined by agency policy. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: Social Worker - Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) #81764F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/12/2024. 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: Must 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: 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: Must be proficient in spoken and written English 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). 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. Grade Determinations: Social Worker, GS-11 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. 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. Preferred Experience: Those candidates with the following; ability to communicate with diverse patient population, ability to conduct comprehensive diagnostic psychosocial assessments, ability to provide care coordination to Veterans and caregivers with complex care needs, are highly preferred. References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39 Physical Requirements: The position requires performance of work which involves light physical effort, such as that involved in lifting light files, bending, standing, reaching, operating office equipment such as telephone, copier, fax machine, scanner, etc. The physical demands of the work requires use of fingers; moderate walking and standing; near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4; far vision correctable in on eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other; hearing aid permitted; clear speech; emotional stability; moderate duty.

Education

Must 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.

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 Orlando VA Medical Center 13800 Veterans Way Orlando, FL 32827 US
• Name: Christopher Cacciapaglia
• Phone: (407) 631-8494
• Email: [email protected]