The incumbent provides Veterans on the Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit with high quality case management, psychosocial support, advocacy, and linkage with appropriate VA and community service providers/agencies as needed. This is accomplished in collaboration with other members of the unit's interdisciplinary treatment team and other facility interdisciplinary treatment teams as appropriate.

Duties

VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU Psychosocial Assessment - The social worker will develop an assessment of the Veteran, family, economic, community, and psychosocial support systems. The assessments must reflect a high level of skill in gathering, analyzing, interpreting, and documenting data that is pertinent and directly related to patient health care planning, treatment, education and case management. The Veteran, family members and significant others are involved in this process, whenever possible. The goal of the assessment is to highlight the Veteran's strengths, limitations, and internal/external supports and service needs in order to optimize the Veteran's functional status and to help ensure that the Veteran is able to safely live in the least restrictive environment possible. It is the responsibility of the social worker, to complete these psychosocial assessments in a timely manner in keeping with the programs guidelines and Veterans' treatment needs. Treatment Planning/Goal Setting - The incumbent is responsible for contributing to the treatment plan, and setting achievable treatment goals with the Veteran/family in collaboration with the Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation interdisciplinary treatment team members. The social worker will include psychosocial needs in the interdisciplinary treatment plan and will attend weekly interdisciplinary care planning meetings. Ongoing assessments and updating treatment plans are done when clinically indicated. Referral to service providers - Throughout the course of treatment on the Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit, the social worker is the subject matter expert on VA and community resources. The social worker will collaborate with other service providers in reassessing the Veteran's needs for non-institutional, institutional services/programs and entitlements. The social worker is 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. Advocacy - Social worker will act as an advocate when it serves the best interest of the Veteran/family. When appropriate and feasible, social worker will educate and encourage the Veteran/family to advocate for themselves, thus fostering a sense of independence and empowerment. Crisis Intervention - Incumbent is experienced in making rapid assessments and developing crisis management plans. Social worker has access to multiple resource directories in addition to previously developed resources to meet the demands of a crisis. In the event of a medical or psychiatric emergency, staff will follow the facility standard operating procedures. Education/Health promotion and prevention - Social worker will provide 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. Coordination of non-institutional and institutional services - Social worker is responsible for the coordination of the referrals of non-institutional services such as Home Based Primary Care (HBPC), Homemaker/Home Health Aide (H/HHA), Adult Day Health Care (ADHC), home hospice, skilled and non-skilled homecare services in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team members. Supportive counseling - Social worker will provide the Veterans and their caregivers with ongoing supportive counseling. The purpose of such counseling is to deal with the psychosocial impact of coping with chronic/disabling illness(es), onset of a catastrophic illness and/or dying, and possible need for continued institutional services. Administrative responsibilities - The social worker will enter all Veteran/family contacts in the electronic health record using appropriate formats and templates. The incumbent will perform other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:30am - 4:00pm Telework: Ad-hoc Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #:922430 / 922440 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

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: Be a citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy, (chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g this part). 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/. Exception. VHA may waive the licensure or certification requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified, pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure/certification examinations. This exception only applies at the GS-9 grade level. For the GS-11 grade level and above, the candidate must be licensed or certified. At the time of appointment, the supervisor, chief social work or social work executive will provide the unlicensed/uncertified social worker with the written requirements for licensure or certification, including the time by which the license or certification must be obtained and the consequences for not becoming licensed or certified by the deadline. For appointments at the GS-9 grade level, VHA social workers who are not licensed or certified at the time of appointment must become licensed or certified at the independent, master's level within three years of their appointment as a social worker. Most states require two years of post-MSW experience as a prerequisite to taking the licensure/certification exam, and VHA gives social workers one additional year to pass the licensure/certification exam. In states such as California, Washington, and others where the prerequisites for licensure exceed two years, social workers must become licensed at the independent, master's level within one year of meeting the full state prerequisites for licensure. A social worker who does not yet have a license that allows independent practice must be supervised by a licensed independent practitioner of the same discipline who is a VA staff member and who has access to the electronic health record. Failure to Obtain License or Certification. In all cases, social workers must actively pursue meeting state prerequisites for licensure or certification starting from the date of their appointment. Failure to become licensed or certified within the prescribed amount of time will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment. Loss of Licensure or Certification. Once licensed or certified, social workers must maintain a full, valid, and unrestricted independent license or certification to remain qualified for employment. Loss of licensure or certification will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment. 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: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Social Worker, GS-9 Experience, Education, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Ability to work with Veterans and family members from various socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, educational, and other diversified backgrounds utilizing counseling skills. (b) Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veterans problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed. (c) Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups to achieve treatment goals. This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving, or crisis intervention techniques. (d) Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies. (e) Fundamental knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures. This includes acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries; common medications and their effects/side effects; and medical terminology. 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. NOTE: For appointment licensure or certification at this level please refer to paragraph 3c. OR 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. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services. (b) Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, educational and other diversified backgrounds. (c) Knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities and treatment procedures (i.e. acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology) to formulate a treatment plan. (d) Skill in independently implementing different treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical, and social problems to achieve treatment goals. (e) Ability to provide consultation services to new social workers, social work graduate students, and other staff about the psychosocial needs of patients and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and compliance with treatment. Preferred Experience: Discharge planning experience within inpatient setting. References: VA Handbook 5005/120 APPENDIX G39 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS 11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS 9 to GS 11. Physical Requirements: The work is sometimes sedentary. Typically, the employee will sit to perform administrative work. However, other position duties include but are not limited to, long periods of walking; standing; bending; crouching, reaching and lifting of a variety of moderately heavy items, carrying of light items such as papers, books, small parts; or driving an automobile, etc. No special physical demands are required to perform the work.

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address Chillicothe VA Medical Center 17273 State Route 104 Chillicothe, OH 45601 US
• Name: Emily Chain Smith
• Phone: 740-253-9967
• Email: [email protected]