The Social Worker is assigned to the various primary care aligned teams at the Syracuse VA Medical Center and/or CBOC's. The Social Worker provides a full range of social work services within acceptable standards of practice including, but not limited to: detailed assessments, discharge planning, supportive counseling, case management and other appropriate services for Veterans and their families.

Duties

Major duties and responsibilities of the position: Responsible for the management, coordination and provision of social work services to veterans and their families in primary care. Collaborates with the primary care team to focus on health promotion, prevention and management of chronic disease. Conducts assessments to determine needs of veterans and family members and treats psychosocial and environmental factors that impact the patient's ability to achieve maximum health and wellness. Incumbent is an active participant in the treatment planning process with other disciplines and participates in team huddles as a member of the interdisciplinary team. Reviews options with patient and family and is responsible for ensuring that a treatment plan is based on the patient's identified concerns and goals are established. Provides a full range of social work services within commonly accepted standards of social work practice which includes individual, family and group counseling, case management, discharge planning, and other services as appropriate. Provides individual, family and group counseling as appropriate. Provides consultation/education to veterans and families on internal, governmental agencies, and community resources, Goals of Care conversations, advance directives, and VA benefits. Acts as a consultant to other team/staff members. This includes providing consultation/education to interdisciplinary team members and medical residents on social work practice and VA policy and procedure. Acts as liaison between VA and community resources, to include marketing and public relation duties as needed. Assist patients and their significant others with coping and dealing with the loss and grief experiences in disability, terminal illness and death. Responsible for documenting social work interventions and activities in patient's clinical record and ensuring appropriate hand off when transferring patient care. Maintains data and statistical compilations to comply with JCAHO, VA and medical center policy and procedures. Participates in committee assignments, discipline specific meetings and initiatives, as deemed necessary by the service manager. May participate in a rotation of on-call social workers, including modification of tour of duty to accommodate patient care needs on weekends. May provide supervision to a Social Work intern or be generally involved in the MSW training program. May provide orientation and/or consultation to less experienced Social Workers. Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Telework: Ad-hoc. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 21T57-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.

Requirements

Qualifications

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). Education. Have a masters 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 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-0185series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice socialhttp://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 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, masters level within one year of meeting the state prerequisites for licensure. 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. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).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 : 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 ofsocial 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. References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G-39. Social Work Qualification Standard GS-185, Veterans Health Administration. The full performance level of this vacancy is at the GS-11 level. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-9 to the GS-11 level. Physical Requirements: Work is sedentary but also demands standing, walking, bending, twisting, and carrying light items.

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 Syracuse VA Medical Center 800 Irving Ave Syracuse, NY 13210 US
• Name: Girolamo Tavolante
• Phone: (315) 863-2853
• Email: [email protected]