The TeleGEM program of the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare system will provide Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) using an interdisciplinary team (IDT), to Veterans in the VISN 4 Western Market (Altoona, Butler, Erie, Pittsburgh) who do not have access to this service on site at their local VA Medical Center. Telehealth modalities (Clinical Video Telehealth (CVT), VA Video Connect (VVC), E-consult, and telephone visits will be used in many cases to minimize travel for Veterans and caregivers.

Duties

VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU Independently perform comprehensive initial and follow-up clinical assessments of the psychosocial needs and functioning of the patient, caregiver, and their support systems. Identify psychosocial issues impacting the patient/caregiver's ability to achieve optimal outcomes; implement interventions and provide social work case-management to address psychosocial needs and support patient driven goals of care. Develop an individualized psychosocial plan of care in collaboration with the Veteran/family & IDT team during the TeleGEM team meeting for each Veteran. Coordinate the process of care with the other interdisciplinary team members. This will help maximize efficiency and improve clinical outcomes This plan of care may include individual/family counseling, non-pharmacological pain interventions, stress management, caregiver respite, psycho-educational programs, as well as grief and bereavement counseling. Long term and advance care planning discussion with completion of Advance Directives will be done and documented in the Veterans medical record by the TeleGEM social worker. Participate in the TeleGEM family conference for each Veteran. Educating the patient and caregiver(s) regarding findings and recommendations from the CGA. Provide crisis intervention services, seeking to address the cause as well as presenting complaints, coordinate family conferences and serve as liaison to family members. Incumbents should have working knowledge and experience in the use 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. Provide education, coordination and referral about VA, other government and community resources and services, such as support services involving housing, in-home assistance, financial support, etc. Keep the TeleGEM team informed of available VHA and community resources and benefits for the patient and caregiver to further coordination of care. Document all patient care activities in a timely manner, defined by local policies. - Following consistent processes for patients who no-show or are unable to be reached for scheduled appointments (telephone, and other appointment modalities) as applicable according to local processes. Participate in the development and implementation of TeleGEM's process for continuous performance improvement with measurable outcomes. Instruct students of various disciplines in providing CGA. Serve as a role model in the effective operation of an interdisciplinary team. Incumbent is responsible for maintaining their discipline's continuing education requirements for licensure and/or certification in addition to mandatory VHA education requirements. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday excluding Federal Holidays 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 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: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency: Must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f). 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. 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: GS-11 Level: Experience: 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).OR Education: 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. Transcripts must be submitted with your application. *please note this is in addition to the basic requirements Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services. 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. 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. 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. 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: Experience or training regarding geriatric populations preferred References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS 11.

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 Pittsburgh VA Medical Center 1010 Delafield Road Pittsburgh, PA 15215 US
• Name: Jennifer Fediw
• Phone: (570) 824-3521 X24996
• Email: [email protected]