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

If you are not a current, permanent VA employee or Federal employee from another agency, you should apply under: CBST-12263904-24-AB. The PCMHI Social Worker provides triage, brief assessment and intervention, education, and consultative services regarding a wide range of behavioral health and behavioral medicine concerns on warm handoff and referral from primary care providers and allied PACT members. Duties include, but are not limited to: Clinical/Practice Management Understands PCMHI models (including co-located collaborative care and care management) and population-based interventions. Applies principles of population based care (e.g., early identification and intervention, evidence-based treatment, measurement-based care, interdisciplinary collaboration and coordination) and stepped care (i.e., delivery of most effective, least resource intensive treatment appropriate for patients' individual needs, preferences, and resources). Demonstrates competency in using brief assessment, intervention, and consultation techniques to address common behavioral health problems (e.g., depression, anxiety, sleep problems, stress) and behavioral medicine concerns (e.g., chronic pain, obesity, diabetes, tobacco use). Accepts warm handoffs and referrals from PACT members, and triages, assesses, and refers to specialty behavioral health care services appropriately and efficiently.- Conducts functional assessments and provides time-limited, problem-focused interventions targeting functional outcomes for a broad range of behavioral health and behavioral medicine concerns. These include evidence-based psychotherapy protocols and self-management strategies. Uses brief assessment measures routinely to assist in intervention planning and outcomes monitoring. Maintains availability for telehealth and face-to-face visits. Maintains daily open access slots. Maintains availability for scheduled appointments within two weeks. Completes 80% of visits in 30 minutes or less. Documentation Writes assessment and intervention notes that are brief, clear, and concise, and that document clinical impressions, recommendations, and plan of care. Writes notes documenting curbside consultation results. Completes notes within 24 hours. Consultation Consults with primary care providers and other PACT members routinely about plan of care for patients. Provides verbal and/or written feedback to the primary care provider and other PACT members on same day as warm handoff or referral. Attends regularly scheduled PACT meetings and huddles, and provides curbside consultations on an as-needed basis. Provides general education and consultation to PACT members on behavioral health issues and strategies for successful care management. Demonstrates medical literacy as demonstrated by familiarity with common medical terms, front-line psychiatric medications, understanding of medical culture, and previous experience as part of multidisciplinary treatment teams. Administration Participates in clinical program development, which may include community outreach involving partnering with local universities, community colleges, and other agencies to improve the delivery of mental health services and increase utilization. Accounts for clinical program effectiveness, utilizing outcome evaluations to inform the design and implementation of program- and system-level changes. Evaluates their own practice through professional peer review, case conferences, consultation, and other appropriate means. Participates as a non-voting member of the medical staff, in accordance with medical staff by-laws. Keeps thorough and complete records of clinical encounters with Veterans in the computerized record system (CPRS) and completes documentation in a timely manner and in accord with governing regulations. Provides other services and duties as assigned by their supervisor and/or the Chief of the Mental Health Service. Teaching and Training Teaches and mentors staff in their area of practice and provides supervision for licensure or specialty certifications. Communicates effectively, both orally and in writing, with people from varied backgrounds. Provides Veterans and their families with accurate information according to established policies and procedures. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 564-00545-F Relocation/Recruitment 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

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: Candidates 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. 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. 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: Senior Social Worker, GS-12 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. Examples of creditable experience include but not limited to independently assess psychosocial functioning, facilitate treatment plan with interdisciplinary team, provide case management and care coordination, links patient with services, resources, and opportunities, conducts assessment of at-risk patient to identify immediate needs, provides interventions independently for patient and families/care giver, provide range of interventions and treatment modalities, and provide consultation to staff about psychosocial needs of patients. 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: (a) 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. (b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. (c) 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. (d) 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. (e) 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: Providing behavioral health services with adult populations. Providing behavioral health services through telehealth modalities. Working as a member of a collaborative multidisciplinary care team. Implementing evidence-based assessment and intervention practices. Providing behavioral health service in Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) or similar setting. At least two years of post-licensure professional experience. References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II Appendix G39, Social Worker Qualification Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office. The position is above full performance level, GS-12. Physical Requirements: Light lifting and carrying (under 15 pounds), use of fingers, both hands required, ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously, near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4, far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other, hearing (aid permitted), mental and emotional stability, and able to hear whisper.

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 Fayetteville AR VA Medical Center 1100 North College Avenue Fayetteville, AR 72703 US
• Name: Gregory Hawkins
• Phone: 281-467-2906
• Email: [email protected]