The position functions as the senior social worker in the Infectious Disease Clinic at the Loma Linda VA Healthcare System and provides services to patients with a wide variety of complex medical, psychosocial and psychiatric symptoms. The incumbent has specialized knowledge of issues relating to HIV/AIDs, their treatments, community referrals and specialized benefits. Responsible for assessment, information, and referral, crisis intervention, high risk screening and transitional planning.

Duties

VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU Performs specialized treatment of complex physical or mental illness. Incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of Veteran patients, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. Independently performs case finding functions and outreach, identifying and screening patients for psychosocial needs. Possesses the knowledge and ability to independently implement treatment modalities, provide counseling or psychotherapy for individuals, families and groups. Conducts psychosocial assessments. Develops treatment plans in collaboration with the Veteran/family and with the interdisciplinary treatment team. Incumbent possesses the skills to offer psychosocial interventions and measures outcomes to interventions. Performs evaluations for transplants as assigned. Coordinates community-based services, including information and referral for additional services from other VA programs, other government programs and community agency programs. Independently performs case finding functions and outreach, identifying and screening patients for psychosocial needs. Independently identifies high-risk patients and provides case management services. incumbent provides crisis intervention services, seeking to address the cause as well as the presenting complaint, coordinates family conferences and serves as liaison to family members. Establishes and maintains effective therapeutic relationships with Veterans and their families. Independently works with patients and families who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical and social problems utilizing individual, group and family counseling and therapy skills. Assesses the Veteran and family's understanding of their diagnosis and proposed treatments in the clinic setting. The social worker provides intervention to assist the Veteran and family cope with their diagnosis and emerging emotions. Independently provides consultation services to other staff regarding the psychosocial needs of Veterans and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and adherence to treatment plan. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Telework: Not Available Functional Statement #: 00000 Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

Basic Requirements Citizenship: Citizen of the United States. Licensure: Candidate 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. Education: Master's degree in social work (MSW) 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 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 master's degree in social work. Grade Determinations: GS-12 Senior Social Worker Experience: In addition to the basic requirements, applicants 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. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 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. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. 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. 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. 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. Assignments. Senior social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced level. Senior social workers typically practice in a major program area such as but not limited to: Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center or Polytrauma Network Site; a Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Center, or a national VHA referral center, such as a national Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or a national Transplant Center, or other program areas of equivalent scope and complexity. The senior social worker may be assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. Assignments include clinical settings where they have limited access to onsite supervision such as CBOCs or satellite outpatient clinics. The senior social worker collaborates with the other members of the treatment team in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans, ensures equity of access, service, and benefits to this population, ensures the care provided is of the highest quality. The senior social worker provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned social work staff. They serve on committees, work groups, and task forces at the facility, VISN and national level, or in the community as deemed appropriate by the supervisor, Social Work Executive or Chief of Social Work Services. This assignment is to be relatively few in number based on the size of the facility/service and applying sound position management. References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G39 - Social Worker Qualification Standard. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. Infrequently, assignments may require prolonged standing. The selectee may carry light items, such as books, files, or a laptop computer. Duties require ability to walk distances, communicate verbally in a clear manner, which includes normal hearing and manual dexterity.

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Jerry L Pettis Memorial Veterans Hospital 11201 Benton Street Loma Linda, CA 92357 US
• Name: Megan Grajeda
• Phone: 562-844-9475
• Email: [email protected]