Works for the Central Virginia VA Health Care System in Richmond, Virginia, as a direct report to the Suicide Prevention Program, and is assigned to the Mental Health Service Line.

Duties

Interviews Clients and Conducts Psychosocial Assessments: Interviews Veterans and their family members/significant others to establish facts about the Veteran's situation, presenting problems and their causes, and the impact of such problems on the Veteran's functioning and health as part of a comprehensive psychosocial assessment. Interprets and explains VA's treatment and benefit programs. Reviews all data, subjective and objective, and makes a clinical assessment identifying needs and strengths. Effectively uses professional skill, objectivity, and insight. Uses advanced clinical training, insight, and experience to interpret data and to identify viable treatment options. Assesses high risk factors, acuity, and need for services. Makes Psychosocial Diagnoses Based on the psychosocial assessment, uses professional judgment and advanced practice skills to make a psychosocial diagnosis. Assesses at-risk factors and develops a preliminary disposition plan involving the Veteran and family or significant others. Performs insightful assessment of serious and complicated cases involving psychiatric illness involving psychiatric, catastrophic medical conditions, dementia, and other high-risk diagnoses. Makes independent professional decisions and recommendations. Assesses Risk and Risk Severity On an inpatient/outpatient basis, Uses evidenced-based, VA-approved assessment tools to evaluate acute and chronic risk factors for SDV behavior. Implements Treatment Uses VA-approved assessment tools to determine immediate and short-term safety plans and interventions. Provides clinical services to Veterans. Provides individual and group counseling services, including psychotherapy in some settings. Utilized evidence-based psychotherapy, as clinically indicated. Provides guidance and support to others on the Suicide Prevention team, and HCS in determining treatment plans for Veterans at heightened risk for suicide. Organizes community services on behalf of beneficiaries, developing and coordinating procedures for use of these services by related staff. Develops working relationships and agreements with other organizations having responsibilities for the same patient population. Maintains a current and productive network of referral resources. Makes provision for referral services from other agencies, community resources and other Governmental agencies to resolve problems. Professional judgment, including knowledge of normal and abnormal behavior, is an inherent competency applied in daily interactions with Veterans. Regularly treats Veterans with serious medical and psychiatric problems through counseling or referral. Highly developed professional, clinical, and advanced practice skills are routinely used to treat Veterans with complex problems, histories of non- compliance with treatment and inability, or unwillingness to participate in treatment. Monitors Consult Service and assigns cases in absence of program manager or Suicide Prevention Coordinators Receives and completes requests for services (consults) from interdisciplinary team members and from other Social Workers on complex, difficult cases, using advanced practice skills and expertise. Also provides consultation to Social Workers and interdisciplinary team members. Is responsible for development and maintenance of professional standards of practice. Evaluation, Education, Supervision, Coaching, and Mentoring Establishes a continuing relationship with the Veteran, evaluating progress towards goals adjusting the treatment plan as appropriate. Meets with Veteran to assess accomplishments and re-establish goals. Monitors Veteran's progress, maintains comprehensive documentation, ensures expert diagnosis and treatment of clinical disorders, and shows competent discretion in decision to adjust treatment. Makes recommendations for care and changes to interdisciplinary treatment plan. Documents independently in the medical records including psychosocial assessments, diagnostics, treatment, progress notes, follow up, and referral. Explains Veteran's treatment and progress to third parties as appropriate. Manages the quality control and evaluation of the professional services provided. Devises methods of obtaining data and evaluates data to determine the effectiveness of treatment. Identifies consistent qualities of successful treatment and of failed treatment. Provides training to students, residents, interns, and fellows from other disciplines. Provides instruction on psychosocial treatment, evidence-based psychotherapies to address SDV and on the services available from Social Workers. Conducts formal workshops and classes for staff. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8am-4:30pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Available EDRP Authorized Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Requirements

Qualifications

Education. 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. To verify that a social work degree meets the accreditation standard for a master of social work, access the CSWE website at http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation/organizations.aspx. (Copy of transcript must be submitted). Experience. 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. Licensure. 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. 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.

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.

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.

Contacts

• Address Central Virginia VA Health Care System 1201 Broad Rock Boulevard Richmond, VA 23249 US
• Name: Thomas Masters
• Phone: 757-604-8890
• Email: [email protected]