Truman VA Medical Center is committed to Diversity and Inclusion. Together, we strive to create and maintain a working and learning environment that promotes professional growth and teamwork. We offer an inclusive, equitable, and welcoming environment where we celebrate our individual differences and unite as a team toward a common goal of providing outstanding service to our Nation's Veterans.

Duties

The social worker is to be responsible for the implementation of Medical Acute Care Social Work services to the veteran population enrolled at the Harry S Truman Veterans Memorial Hospital including Community Base Outpatient Clinics (CBOC). Duties may include but are not limited to: Incumbent maintains responsibility for psychosocial assessment, case management, and other collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team(s), the veteran, family members or significant others. Progress notes are reviewed from other interdisciplinary team providers to accurately determine the strengths and limitations of each veteran. The assessment highlights the veteran's strengths, limitation, and internal/external supports and service needs in order to optimize the veteran's functional status. Incumbent assesses at-risk factors and develops a preliminary disposition plan involving veteran, family members or significant others. Incumbent independently uses advance practice skills to make a psychosocial diagnosis of needs based on the assessment. Advance practice skills are applied to perform insightful assessment of serious and complicated cases involving psychiatric illness, catastrophic medical conditions, dementia, and other high-risk diagnoses. Incumbent demonstrates an understanding of the range of treatment and skills needed for all adult patients including geriatric patients related to their physical limitations, psychological needs and age associated illnesses and conditions. The incumbent must have an understanding of the problems of advancing age and respect for the diversification of the aging veteran population, being sensitive to human growth and development, age-appropriate needs and concerns of the geriatric veteran, and be able to provide current and advanced techniques to the treatment of this veteran population. Incumbent will review all data, subjective and objective, and make a clinical assessment of identifying needs and strengths. Effective use of professional skill, clinical training and experience will be used for the purpose of interpreting data to identify viable treatment options and need for services. Incumbent provides independent consultation and makes recommendations of the interdisciplinary team on course of treatment. Incumbent is responsible for education the veteran and/or caregiver of the available services and assisting them in establishing the appropriate referrals based on the veteran's preference of that of his surrogate decision-maker. 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. Work Schedule: Wednesday-Saturday 07:00am-05:30pm. Telework: This is not a telework position. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Yes. Learn more 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. 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. 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. (a) 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's level within three years of their appointment as a social worker. (b) A social worker who does not yet have a license that allows independent practice must be supervised by a licensed independent practitioner of the same discipline who is a VA staff member and who has access to the electronic health record. English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). Grandfathering: 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). All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard (September 10, 2019) are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all of the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure or certification, may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all of the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. If an employee who was retained in an occupation listed in 38 U.S.C. § 7401(3) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. Grade Determinations: Social Worker, GS-11 (1) 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. OR (2) Education. In addition to meeting basic requirements, 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. (3) 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. Preferred Experience: 1-2 years experience medical social work(inpatient/outpatient) 1-2 years experience providing various levels of case management 1-2 years experience with community referrals (home health, hospice, nursing home) Knowledge of VA resources and community resources Knowledge of Medicare/Medicaid programs Ability to complete psychosocial assessment to assess for in home needs System Redesign experience (yellow belt preferred) References: VA Handbook 5005/120, PART II, APPENDIX G39, SOCIAL WORKER QUALIFICATION STANDARD GS-0185 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Typically, the employee sits comfortably to perform the work. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending, carrying of light items such as papers, books, small parts, or driving an automobile, etc. No special physical demands are required to perform the work.

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 Harry S Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital 800 Hospital Drive Columbia, MO 65201 US
• Name: Rachel Kempker
• Phone: 573-926-9547
• Email: [email protected]