Incumbent is a professional social worker whose duties and responsibilities relate to the comprehensive case management of Veterans who are identified as "high risk" for suicide or suicide behaviors at VA Central Iowa Medical Center. Must use a high level of skill in assessing and treating the complicated psychosocial problems of at risk Veterans as they transition from inpatient to outpatient care.

Duties

VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU Major duties include, but are not limited to: Conduct psychosocial assessments to determine needs of Veterans and family members. Active participant in the treatment planning process with multiple disciplines/programs and assist clinical staff in developing safety plans for identified high risk patients. Take an active role with Veteran care within the psychiatric unit and MHRRTP, including meeting with Veterans individually as well as facilitating group therapy. Participate in discharge planning with other disciplines and will be responsible for ensuring that discharge plans are executed in a manner that is timely and appropriate including arranging for appointments to meet their mental health and physical needs. Provide individual, family, and group counseling as appropriate within a recovery oriented framework, including crisis management, and assist Veteran in developing a safety plan. Provide consultation/education to Veterans and families on community resources, advance directives, and VA benefits. Act as a consultant to Treatment team members, physicians, and other staff of the Central Iowa VA Medical Center and to employees of external agencies. Provide consultation/education to medical residents/students on social work practice and VA policy and procedure. Act as liaison between VA and community resources to include marketing and public relation duties as needed. Provide comprehensive case management to Veterans and families, as needed, throughout the continuum of care. Provide a full range of social work services within commonly accepted standards of social work practice which includes case work, individual, family, and group counseling, discharge planning, case management, and other services as appropriate. Address Advance Directives and Behavioral Advanced Directives in accordance with the standards of their work area. Provide wellness and suicide prevention education to staff of the facility and facilitate patient/family support groups as appropriate. Coordinate treatment and communicate with all care lines within the medical center to facilitate continuity of care for Veterans. Participate in committee assignments, as deemed necessary by the Suicide Prevention Coordinator and the Director of the Mental Health Service Line. Maintain data and statistical compilations to comply with Joint Commission, VA, and medical center policy and procedures. Assist Veterans and their significant others with coping and dealing with the loss and grief experiences in disability, terminal illness, and death, and coping with the issues of suicide and suicide behaviors. Document social work interventions and activities in patient's clinical record utilizing CPRS and ensure appropriate transfer of patients to other levels of care within the medical center, to other VA facilities and to external community resources. Participate in a rotation of on-call social workers to accommodate patient care needs on weekends and holidays. Provide coverage for the Suicide Prevention Coordinator in his/her absence. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30am to 4:00pm Telework: Available - Ad Hoc as appropriate Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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. 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. English Language Proficiency: Social workers must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j, this part. Grade Determinations: GS-11 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 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. 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. All qualifying experience you possess must be clearly described in your application package. We will not make assumptions when reviewing applications. Failure to demonstrate your experience in your resume may result in disqualification. It is strongly recommended that you write to each KSA in your application package. References: VA Handbook 5005/120 Part II, Appendix G39 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-09 to GS-11.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application.

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 VA Central Iowa Health Care System 3600 30th St Des Moines, IA 50310 US
• Name: Kelsey Petty
• Phone: 515-721-4423
• Email: [email protected]