The Women's Health Clinic Social Worker is a full-time position aligned under Behavioral Health ICC. The Syracuse VAMC is a large social work service located in a highly complex (complexity level 1a) VA facility, covering thirteen (13) counties and including seven (7) CBOCs. It provides diverse services to Veterans, families and caregivers, and is an affiliated tertiary care health care system.

Duties

Patient Care in Women's Health Clinic and Primary Care Setting - Diagnose mental disorders - Accepts formal consultation requests as well as "warm handoffs" from primary care providers and conducts brief psychosocial assessments. - Facilitates connecting Veterans with the most appropriate behavioral health services - Uses a population-based approach (1-6 sessions) to address behavioral health concerns for Veterans in need of only short-term care. - Provides behavioral based interventions for treatment of medical disorders (e.g. pain management, smoking cessation, weight management). - Consults and collaborated with Women's Health Clinic and Primary Care staff, as needed. Also consults with peers and supervisors on a wide variety of patient care issues. - Participates in Women's Health Clinic and Primary Care meetings and activities, as appropriate. - Participates in PCMHI Staff meetings. - Participates in program evaluation, clinical outcomes management, and research activities, as needed. - May provide telephone and/or telehealth PCMHI services to other community-based clinics of the Syracuse VA. - Performs other related duties, as assigned. Administrative: - Responsible for supporting the mission, policies and procedures of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN), and the facility. - Serve on committees, work groups, and task forces at the facility as deemed appropriate by the supervisor or Chief of Social Work Services. - Mindful of keeping their supervisor apprised of problems and recommended solutions to problems encountered in the incumbent's area of responsibility. - Responsible for furthering one's own professional growth through continuing education and for ensuring the continuing education appropriate to the area of assignment. - Provide assistance with the orientation and learning of less experienced social workers and, if interested, to serve as a preceptor for social work students. - Demonstrate knowledge and skill in the used of software applications for drafting documents and data management as well as other computer systems in use by the VHA. - Maintain a level of productivity and quality consistent with the complexity of the assignment and consistent with Social Work standards, Joint Commission standards and facility standards. - Participates in a rotation of on-call social workers, including modification of tour of duty to accommodate patient care needs on weekends. - May provide supervision to a Social Work Intern or be generally involved with the MSW training program. Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf Social Work: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Social-Worker-Career-Flyer.pdf Work Schedule: Monday through Friday: 8 am to 4:30 pm Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases - When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of existing pay, higher or unique qualifications, or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade). Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Ad-Hoc Basis Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Note: This position may be filled by a Psychologist, Social Worker or Licensed Mental Health Professional (LPMHC). These three positions are advertised separately on USAJobs. If you are interested in any position, please apply to the respective job announcement.

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 masters 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 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 http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). 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). Loss of Licensure or Certification. Once licensed or certified, social workers must maintain a full, valid, and unrestricted independent license or certification to remain qualified for employment. Loss of licensure or certification will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment. Grade Determinations: Social Worker, 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. NOTE: For appointment licensure or certification at this level please refer to paragraph 3c. 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. References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G-39. Social Work Qualification Standard GS-185, Veterans Health Administration. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-11. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

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 Syracuse VA Medical Center 800 Irving Ave Syracuse, NY 13210 US
• Name: Valerie Rarick
• Phone: 315-425-4400 X56571
• Email: [email protected]