The incumbent is a Senior Social Worker within the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center's Mental Health Service Line (MHSL) and provides services within the Psychiatric Assessment Clinic (PAC) at Adam Benjamin Jr Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC), the intake clinic for mental health services at ABJ and other CBOCS and/or the main Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, providing Veteran-centered, recovery-oriented, and evidence-based care.

Duties

Major Duties: Required to use advanced clinical skills and knowledge in this position due to the complex nature of issues presented by veterans. Responsible for completing, in a timely manner, comprehensive mental health intakes on veterans presenting to the facility seeking mental health services. Ability to ascertain the critical nature and immediacy of the veteran's need(s) to determine the most appropriate and safest treatment for the veteran. Must be able to use Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM) knowledge in order to reach a preliminary diagnosis for further disposition, in collaboration with the Attending Psychiatrist/Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner and/or Clinic Coordinator. Extensive knowledge of community resources necessary for veterans in need of services that may not be available through the VA and/or are more conveniently located to the veteran's residence. Functions as a member of an interdisciplinary team, including social workers, psychiatrists, nurses, psychologists, and addiction counselors. Collaborates on a daily basis with other team members in the assessment, recommendation, and coordination of treatment/referral of veterans seeking mental health treatment. Serves as a mentor to other social workers, social work associates, social work interns, and possibly members of other disciplines. Responsible for training and orienting social work interns and new social work staff to VA mental health services at the VA and/or providing clinical supervision for social workers working toward independent clinical licensure Participates in the training of psychiatric residents and medical students regarding the assessment of mental health issues and the treatment and referral of veterans for ongoing services. Provides additional therapeutic services in the medical center as needed. Conforms to ethical and legal standards consistent with VA, State. Consistently complies with VA, VHA, JBVA, Social Work Services, Mental Health Service Line, and Psychiatric Assessment Clinic policies and procedures. Consistently complies with HIPAA standards of confidentiality, as well abiding by policies and procedures meant to safeguard PII, PHI, other digital information, equipment and facilities. Responsible for improving professional skills, participating in planning and executing specific staff development projects, attending seminars and institutes, and participating in training programs of other disciplines as requested. Documents in the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) in accordance with the guidelines established by the program and VHA. Progress notes are to be concise and comprehensive, and documentation will be entered in a timely fashion. Performs other related duties as assigned to address programmatic needs. The incumbent willingly accepts additional and special assignments that are necessary to meet program goals or customer needs. Provides additional therapeutic services in the medical center as needed. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized 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. English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f). 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 Master 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. Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Experience/Education: 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. Senior social workers may have certification or other post-masters training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship or equivalent supervised professional experience in a specialty. Licensure/Certification: 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. Experience GS-12 Grade Level: At least one (1) year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. Experience includes the Social Worker being administratively responsible for a clinical program providing treatment to patients in a major specialty. They may be the sole practitioner in this specialty at the facility and typically provides direct patient care services in the program area. They manage the daily operation of the program, develop policies and procedures for program operation, and prepare reports and statistics for facility and national use. In addition, candidates must demonstrate the following knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs): Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation, negotiation, and monitoring.-Knowledge and ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program. Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program. Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s). Ability to provide training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice. Experience is only creditable if it is post-master's degree experience as a professional Social Worker directly related to the duties performed. References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/120 PART II APPENDIX G39. The full performance level of this vacancy is a GS-12. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services. 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).

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 Jesse Brown Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 820 South Damen Avenue Chicago, IL 60612 US
• Name: Antonio Olgin
• Email: [email protected]