The Senior Social Worker functions as a member of an interdisciplinary treatment team in the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit (2E) at the VA Medical Center and is responsible for the management, coordination, and provision of social work services on the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit. They will work with residents/Veterans on the unit to improve independent living skills and address issues and conditions which interfere with effective community integration.

Duties

The incumbent functions at an advanced-practice level in all areas when working with eligible Veterans and their family members to meet biological, psychological, social, and environmental needs. In addition, the Senior Social Worker assists Veterans in coping with acute illness, chronic illness, combat stress, the residuals of traumatic brain injury (TBI), community adjustment, addictions, and other health and behavioral health problems. Senior Social Worker will address home care/discharge needs, homelessness, and transition across levels and sites of care. Major duties may include but are not limited to: May conduct evaluations for the full range of mental health clients, particularly those with acute psychiatric symptoms, serious mental illness, and comorbid substance use disorders. Participates in multidisciplinary treatment team meetings. Independently complete thorough psychosocial assessments to determine the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and/or their families. Possesses skills and knowledge to provide case management services to Veterans throughout the continuum of care. Independently identifies high-risk Veterans and provides appropriate level of case management services. Possesses working knowledge and experience in use of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures; this includes acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology Provides a full range of therapeutic interventions for Veterans hospitalized on the inpatient psychiatric unit, including individual and group psychotherapy, use of evidence-based interventions, family/couples therapy, psychoeducation, case/care management, and facilitating referrals as appropriate. Collaboratively completes treatment plans for all new admissions using Mental Health Suite. Completes required measures in the Behavioral Health Lab (BHL). Completes the Comprehensive Suicide Risk Evaluation (CSRE) on all Veterans 24-hours prior to their discharge from the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit. Performs specialized treatment of complex physical or mental illness. Senior Social Worker incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of veteran patients, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. When applicable, Senior Social Worker may participate in a rotation of weekend duty social workers, including modification of tour of duty to accommodate patient care needs on weekends or holidays. Participates fully in peer review, assessing the quality of professional social work practice standards provided in the organization. Fully accountable for practice, including Veteran visits, measuring outcomes to interventions, and meeting productivity standards. Responsible for identification of patient problems requiring consultation with other multi-disciplinary medical center staff and making appropriate referrals. Serves as a consultant, liaison, and point of contact for social work services offered on the inpatient psychiatric unit. Participates in a variety of meetings as directed by the Associate Chief of Staff, Behavioral Health Service. Participates in education/CME lectures, research, specialty care programs, and/or clinics as assigned by the Associate Chief of Staff, Behavioral Health Service, or the Inpatient Psychiatry Supervisor. Participates in local, VISN, and national committees/community networking activities as requested by Associate Chief of Staff, Behavioral Health Service, or the Inpatient Psychiatry Supervisor. Participates in research as appropriate through case finding and referral of Veterans to clinical investigators engaged in research or through participating in research studies. Promotes Veteran independence and achievement of optimal health through appropriate psychosocial education, care coordination, and community referrals. Provides education related to VA and community resources, entitlements/benefits, and Advance Directives and Living Will. Refers Veterans and their families and significant others for counseling in health promotion and disease prevention and to appropriate VASNHS clinical staff for other identified health education needs. Senior Social Worker is under the direct supervision of the Inpatient Psychiatry Program Manager, Behavioral Health Service or another designated supervisor, and functions as a licensed independent provider, practicing independently, exercising initiative and autonomous judgment in day-to-day activities. Work Schedule: To be determined based on Clinic needs Compressed/Flexible:Compressed Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 00000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

Qualifications

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 tohttp://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. Current state requirements may be found by going tohttp://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. 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). Grandfathering Provision. The following is the standard grandfathering policy for all title38 hybrid qualification standards. Please carefully review the qualification standard to determine the specific education and/or licensure/certification/registration requirements that apply to this occupation. (1)All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard 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: (2)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. (3)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. (4)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. (5)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. NOTE: If social workers covered under the grandfathering provision of the 1991 Federal law regarding licensure or certification of VHA social workers leave the GS- 0185 social work series, they lose the grandfathering protection. If they choose to return at a later date to the GS-0185 series, they must be licensed or certified to qualify for employment as a social worker. GS-12 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. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a)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. (b)Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. (c)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. (d)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. (e)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. Preferred Experience: Inpatient and/or SMI treatment Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: In accordance with VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services.

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 Las Vegas VA Medical Center 6900 North Pecos Road North Las Vegas, NV 89086 US
• Name: Cynthia Davis
• Phone: 360-750-5363
• Email: [email protected]