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. Program 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.

Duties

VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU 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 Duties & skills needed to be successful in this position include, but are not limited to: The PACT Senior Social Worker conducts psychosocial screens &/or assessments of the Veteran in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team, the Veteran, family members, & significant others. It is the responsibility of the incumbent, working with the interdisciplinary treatment team, to develop a treatment plan with the Veteran based on this assessment. The PACT Senior Social Worker completes behavioral health clinical reminders for patients in assigned specialty clinics. The incumbent conducts clinical reminders during clinic visits &, as needed, by telephone/VVC as clinic visit follow-ups. The incumbent may also provide clinical support to non-assigned specialty clinics for behavioral health clinical reminders. The PACT Senior Social Worker will function as lead PACT Social Worker for other PACT Social Workers on-site, & for other clinical & administrative staff to address workload, team assignments, & documentation for PACT Social Workers onsite. The incumbent works closely with Veterans to identify & support their preferences in care & personal treatment goals, & offers resources & support tailored to the uniquely expressed needs & desires of the Veteran. The PACT Senior Social Worker participates in the creation of the Veteran's treatment plan, with special attention to the psychosocial elements of the treatment plan & identifies needed psychosocial interventions. The incumbent regularly reviews psychosocial treatment goals & revises them as needed. The incumbent also regularly evaluates the effectiveness of the services provided through reviewing outcome measures & makes appropriate modifications as identified by these evaluations to ensure the provision of high-quality care & interventions. The incumbent provides a full range of psychosocial treatment interventions, including, but not limited to Veteran & caregiver support for emotional needs, information & referral for financial & other resource needs provided by VA & community agencies, & appropriate & timely involvement of palliative & hospice care. The incumbent monitors Veteran's progress, maintains comprehensive documentation, ensures diagnosis & treatment of clinical disorders, shows discretion in decisions to adjust treatment, & makes recommendations for care changes to the interdisciplinary treatment plan. The incumbent provides intensive & comprehensive psychosocial case management & care coordination across episodes of care. The incumbent provides specialized clinical case management & care coordination centered on diagnosis & disorder-specific education, treatment, care continuum, symptom management, & self-care. The incumbent acts as a health coach by proactively supporting the Veteran to optimize treatment interventions & outcomes. The PACT Senior Social Worker understands the complexity of health care systems & acts as an advocate for the client, client system, &/or treatment team to promote the best health care interventions & outcomes for the identified client. The PACT Senior Social Worker helps coordinate supportive & ancillary services with the Veteran, caregiver(s), & referring & receiving facility staff. The incumbent ensures & links Veterans & caregivers to supportive & ancillary services. The PACT Senior Social Worker is a point of contact for psychosocial treatment related questions from patients; family; local, VISN, or national VHA staff; & community providers. The incumbent ensures provision of social work services & is accountable for the effectiveness of the services provided. The PACT Senior Social Worker serves as the subject matter expert on VA & community resources related to the needs of the Veteran, family, &/or caregiver. The incumbent collaborates with other providers in on-going reassessment of the Veteran's health care needs & treatment planning. The incumbent educates the Veteran &/or caregiver of available services & assists in making appropriate referrals based on the Veteran's preference or that of the identified surrogate decision-maker. The PACT Senior Social Worker coordinates appropriate after-care & needed follow-up services following a Veteran's primary & specialty care treatment. The incumbent coordinates with interdisciplinary team members, the Veteran, & caregivers to proactively address discharge needs. Work Schedule: 8:00am-4:30pm Monday-Friday EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact [email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Telework: Available, Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 53860

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 & 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 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 to SW Licensure Summary by State. Grade Determinations: Senior 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: 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. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. 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. 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. 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. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is 12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is 12 . Physical Requirements: VA Montana Healthcare System Primary Care utilizes the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) model wherein the incumbent works alongside all primary care team members in an open teamwork area designed to enhance direct access. Clinical appointments are conducted in private exam/consult rooms, while documentation and other administrative duties are completed from within the teamwork milieu. The incumbent may be exposed to infected patients and contaminated materials and may be required to don protective clothing in isolation situations or operative/invasive procedures. The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium, dementia, or psychiatric disorders. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs.

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 Montana VA Health Care System 3687 Veterans Drive Fort Harrison, MT 59636 US
• Name: VISN 19 HR Contact Center
• Phone: 719-227-4600
• Email: [email protected]