VHA is seeking a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) to serve the National Telerheumatology Program. The tele-LCSW will be responsible for providing high quality care and provide psycho- social needs of Veterans with rheumatological diseases/disorders and their families. The incumbent will be responsible for monitoring patients, providing education and support, influencing adherence to guidelines by providing "on-time, on-target" information to NTRP Rheumatologists.

Duties

VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU The individual works for the National Tele-Rheumatology Program and based upon its national oversight, may require the incumbent to work an irregular tour of duty, weekends, depending on the needs of the service and participate in social work coverage to the national program off tour. The incumbent is responsible for completing the following duties/responsibilities: Completes structured diagnostic and clinical assessments for participants. This requires knowledge of medical terminology, diagnostic categories, and chart review. Reviews assessments completed by Primary Care Providers, Tele-Rheumatologists and other licensed independent practitioners, and obtains missing information from providers, patients, and medical records. The incumbent must have a thorough working knowledge of VISTA/CPRS. Must keep abreast of the various changes made within these programs and is responsible for maintaining the integrity of access to these clinical records. Contacts patients through written correspondence, telephone calls, CVT, VVC and other video platforms to interact with patients and their families. This requires substantial communication skills and the ability to remain organized. Provides psycho-education and direct advice regarding symptoms tied to Rheumatological disorder/disease. This includes the development of an appropriate treatment plan for patients and the ability to communicate that plan to the patient's provider. Provides social work consultation to Primary Care providers, other Rheumatology clinicians and team members in the development of individual treatment plans. This includes coordinating treatment and communicating with other services to facilitate continuity of care for Veterans. The incumbent communicates evaluations & recommendations to PCP & Telerheumatology team members. The incumbent documents in the patient's medical record in accordance with Social Work and medical center policies, and the requirements of The Joint Commission. This may include a Social Work screening and/or development of a biopsychosocial assessment and treatment plan within the time frame required by Social Work service standards. Progress notes are timely and reflect progress toward treatment goals. Outcomes are evaluated and documented. The incumbent will ensure appropriate hand off when transferring of patient care. Ability to incorporate complex multiple Rheumatological causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. Independently develop and implement methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the area of Rheumatology, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes. The incumbent will participate in on-going research and program evaluations through QUERI. Provides direct patient-centered care as delineated within the Scope of Practice. Performs biopsychosocial assessments in a timely and professional manner. Works collaboratively with other members of the Telehealth team including Telehealth Clinical Technician (TCT) and the local Facility Telehealth Coordinator (FTC). May require the assistance of a telepresenter or TCT during the patient encounter. Engages in Telemedicine or Teleconsultation practices as needed. The incumbent will participate in national committee and board assignments, as deemed necessary by NTRP. Presents reports to the Medical Director, National Telerheumatology Program, as required. Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the social work profession, and to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the National Telerheumatology Program and the Veterans it supports. Maintains accurate and timely patient medical record entries in the Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS). Works collaboratively with other specialists and Primary Care PACT teams to ensure patients receive continuous quality care. Accepts other assignments as delegated by the Medical Director, Physician Lead, Nurse Lead and Director of Operations of the National Tele-Rheumatology Program. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 8:00AM- 4:30PM Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Remote: This is a remote position for a highly qualified applicant. Will be discussed during the interview process. Functional Statement #:30661-F 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. 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 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 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). Grade Determinations: Senior Social Worker, GS-12 Experience/Education. The candidate must have at least two years of experience 8 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. Assignments. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Senior social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced level. Senior social workers typically practice in a major program area such as but not limited to: Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center or Polytrauma Network Site; a Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Center, or a national VHA referral center, such as a national Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or a national Transplant Center, or other program areas of equivalent scope and complexity. The senior social worker may be assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for 9 clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. Assignments include clinical settings where they have limited access to onsite supervision such as CBOCs or satellite outpatient clinics. The senior social worker collaborates with the other members of the treatment team in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans, ensures equity of access, service, and benefits to this population, ensures the care provided is of the highest quality. The senior social worker provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned social work staff. They serve on committees, work groups, and task forces at the facility, VISN and national level, or in the community as deemed appropriate by the supervisor, Social Work Executive or Chief of Social Work Services. This assignment is to be relatively few in number based on the size of the facility/service and applying sound position management. This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and cannot be used as the full performance level of this occupation. Basis for Selection: Selection for positions will be based on the objective evaluation of the candidates' total qualification for the position. "Qualifications" mean the combination of experience, training, education, skills, knowledges, abilities, personal characteristics, and merit factors deemed to be pertinent to successful performance. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: The physical demands of the work requires use of fingers; moderate walking and standing; near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4; far vision correctable in on eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other; hearing aid permitted; clear speech; emotional stability; moderate duty.

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 Lexington VA Health Care System 2250 Leestown Road Lexington, KY 40511 US
• Name: Michael Helton
• Phone: 615-582-2884
• Email: [email protected]