This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply.

Duties

VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU The duties of this position include but are not limited to the following: Outpatient Specialty Care Social Workers are assigned to one or more specialty clinics and/or specialty programs in Departments such as Emergency Medicine, Hospital and Specialty Medicine, Neurology, and/or Operative Care. Services include both primary and secondary care health care services, to include, but not limited to, psychosocial screening and assessment, psychosocial treatment and intervention, specialized case management and care coordination, health education and advanced health care planning, interdisciplinary collaboration, coordination, and consultation, and administrative duties. Outpatient Specialty Care Social Workers work closely with other members of the assigned specialty care interdisciplinary treatment teams to which they are assigned. The Senior Social Worker is assigned to a major specialty treatment program or to a special patient population with highly complex physical and/or mental health problems requiring advanced-level psychosocial interventions. The Senior Social Worker possesses advanced practice skills and judgment and has specialized knowledge in the field of dementia. The Senior Social Worker is assigned administrative responsibilities for clinical program and intervention development, evaluation, and modification. The Social Worker should possess an advanced practice certification or other post-masters training in an area of specialized practice. This Senior Social Worker is primarily assigned to outpatient specialty clinics in Neurology. Neurology Service clinics include: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Dementia, Epilepsy/Seizure, General Neurology, Headache, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Neuromuscular, Movement Disorders, and Stroke. Some of these clinics have associated Centers of Excellence (CoE) or Research, Education, and Clinical Centers (RECC), to include the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Center of Excellence, the Epilepsy Center of Excellence, the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Excellence, and the Parkinson's Disease Research, Education, and Clinical Center (PADRECC). Some of these clinics have associated special patient, caregiver, and/or population health services and/or programming, such as the Dementia Caregiver Educator. Social work assignments include clinics and their associated CoEs, RECCs, and/or special patient population health programming. The incumbent uses advanced knowledge and mastery of theories about the medical, behavioral, and psychosocial dimensions of neurological conditions to conduct psychosocial screens and/or assessments of the Veteran in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team, the Veteran, family members and significant others. The purpose of the assessment is to understand the Veteran's situation, presenting problems and their causes, and the impact of such problems on the Veteran's level of functioning and health as part of a comprehensive psychosocial assessment that highlights the Veteran's strengths, limitations, high risk factors, acuity levels, and internal/external supports and service needs in order to optimize the Veteran's functional status. The initial assessment will be completed as specified by the policy for the assigned work area. An initial patient assessment is required as well as reassessments as defined in policy. The assessment may require a clinic visit or be accomplished through virtual technology. It is the responsibility of the social worker, working within the interdisciplinary treatment team, to develop a treatment plan with the Veteran based on this assessment. The incumbent completes behavioral health clinical reminders for patients in assigned specialty clinics. The social worker conducts clinical reminders during clinic visits and, as needed, by telephone as clinic visit follow-ups. The social worker will also provide clinical support to non-assigned specialty clinics for behavioral health clinical reminders. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 0800am-4:30pm Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.Contact [email protected] for questions/assistance. Learn more

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 Requirement - Per VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, Paragraph 3j: No person will be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C., chapter 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English. 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 dependently 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: Senior Social Worker GS-12 Experience and Education: One 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. Candidate may have certification or other post-master's degree training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship, or equivalent supervised professional experience. Licensure/Certification: Individuals assigned as a senior social worker must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level with a minimum of two years post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized are of social work practice. Must be able to provide supervision for licensure. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate 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. References: VA Handbook 5005

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 VA Portland Health Care System 3710 Southwest US Veterans Hospital Road Portland, OR 97239 US
• Name: Scott Newburn
• Phone: 208-422-1000 X7576
• Email: [email protected]