Summary

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.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

Basic Requirements:

• Citizenship
• Be a citizen of the United States
• (Non-citizens may be appointed when it isnot possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3 - section A -paragraph 3g this part)
• 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
• (COPY OF TRANSCRIPTS W/CONFERRED DATE REQUIRED) 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/
• (COPY OF LICENSURE/CERTIFICATION REQUIRED) 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 and 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
• (COPY OF LICENSURE/CERTIFICATION REQUIRED) Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities (KSAs)
• In addition to the experience above - the candidate 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
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12
• Physical Requirements: Work includes light lifting (under 15 lbs.) - moderate carrying (15-44 lbs.) - use of fingers - walking - standing - operation of motor vehicle - near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4 - far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other - both eyes required - hearing (aid may be permitted) - emotional/mental stability - working outside and inside - dry atmospheric conditions - working closely with others and working alone.

Duties

• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Position is primarily assigned to the Primary Care-Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) program
• Duties include but are not limited to: Provides functional assessment - triage - brief intervention - education and consultative services regarding a wide range of mental health (MH) and behavioral medicine concerns - on referral from primary care providers and allied PACT members
• Conducts functional assessments - based on 30-minute appointments - and will triage/refer to specialty care services as appropriate
• Demonstrates expertise in using contemporary interview and psychometric assessment methods for mental disorders and/or behavioral health conditions
• Provides evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions and behavioral medicine interventions as indicated and appropriate for the specific job setting and duties of the social worker - which may include individual - family - and group psychotherapy and psychoeducation
• Achieves minimal clinical workload expectations as established by the service line
• Develops comprehensive treatment plans in collaboration with interdisciplinary team members documenting patient-generated concerns and goals - measurable objectives - and interventions for clinical treatment
• Provides psychological assessment - triage - intervention - education - and consultative services consistent with training and expertise related to mental health and behavioral medicine concerns of varying complexity in outpatient setting
• Documents independently in the medical records utilizing paper and/or electronic formats - including psychosocial assessments - diagnostics - treatment - progress notes - follow up - and referral
• Routinely consults with primary care providers (PCPs) and other Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) members about plan of care for patients
• Integrates within primary care team and works closely in collaboration with PACT team - attending daily and regularly recurring meetings and huddles
• Actively engages and provides feedback to PCP and other PACT team members with same day referrals and warm hand-offs
• Provides education to PACT on MH issues as well as consultation on tips for successful management of mental health symptoms and concerns impacting medical conditions
• Serves as a mentor to other social worker colleagues - particularly those at the entry level
• Provides clinical supervision for unlicensed social workers
• Is viewed by colleagues and interdisciplinary team members as a senior clinician with advanced practice skills and expertise
• As a field instructor or preceptor - provides training and consultation to entry level and unlicensed staff and or trainees
• Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 0800-1630 Recruitment/Relocation Incentive: Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive
• Contact VHAEDRPProgramSupport@va.gov - the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance
• Learn more Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• When setting pay - a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade)
• Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
• Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior [work experience] or military service experience
• Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child
• Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment - full time employees with a total family income below $144 -000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Ad-hoc only Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized