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Veterans Health Administration is Hiring a Senior Social Worker (Emergency Department) Near Gainesville, FL

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 http://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).

Grade Determinations: In addition to meeting the basic requirements stated above, the following qualifications criteria must be met in determining the appropriate grade assignment of candidates.

GS-12 Senior Social Workercandidates must have the following:

• Experience/Education: The candidate must have at least two (2) years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which, one (1) 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.

While we no longer require essay-style responses to our Knowledge's Skills, Abilities, and Other Characteristics (KSAOs), you must be able to demonstrate that you possess the (below) competencies which are necessary to perform the work of the position. Please ensure your resume/CV/application contains sufficient information to support the level of experience/education/training; otherwise, we will not be able to award you credit for the experience/education/training you claim. These are the KSA's for this subject position:

1. 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.
2. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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 Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39, Social Worker Qualification Standard.


Preferred Experience:

• Advance Practice Licensure with minimum of 2-3 years medical and Mental Health social work experience preferably in a hospital, inpatient mental health, and/or mental health crisis evaluation setting.
• Knowledge and skill/ability to complete assessments and discharge planning.
• Demonstrated knowledge of DSM V TR and co-occurring medical and mental health diagnoses. Demonstrated ability to manage mental health crisis to include assessment and follow-up for patients with suicidal ideations and homicidal ideations.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12.

Physical Requirements: Able to meet the physical demands of the position, reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. They must have good manual dexterity. Must be able to express or exchange ideas by means of spoken and written word. Must be able to view and read information on computer screens. The job entails walking, standing, bending, traveling among several different stories/floors, sitting, working on a computer, carrying objects.

Responsibilities:

Over evenings, nights and weekend hours, the incumbent will cover the Gainesville Emergency Department as well as the Lake City VAMC Emergency Department. The Lake City location is covered by virtual care technology. The incumbent is part of a team of licensed clinical social workers who cover the Emergency Department on site 24/7. Work entails working with patients presenting with psychosocial, mental health and medical needs. Work requires a high level of skill in assessing, developing treatment/discharge plans and use of crisis intervention skills for highly complex psychosocial, medical, and mental health needs of Veterans presenting to the Emergency Department. The incumbent must ensure appropriate protocol is followed for suicide risk assessment. The incumbent must be familiar with the latest version of DSM and understand how to appropriately diagnosis. The social worker may provide psychosocial education, group and individual counseling,/psychotherapy appropriate to level of licensure. This work may occur in the Emergency Department or on other units within the medical center.

The incumbent works with an interdisciplinary team. It is important the incumbent is a team player with excellent communication and documentation skills. It is important the incumbent is highly flexible as the work can vary day to day due to the nature of the Emergency Department. Office space is shared among multiple staff members. The incumbent will provide coverage as needed for co-workers, which may include providing social work coverage through virtual care options to other locations of the health system. The social worker will comply with all policies/regulations of the Department of Veterans Affairs. to include VISN, office, and local facility. The social worker will comply with all applicable city, county, and states laws and regulations . The social worker will attend and participate in administrative and clinical staff meetings. The social worker may also participate in the student training program as approved by supervisor, as well as, serve on facility, VISN, and national committees and workgroups. Tours of Duty include evenings and weekends, but generally include 4-10 hour days.


Duties may include, but are not limited to:

• The Senior Social Worker in this position requires an advance level of knowledge and understanding of the biopsychosocial needs of acutely ill Veterans, and the related procedures and policies, federal, state and community resources, and VA benefits and policies.
• The Senior Social Worker must have skills in diplomacy, patient advocacy, and negotiation to resolve issues across a complex health care system, encompassing multiple VA treatment teams and community healthcare providers.
• The Senior Social Worker must use high level skill in assessing and treating the complicated psychosocial problems of culturally diverse Veterans.
• The Senior Social Worker's responsibilities include the assessment of psychosocial problems, often at a time when the Veteran and caregivers are experiencing crisis and include the provision of short term counseling.
• The Senior Social Worker is responsible for continuous quality improvement activities within the emergency department and as needed on the acute psychiatry units.
• The Senior Social Worker will attend and participate in administrative and clinical staff meetings.
• The incumbent may also participate in the student training program, as well as serve on facility, VISN, and national committees and workgroups. A qualified supervisor clinical social worker (QSW) license qualification is also required.
• The incumbent provides clinical and administrative coverage as required.
• The Senior Social Worker performs other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 2:30pm - 11:00pm (This position may include weekends and evening hours and requires the ability to make decisions and complete work assignments within the program area, with very limited or no direct supervision.)
Telework: Not available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: Senior Social Worker (Emergency Department) FS# 51921F
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Job Summary