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Veterans Health Administration is Hiring a Social Worker - Access Crisis Team Near Salt Lake, UT

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.
• 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.

Grade Determinations:

Social Worker, GS-9

• Experience, Education, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements.
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
  • Ability to work with Veterans and family members from various socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, educational, and other diversified backgrounds utilizing counseling skills.
  • Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veterans problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed.
  • Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups to achieve treatment goals. This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving, or crisis intervention techniques.
  • Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies.
  • Fundamental knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures. This includes acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries; common medications and their effects/side effects; and medical terminology.

Social Worker, GS-11

• Experience and Licensure. Appointment to the GS-11 grade level requires completion of a minimum of one year of post-MSW experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the field of health care or other social work-related settings, (VA or non- VA experience) and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level.
• Education. In addition to meeting basic requirements, a doctoral degree in social work from a school of social work may be substituted for the required one year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting.
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
  • Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services.
  • Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, educational and other diversified backgrounds.
  • Knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities and treatment procedures (i.e. acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology) to formulate a treatment plan.
  • Skill in independently implementing different treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical, and social problems to achieve treatment goals.
  • Ability to provide consultation services to new social workers, social work graduate students, and other staff about the psychosocial needs of patients and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and compliance with treatment.

Preferred Experience: Previous crisis work is preferable, but not required. Preferred experience performing psychosocial assessments, mental health therapy; education or evidence based training related to social work practice in gerontology, mental health, substance abuse, brain injury; experience as VASLC employee or intern.

References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39

The full performance level of this vacancy is 11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of 9 to 11.

Physical Requirements:
Must be in overall good health, able to sit at a desk working at a computer, engage in light to moderate physical activity including sitting, walking, bending, and carrying supplies. Social Worker must be able to perform primarily light and sedentary duties with occasionally moderate physical demands, exercise patience, and control emotions, with reasonable accommodation, if necessary, without endangering the health and safety of the social worker or others.
Position requires walking throughout the clinic and/or Medical Center, standing for extended periods of time, and involves sitting at a computer and in counsel and consultation with Veterans and interdisciplinary teams.
Position may require some travel into the community to meet with community agencies and partners who provide assistance and support to the team and its Veterans.
This position also requires close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; extensive reading; and repetitive motions of the wrists, hands, and/or fingers.

Responsibilities:

• Applies advanced professional social work knowledge and evidence-based intervention strategies to a full range of complex psychosocial needs in the ED, including psychiatric emergencies, substance abuse treatment, homelessness, abuse, and geriatric psychiatric emergencies.
• Demonstrates advance practice skills and clinical judgement in acute psychiatric emergencies.
• Provides a full range of psycho-diagnostic services including assessment and uses the most appropriate psychotherapeutic techniques in providing quality care.
• Performs evaluations for wide array of patients representing diverse diagnostic entities.
• Evaluates patients in the ED for involuntary psychiatric holds and completes appropriate paperwork. Serves as a resource for SLC VAMC staff regarding the local laws and regulations regarding involuntary psychiatric holds.
• Facilitates admissions (both voluntary and involuntary) to the inpatient psychiatric unit (IPU) and/or collaborates with community facilities for psychiatric resources, to include admission.
• Determines suicide and homicide risk utilizing current evidence-based research tools. Incumbent will fully assess suicide/homicide risk and protective factors to determine safety of the patients. Completes comprehensive suicide risk evaluations (CSRE), safety planning, and suicide behavior reports, as needed. Ensures adherence to facility and national risk management policies for assessment, management, consultation and documentation related to suicide/homicide risk.
• Provides clinical recommendations to ED physicians regarding appropriateness of psychiatric admissions and/or ED discharge with referral(s) to outpatient services, prioritizing patient safety, and balancing emergent situations arising simultaneously.
• Ensures continuity of care for all Veterans presenting to the ED in mental health crisis by providing intervention and/or facilitating services with other provider(s). When patients call the VA in crisis, the incumbent assesses patients by phone and provides crisis counseling/intervention, including instructing the patient to present to the ED or follow-up with established providers. Contacts local law enforcement for wellness check as deemed necessary.
• Provides assessment, brief psychotherapeutic interventions, and treatment referrals for veterans presenting with substance use disorders.
• Evaluates options to mitigate potential safety concerns which may include calling police for assistance, providing crisis intervention, mediating conflicts, and/or making referrals to ensure a safe outcome.
• Facilitates transfer and/or discharge from ED with appropriate continuity of care.
• Provides education and referrals to veterans for community services, and coordinates these services, as necessary. Acts as a liaison between community and VA programs as needed. Makes appropriate referrals, as indicated, to reporting agencies such as Department of Family Services, Adult Protective Services, police, etc. Provides consultation to colleagues regarding emergent/urgent situations.
• Covers all needed emergent crisis intervention anywhere on campus including weekends and holidays.
• Documents psychological interventions and consultation activities in the patient's clinical record utilizing the electronic health record (EHR) and ensures an appropriate hand-off and documentation when transferring patient care.
• Consults with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues.
• Provides education to both Veterans and family members regarding relevant mental health concerns.
• Complies with all Service Line documentation requirements, including timely completion of prescribed templates for documenting results of assessment, treatment, and risk evaluation contacts.
• Adheres to all Facility and Service Line policies and practices for delivering clinical care.
• May be assigned additional administrative duties to be completed during non-patient times to assist with data collection, reports, performance improvement projects, etc.
• Provide Access consultation to new and returning Veteran requesting mental health care including referrals to a wide variety of services and treatments provided by the SLC VAMC.
• Arrange and facilitate transfer of mental health patients to the SLC VAMC IPU from a variety of community placements, including from other states.

VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU

Work Schedule: Full-Time, will be required to work evenings, weekends, and occasional overnight shifts in support of program/agency needs.
Compressed/Flexible: Available, dependent upon program and agency needs.
Telework: Not Available.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 58294A, 58297A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be authorized.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required.

Job Summary