Social Worker III (Foundation)

Social Worker III

Join the transformative team at City of Hope, where we're changing lives and making a real difference in the fight against cancer, diabetes, and other life-threatening illnesses. City of Hope’s growing national system includes its Los Angeles campus, a network of clinical care locations across Southern California, a new cancer center in Orange County, California, and treatment facilities in Atlanta, Chicago and Phoenix. Our dedicated and compassionate employees are driven by a common mission: To deliver the cures of tomorrow to the people who need them today.  

The Clinical Social Worker III (hereinafter “CSW III”) holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work (MSW), maintains active registration as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with the California Board of Behavioral Sciences, and provides medical social work services.  The CSW III is responsible for employing a model of patient care that focuses on providing patients/caregivers with supportive counseling, psychosocial assessments, therapeutic interventions, education, and community resource support information.  This position  may require clinical supervision to MSWs and/or BSW/MSW students and/or facilitation of support groups. The CSW III provides mentorship to MSWs in collaboration with social work management. This position involves direct psychosocial care via in-person and telehealth visits to patients at various locations, practices; engages in leadership; participation in multidisciplinary program development and evaluation; multidisciplinary treatment modalities; emergency/crisis response; and on-call rotation. The CSW III actively works to ensure optimal delivery of psychosocial care and seeks out performance improvement initiatives, either through direct involvement and committee membership or by leading performance improvement efforts.  The CSW III is expected to lead in education and training programs, policy writing, and/or research and work collaboratively with the Medical Foundation practice directors on program development at other community practices.

As a successful candidate, you will: 

• Provides timely, appropriate, reliable, and respectful social work services to patients and families.

• Demonstrates competence appropriate to his/her role and function (see addendum for Social Work Navigator and School Reintegration Program).

• Delivers quality of care consistent with professional and City of Hope standards.

• Demonstrates strong verbal and written communication skills; excellent documentation skills of all activities/decisions related to patient care in compliance with State, National and Joint Commission standards/regulations.  

• Provides skilled psychosocial support and crisis management for patients throughout the continuum of care:  diagnosis, living with cancer, recurrence, end-of-life, and survivorship. 

• Respectful understanding of cultural differences and diversity.

• Acts as an effective liaison for appropriate referrals to other services within the Department of Supportive Care Medicine, including:  psychiatry; psychology; supportive and palliative care; pain management; spiritual care; patient navigation; and patient, family & community education.

• Must demonstrate proficient team-building skills, effectively negotiating and willing to compromise as needed, to resolve issues and respectfully reach a consensus.

• Participates in interdisciplinary rounds and serves on institutional committees as appointed.

• Actively working towards post-licensure certifications or specialization; continues active pursuit of opportunities for further development of clinical skills and professional growth.

• Acts as a skilled educator as demonstrated by professional presentations, student training, research and mentorship. 

• Participates in recruitment and interviewing of social work candidates.   

• Acts as an ambassador to the profession by effectively articulating the role and expertise of a CSW and by actively participating in community and professional organizations. 

• Meets and maintains all professional and regulatory standards; exemplifies and promotes the core values of the Department of Supportive Care Medicine.

• Participates in performance improvement activities to promote continuous improvement in care delivery.

• Uses effective decision-making, evaluation and problem-solving skills in managing patient care, hospital, and administrative needs.

• Performs other related duties as assigned or requested.

Your qualifications should include:

• Master’s degree in Social Work (MSW) from an approved Accredited School of Social Work.

• Five years medical social work experience

• Two years post licensure experience

• Out of state licensed clinical social worker OR Active registration as an associate clinical social worker *Must obtain registration as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with the California Board of Behavioral Sciences within 1 year or be demoted

• For pediatric service, CCS Panel provider or complete application within 60 days of hire.