North Central Section of the AUA, Inc.

The Social Worker is assigned as the primary social worker to ED and Specialty Care Clinics, including Pain, Oncology, Urology, Cardiology, Podiatry, Optometry and Neurology at the VA Northern Indiana Health Care Center. The incumbent provides continuity of care services for Veterans in outpatient specialty clinics and Veterans who are seen in the Emergency Room. 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: Social Worker, GS-11 (1) 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. OR (2) 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. (3) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services. (b) 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. (c) 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. (d) 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. (e) 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. References: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G39 Social Worker Qualification Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. Physical Requirements: The physical demands of this position involve active listening, reading, observing and evaluating verbal and nonverbal behavior, walking, speaking, documenting, and using office equipment such as computers, telephones, fax machines, and photocopy machines. ["The Duties of the Social Worker- ED/Specialty PACT include but are not limited to: A. Independently assesses the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, identifying the Veteran's strengths, weaknesses, coping skills and psychosocial activity.\nB. Providing a full range of social work services within commonly accepted standards of social work practice and within the scope of their license, to include triage, advocacy, individual, family, and group counseling/education, discharge planning, case management, crisis intervention, and other services as appropriate.\nC. Assess and provide appropriate social work emergency care treatment options and interventions, and Emergency Department discharge and placement options.\nD. Completes Comprehensive Suicide Risk Evaluations, assists with placement needs, creates a Safety Plan for Veterans who are deemed safe to discharge to home.\nE. Providing interventions independently with Veterans and their families/caregivers who are experiencing a wide range of complicated medical, behavioral health, financial, legal and psychosocial problems.\nF. Providing a range of interventions and treatment modalities which include individual, group, and/or family interactions.\nG. Providing case management and care coordination to facilitate appropriate delivery of health care services and incorporates complex multipole causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of Veterans, including making psychosocial sand psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.\nH. Responsible for all entries in the Veteran's medical record and timely completion thereof, including discharge summaries and patient encounters.\nI. Fully accountable for practice, including Veteran visits, measuring outcomes to interventions, and meeting productivity standards.\nJ. Responsible for identification of Veteran problems requiring consultation with other multi-disciplinary medical center staff and making appropriate referrals.\nK. Participating in care planning with the interdisciplinary team, including whenever possible the Veteran and the Veteran's caregivers in identification of treatment goals and preferred outcomes.\nL. Provide consultation/education to Veterans and caregivers on VA and community resources, benefits, and support services specific to the Veteran's or caregiver's needs.\nM. Acting as a consultant to other team/staff members, providing excellent customer service, advocacy, and education on relevant topics to internal and external customers.\nN. Acting as a liaison between VA and community resources, to include fostering knowledge and collaboration between VA and community partners.\nO. Acting as subject matter expert for Advance Directives, Organ Donation, Advance Care Planning, including Goals of Care Conversations. In accordance with the standards of the work area.\nP. Actively participate in committee/team assignments.\nQ. Will be a member of the interdisciplinary team in the Pain Clinic and will be well versed in using all the available pain management resources within he healthcare system to maximize treatment outcomes. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday; 8:00am - 4:30pm\nTelework: Not Available\nVirtual: This is not a virtual position.\nFunctional Statement #: 91446-0\nRelocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized\nFinancial Disclosure Report: Not required"]