Senior Social Worker
What you'd do
As a part of the Clinical Resource Hub (CRH) Mental Health Team, the Senior Social Worker position conducts services virtually via telehealth and is expected to possess strong clinical skills to provide screening, treatment dispositioning, suicide risk assessment, and crisis intervention to Veterans.
Major duties
This remote position with the Clinical Resource Hub (CRH) provides tele-mental health support to Veterans in the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS), which is located in Little Rock and North Little Rock, Arkansas. Duties of the Senior Social Worker include, but are not limited to: Maintains high level of skill and expertise to establish and maintain effective therapeutic relationships with Veterans and their families. Independently works with Veterans and their families who are experiencing a wide range of complicated medical, psychiatric, emotional, behavioral, and psychosocial problems within the context of suicide risk. Completes a current psychosocial assessment to determine the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans, after thorough review of the medical record. Completes all reporting requirements set forth by the Clinical Resource Hub (CRH) to include, but not limited to: Measurement-Based Care monitoring; Program evaluation; Quality management; Fidelity, efficacy, and outcomes measures; Training required for the position and delivery of care; Utilization of tools and resources related to reporting and evaluation (i.e., dashboards, measures, note templates with health factors, etc.). Possesses knowledge of current literature and experience in use of mental health and substance abuse diagnoses and treatment procedures, including acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses, as well as in suicide risk assessment and intervention. Facilitates enrollment and discharge planning through collaboration with Veterans and their families as well as interdisciplinary treatment team members to ensure that appropriate plans are executed in a timely manner. Serves as a liaison between Veterans and their families and VA and community resources in order to ensure thorough delivery of suicide prevention-related services. Possesses knowledge and ability to independently implement treatment modalities and to provide counseling and/or skills groups for Veterans and families. Provides consultation and education to Veterans and their families regarding community resources, VA benefits, specialty programs, and advance directives. Provides consultation to other treatment team and staff members regarding psychosocial needs of Veterans and their families particularly related to suicide risk and the impact of the identified psychosocial problems on the Veteran's health care planning, compliance with treatment, and discharge planning. Must possess and demonstrate ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing with people from diverse backgrounds. Provides emergency/crisis intervention services to patients experiencing acute psychological crises by helping to stabilize these individuals, providing evidence-based suicide prevention psychotherapies, assisting in referral arrangements for transfer to a psychiatric facility for inpatient care, if necessary, and providing follow up care as needed, all occurring within the context of active treatment with you as the provider. Provides assistance to less experienced providers and serves as a preceptor or consultant, when appropriate, to colleagues and trainees. Maintains a level of productivity and quality consistent with the complexity of the assignment and consistent with professional standards, Joint Commission standards, and national standards, as outlined by the national SPP and in conjunction with VHA productivity standards. Documents in the Veteran's electronic medical record and completes/updates a thorough assessment utilizing standardized templates. When needed, act as a coordinator of care for themselves and for fellow clinicians within CRH. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM (may vary based on the needs of the department) Remote: This is a 100% remote position Functional Statement #: 598-01375F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
What you need to qualify
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 4 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 the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Senior Social Worker, GS-12 Experience/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. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 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. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. 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. 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. 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. Preferred Experience: Experience providing virtual mental health services (Tele-Mental Health) 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: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation, see Duties section for essential job duties of the position. May require standing, lifting, carrying, sitting, stooping, bending, pulling, and pushing. May be required to wear personal protective equipment and undergo annual TB screening or testing as conditions of employment. Work Environment: Work is performed in an office/clinic setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions; the area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. However, the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations.
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