Social Worker-Spinal Cord Injury Program Coordinator

The Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Program Coordinator is responsible for both program management and provision of social work services for the SCI Program within the Geriatrics and Extended Care Line at the Chalmers P. Wylie VA Ambulatory Care Center. This includes the responsibility to ensure that the program is in compliance with VA Ambulatory Care Center and Central Office Directives.

Basic Requirements: Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g this part). 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 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: Social Worker GS-12 Requirements Experience, Education, and Licensure. The incumbent assigned to the GS-12 level is considered to be at the advanced performance level. A GS-12 social worker has a Masters Degree in Social Work granted by a graduate program fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). The incumbent should have at least 2 years of specialized experience in spinal cord injury and be licensed by a state at the advanced practice level. The incumbent must be knowledgeable about acute rehabilitation following spinal cord injury, secondary complications and treatment, physical and psychological implications of SCI for both the individual and family, available medical and surgical clinical interventions, and preventive measures for maximizing function and independence. The SCI Coordinator is knowledgeable in the maintenance and report capabilities of the Spinal Cord Dysfunction Registry, enabling use of the system to track care and identify aspects of successful program operations that can be used during outside reviews (i.e., PVA, JCAHO, National SCI). Licensure Requirement: You must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and must be able to provide supervision for licensure. Experience Requirement: You must possess one year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. Examples of specialized experience at the GS-11 include, but are not limited to: assessing and documenting identified behaviors or symptoms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and/or intimate partner violence; use of clinical social work skills; maintaining patient privacy and confidentiality per policies, handbooks or directives; acting as an advocate with appropriate community service providers and agencies when it serves the best interest of the patient and family members/caregiver; independently assessing the psychosocial functioning and needs of patients and their family members, identifying the patient's strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and psychosocial acuity. In addition to the experience above, you must demonstrate the following Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation, negotiation, and monitoring. Knowledge and ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program. Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program. Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s). Ability to provide training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice. Preferred Experience: Spinal Cord Injury/Disorders, ALS care Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is 12. Physical Requirements: The incumbent may be asked to perform physical tasks requiring standing, bending, stooping, kneeling, climbing stairs, and lifting up to 25 lbs.