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The Spinal Cord Injury Social Worker functions as a professional Social Worker in a clinical setting within the Bronx VA Medical Center, which is multilevel health care Center of Excellence, fully accredited by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organization (JCAHCO) and comprised of 331 authorized beds and a 112-bed Nursing Home Care Unit. 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 Master 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/. Loss of Licensure or Certification. Once licensed or certified, social workers must maintain a full, valid, and unrestricted independent license or certification to remain qualified for employment. Loss of licensure or certification will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services. English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). 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). Creditable Experience The candidate must have knowledge of current professional social work practices. To be creditable, the experience must have required the use of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics associated with current professional social work practice. The experience or education must be post-Master of Social Work (MSW) degree. Experience and education satisfying this requirement must be active professional practice, which is paid/non-paid employment as a professional social worker, as defined by the appropriate state licensing board. Quality of Experience Experience is only creditable if it is obtained following graduation with a master's degree in social work and if it includes work as a professional social worker directly related to the position to be filled. Qualifying experience must also be at a level comparable to social work experience at the next lower level. Part-Time Experience Part-time experience is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time work week. For example, one week of full-time credit is equivalent to two weeks of part-time work. Fellowships or Post-Graduate Training Fellowship and post-graduate training programs are typically in a specialized area of clinical practice, i.e., group or family practice. Training as a fellow or post-graduate may be substituted for creditable experience on a year-for-year basis. Practicum in a VA Setting A VHA practicum experience may not be substituted for experience, as the practicum (field placement) is completed prior to graduation with a master's degree in social work. Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. 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. 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. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 References: A HANDBOOK 5005/120 PART II APPENDIX G39 September 10, 2019 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-11 ["The clinical functions of the Bronx V AMC are organized into patient-focused Ambulatory Care Practices and Patient Care Centers. The Bronx V AMC is designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the Department of Veterans Affairs and is a Cancer Teaching Hospital approved by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer. The Bronx V AMC serves as a national center for Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and alcohol abuse; a Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) center; and a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) center. The Medical Center supports multi-million-dollar research activities, housed in a separate research facility, which include General Medical, Research; a Geriatric Research, Education, and Clini􀀙al Center (GRECC); a Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC); Rehabilitation Research and Development Center; and a T􀀜get Research Enhancement Program (TREP). A. Direct Care with Patients and their Families The incumbent is responsible for applying professional social work techniques. methods, and skills in all types of social work to patients and their families/significant others, with a minimum of technical supervision and full freedom of independent action. The cases represent all type of bio-psychosocial problems, with no limitations as to the difficulty of the services to be performed or the depth of the therapeutic relationship to be engaged in. Services are rendered mainly through professional interviews with the patient, family members, and other interested persons. The goal of the social worker is to identify, through psychosocial assessment, the social, emotional, interpersonal, and environmental factors that may be contributing to the illness, interfering with the utilization of medical care, or impeding the process of discharging the individual to the community and of his or her rehabilitation. Social work treatment, which can be brief or extensive ( depending on the need assessment made), is directed toward identify and improving negative environmental influences, assisting the patient to focus on adjusting detrimental attitudes and feelings, supporting the patient's adjustment to disabilities, and referring to resources of community agencies. B. Interdisciplinary Collaboration The incumbent participates independently in team conferences, discharge planning meetings, ward rounds, section meetings, staff conferences, boards and individual conferences with ward/program staff devised to enhance interdisciplinary collaboration. The Social Worker requests medical or other information necessary for psychosocial planning and carries out independent responsibilities for interpreting psychosocial data and presenting the social work treatment recommendations. The Social Worker serves as the consultant for psychosocial issues to the medical staff. The incumbent actively participates in programs planning and maintenance of program in the Mental Health Patient Care Center by means of sound working relationship and meeting a with the other disciplines; this can be enhanced by conducting or participating in formal lectures designed for this purpose, as the occasion arises. C. Community Contacts In arranging for the discharge and outplacement of patients, referrals are made to numerous psychosocial, health rehabilitation, or multi-purpose community agencies. At times the incumbent will develop resources where none are available, such as foster or boarding homes, or unique placement for severely disabled individuals. D. Student Training The Social Worker may surprise and train social work student interns participating in MSW programs, functioning in the role of field instructor for the school of social work, as assigned. E. Documentation The incumbent prepares reports of social work activity and recommendations for the purpose of reporting to other disciplines and for supervisory review, training, administrative or research use. Chart documentation occurs electronically through the Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS). The Social Worker also has responsibility for the preparation of correspondence to patients, families, nursing homes, and community agencies or to other VA medical centers. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:4:30p.m Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 37968F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]

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