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This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application. 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 Requirement: Per VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, Paragraph 3j: No person will be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C., chapter 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English. 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 dependently practice social work at the master's degree level. Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. Grade Determinations: 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 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. While we no longer require essay-style responses to our Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities, (KSA's), you must be able to demonstrate that you possess the (below) competencies which are necessary to perform the work of the position. Please ensure your resume/CV/application contains sufficient information to support the level of experience/education/training. Otherwise, we will not be able to award you credit for the experience/education/training you claim. The GS-9 KSA's for this subject position are; Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Ability to work with Veterans and family members from various socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, educational, and other diversified backgrounds utilizing counseling skills. (b) Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veterans problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed. (c) Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups to achieve treatment goals. This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving, or crisis intervention techniques. (d) Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies. (e) Fundamental knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures. This includes acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries; common medications and their effects/side effects; and medical terminology. The GS-11 KSA's are: (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. 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). Preferred Experience: Must have licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level with Social Work experience. References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G-39, Qualification Standard for the appointment of Social Workers, GS-0185, in VHA. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-9 to GS-11. Physical Requirements: The work requires extreme patience and controlling of emotions. Day-to-day work involves sitting, walking, standing, and carrying light objects. Work is typically performed in a clinical setting that exposes the Clinical Social Worker to communicable diseases common to the hospital setting. Able to meet the physical demands of the position, reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. They must have good manual dexterity. Must be able to express or exchange ideas by means of spoken and written word. Must be able to view and read information on computer screens. The job entails walking, standing, bending, pushing, traveling among several different stories/floors, sitting, working on a computer, carrying objects. Some job duties include working with Veterans with cognitive disorders or traumatic brain injury requiring the Clinical Social Worker to be vigilant regarding safety of self and others. ["Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to: The incumbent is a Clinical Social Worker assigned to the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System Geriatrics and Extend Care team within the Social Work Service Line located in Lake City, FL. The Geriatrics and Extended Care (G&EC) Social Worker is responsible for completing assessments, facilitating Goals of Care Conversations, facilitating completion of Advance Directives, discharge planning, providing crisis intervention services, and providing ongoing behavioral health interventions to Veterans and their families the Lake City VA Community Living Center (CLC) neighborhoods. The Lake City VA CLC consists of four neighborhoods, including a 40-bed Short Term Rehabilitation neighborhood, a 40-bed Long Term Care neighborhood, a 30-bed secure Dementia Care neighborhood, and a 15-bed Hospice and Palliative Care neighborhood. Veterans may be admitted for short term rehabilitation or long-term care. Clinical work may include the provision of short-term solution-focused or problem-solving focused evidence-based interventions, support groups and counseling/psychotherapy (appropriate to level of licensure). Work is conducted in collaboration with interdisciplinary treatment teams and with Veterans and/or their caregivers. The G&EC Social Worker has a basic knowledge of human development and behavior (physical and psychological), and the differential influences of the environment, society, and culture. The G&EC Social Worker has basic knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures to include acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries; common medications and their effects/side effects; and basic medical terminology for the purpose of ensuring a comprehensive assessment of biopsychosocial barriers to health and well-being. The G&EC Social Worker conducts psychosocial assessments to evaluate the needs of patients and their family members to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the patient's problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed. The G&EC Social Worker evaluates outcomes of interventions for a wide variety of individuals from various socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, educational, and other diversified backgrounds. The G&EC Social Worker works with patients and families/caregivers who are experiencing emotional, medical, social, and behavioral/mental health problems utilizing individual, group, and family psychotherapy skills appropriate to level of licensure. The G&EC Social Worker consults with the G&EC Social Work Supervisor to address and resolve complex problems. The G&EC Social Worker establishes and maintains positive, professional working relationships with internal and external stakeholders. The G&EC Social Worker is able to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with people from varied backgrounds. The G&EC Social Worker is able to prioritize workload assignments throughout the workday to meet specific deadlines for assessments, as well as maintaining timely completion of day-to-day tasks. The G&EC Social Worker has working knowledge and skill in the use of Microsoft Office programs such as Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, and Teams; as well as the ability to learn and utilize software programs in use by the VHA such as CPRS, VISTA, KEPRO, MDS, and Caribou. The G&EC Social Worker has basic knowledge of Veteran's benefits and services relating to special programs, service-connected compensation, non-service-connected pension. The G&EC Social Worker facilitates referrals based upon Veteran's needs and eligibility. The G&EC Social Worker may serve on committees, councils, workgroups, and/or task forces. The G&EC Social Worker serves as liaison to community agencies and networks with agency representatives. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Not eligible. Telework: May be eligible. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: Clinical Social Worker, FS #51187F EDRP Authorized: Contact Geraldin Louis at geraldin.louis@va.gov and/or Lajuanta Mitchell at lajuanta.mitchell@va.gov, the NF/SG EDRP Coordinators for questions/assistance. Learn more Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]

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