The Senior Social Worker practices in the Palliative Care Consult Team and serves a patient population with highly complex healthcare problems. The Senior Social Worker is assigned to administrative responsibility for clinical program development related to Palliative Care, including coordination of palliative care consults and hospice referrals, and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. 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. 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. English Language Proficiency: Social workers must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j, this part. 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: 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. References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39, Social Worker Qualification Standard, GS-0185, Veterans Health Administration, dated September 10, 2019. The full performance level of this vacancy is 12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is a GS-12. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. The position involves work that is mainly sedentary but requires some bending, walking, standing and lifting/carrying (under 15lb) of supplies, patient records, staff and patient mail. Some assignments may involve more frequent walking, but these assignments may involve more frequent walking, but these assignments require no unusual physical demands to perform work. The incumbent will need to have the ability to verbally communicate and hear (aid permitted) using a telephone and must be able to type and operate computer equipment as an essential part of their position. The incumbent must be able to work closely with internal and external customers in a face to face setting. Work Environment: Work is performed primarily in a patient care setting; adequately lighted, temperature controlled, and ventilated. Office temperatures fluctuate periodically; involves everyday risks or discomforts which require normal safety precautions typical of such places as clinics, offices, meeting and training rooms or libraries; exposure to noise and dust on occasion. The incumbent may be exposed to infected patients and contaminated materials and may be required to don protective clothing in isolation situations or operative/invasive procedures. ["CRITICAL Shortage LIST OIG: 38 U.S.C. § 7412 waives the requirement to apply Veterans' preference to external applicants for appointments made during the fiscal year to hybrid title 38 occupations among those reported to have the largest staffing shortages. Appointments to any other hybrid title 38 occupations not approved by the Secretary, as noted below in paragraph 7, remain subject to the application of Veterans' preference in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part I, Chapter 4, Preference to Veterans in Making Hybrid Title 38 Appointments. (AOC) for Referrals: 1st consideration: Current Facility VA employees, 2nd Consideration: All others based on OIG Hard to recruit and retain list FY 2023. After comparing the OIG report and VHA workforce planning cycle findings, VHA requested and received approval from the Secretary to waive Veterans' preference for 12 hybrid title 38 occupations for FY 2023. The provisions of 38 U.S.C. § 7412 do not supersede the terms of local/national labor master agreements. Preferred experience: Hospice and palliative experience and, program management experience preferred. VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU As a Senior Social Worker, the incumbent has experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, and at least two years in an area of specialized social work practice. The incumbent must be licensed at the advanced practice level. The incumbent requires specialized knowledge of issues related to end-of-life and palliative care, including various end-of-life diagnoses, impact of diagnoses, and a wide range of treatment interventions. Incumbent is required to have specialized knowledge regarding biopsychosocial issues faced by people at end of life, the death and dying process, community resources and specialized benefits. The incumbent serves as the facility Advance Care Planning via Group Visits (ACP-GV) Program Coordinator. The ACP-GV Coordinator is responsible for all aspects of the ACP-GV Program within the facility, affiliated Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) and community settings. The incumbent oversees the daily operation of the program, develops policies and procedures for program operation and prepares reports and statistics for facility, VISN and national use. The incumbent is responsible for the program's budget, developing and monitoring staff compliance with practice, standards and guidelines on documentation, workload, data entry, ethical practice and service delivery. The incumbent manages and controls the use of data related to day to day functioning and program evaluation. The incumbent provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development and continuing education programs for ACP-GV facilitators and affiliated staff. In conjunction with the Social Work Supervisor, the incumbent plans, organizes and directs administrative, operational, patient and personnel activities for ACP-GV. Work Schedule: M-F 8-430pm Compressed/Flexible Schedule: May be Authorized Telework schedules: Not authorized Virtual work schedules: Not authorized FLSA: Exempt BU Status: BU Recruitment Incentives: NOT authorized Relocation Expenses: NOT authorized Financial Disclosure Report: NOT required Permanent Change of Duty Station (PCS) Expenses: will not be paid PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not authorized Pay: Competitive salary, annual performance bonus, regular salary increases. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years' vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA. Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement). For More Information on Benefits: https://www.vacareers.va.gov/Benefits/EmploymentBenefits Competitive Federal benefits: Job security- Stability Career advancement and priority in hiring as a Federal employee Federal Retirement Survivor Benefits Military buy back toward retirement Leave Benefits: AL (13-26 days), SL (13 days), Paid Federal Holidays (11 days) , Paid Parental Leave 12 wks. FEHB lowest cost FEGLI low cost Flexible Spending accounts Pre-taxed Federal Long Term Care Insurance TSP matching 5% and Pre-tax contributions Child Care subsidy And more"]
The Veterans Health Administration is America’s largest integrated health care system, providing care at 1,298 health care facilities, including 171 medical centers and 1,113 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics), serving 9 million enrolled Veterans each year.
