This position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans health Administration (VHA), within the Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Mental Health Emergency Psychiatric Service. The incumbent will serve amongst an interdisciplinary team providing urgent mental health care for Veterans who present in crisis at the Emergency Department or Urgent Care Center. 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 masters of social work. 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). Grade Determinations: Senior Social Worker- GS-12 Senior Social Workers 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. 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. Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/ In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (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 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services. ["VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU The Mental Health Emergency Psychiatric Social Worker (Program Coordinator) works in collaboration with other members of the interdisciplinary treatment team. Services include provision of high-quality case management, discharge planning, clinical treatment, advocacy, and coordination of linkages to other appropriate VA or community service providers and agencies as needed by the client. Duties include but are not limited to: Develops an assessment of the Veteran in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team, the Veteran, family members and significant others. Responsible for developing the treatment plan and setting achievable treatment goals with the Veteran and family. Responsible for completing suicide screening and safety planning for Veterans presenting to the Emergency Department in Mental Health Crisis. Responsible for social work resource file of VA and community social service programs and enhancing the content to the benefit of Veterans. Responsible for making rapid assessments and developing crisis management plans for admission to mental health inpatient programs. Provides the Veterans and their caregivers with ongoing supportive counseling. Attends staff meetings. Coordinates the program operation of the inpatient acute psychiatry unit, and programmatic activities of professional and multidisciplinary staff with various tours of duty. Conducts staff development trainings. Uses word processing software to execute several office automations functions. Work Schedule: First Position: Monday-Friday 3:00pm-11:30pm (all shifts on site) Telework: Eligible Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]
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.
