Career Center

Summary

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. Program 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.

Qualifications

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: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f)
• Experience/Education
• You must possess 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
• Note: A doctoral degree in Social Work may NOT be substituted for the master's degree in Social Work
• Licensure/Certification
• 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/
• Grade Determinations: Senior Social Worker GS-12 Specialized experience: You must possess 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
• Examples of specialized experience 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
• Applicable experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment
• 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
• 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)
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12
• Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 - Employee Occupational Health Services.

Duties

• VA Careers - Licensed Clinical Social Worker: https://youtube.com/embed/U_xC25QsN0w Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Duties include but are not limited to: Provides a full range of psychosocial assessment services and psychiatric diagnoses of mental disorders - particularly for complex or unusually difficult patients in a variety of treatment settings - including tele-mental health
• Provides education to patients - family members - and significant others
• Provides comprehensive - evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions - including individual - family - and group psychotherapy
• in addition - can also conduct advanced level psychosocial and/or case management
• Provides clinical supervision to interns and post-doctoral fellows in areas related to behavioral health and social services provision to attain goals and objectives of recovery programs - as well as role modeling effective social work practice skills
• Develops - implements - and documents the psychotherapeutic treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients - including prompt completion of clinical reminders
• Implements 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
• Functions independently at the VA Medical Center at Memphis and assumes complete professional responsibility for his/her clinical assessment findings - patient care decisions - and documentation
• Interviews Veterans and their family members/significant others to establish facts about the Veteran's situation - presenting problems and their causes - and the impact of such problems on the veteran's functioning and health as part of a comprehensive psychosocial assessment
• Interprets and explains VA's treatment and benefit programs
• Reviews all data - subjective and objective - and makes a clinical assessment - identifying needs and strengths
• Effectively uses professional skill - objectivity - and insight
• Uses advanced clinical training - insight - and experience to interpret data and to identify viable treatment options
• Assess high risk factors - acuity and need for services
• Has the ability to serve veterans who tend to have serious frequent and severe crises - lack family or an adequate community support network - be poor at self-monitoring - frequently fail to comply with instructions and treatment - have significant deficits in coping skills and require continuing professional psychological support
• Facilitates liaisons with other medical center programs (e.g. - Homeless Program - Veterans Justice Outreach) in order to effectively coordinate services
• Has the 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
• Provides teaching on selected mental health topics to community organizations - provides leadership - direction - orientation - coaching - in-service training - staff development - and continuing education programs for assigned staff
• They serve on committees - work groups - and task forces at the facility - VISN and national level - or in the community as deemed appropriate by the supervisor - or Section Chief of Mental Health
• Work Schedule: Monday-Friday - 8:00am-4:30pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May be authorized to highly qualified applicants Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): May be authorized to highly qualified applicants EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive
• Contact VISN9HREDRP@va.gov - the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance
• Learn more Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases when setting pay - a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade)
• Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior [work experience] or military service experience
• Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child
• Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment - full time employees with a total family income below $144 -000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66
• 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) Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 51091-F