Senior Social Worker - Primary Care Mental Health Integration
Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration
Application
Details
Posted: 07-Mar-23
Location: Fayetteville, Arkansas
Salary: Open
Categories:
Mental Health/Social Services
Internal Number: 710702400
Current, permanent VA employees or Federal employees from another agency, you should apply under CBST-11865357-23-DB. The PCMHI Social Worker is a co-located, collaborative care behavioral health provider who serves as a member of the primary care clinic's multidisciplinary health care teams, and who delivers consultation-based services to Veterans, primary care providers, and allied Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) members to manage the overall health of the enrolled population. 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). 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. 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/. Grade Determinations: Senior Social Worker, GS-12 Experience and 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. Examples of creditable experience include but not limited to independently asses psychosocial functioning, facilitate treatment plan with interdisciplinary team using medical and mental health diagnoses knowledge, provide case management and care coordination, links patient with services, resources, and opportunities, conducts assessment of at-risk patient to identify immediate needs, provides interventions independently for patient and families/care giver, provide range of interventions and treatment modalities, and provide consultation to staff about psychosocial needs of patients. Resume must include hours per week for work experience credit. 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: a) 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. (b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. (c) 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. (d) 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. (e) 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. (KSAs must be clearly reflected in resume under description of duties in order to be found qualified for this position/grade level). Preferred Experience: Experience providing behavioral health services with adult populations Experience providing behavioral health services through telehealth modalities Experience working as a member of a collaborative multidisciplinary care team Experience implementing evidence-based assessment and intervention practices At least two years of post-licensure experience References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II Appendix G39, Social Worker Qualification Standard. The position is above full performance level of this vacancy (GS-12). Physical Requirements: Moderate lifting (15-44 pounds), Light lifting and carrying (under 15 pounds), reaching above shoulders, use of fingers, walking and standing (8 hours), hearing (aid permitted) and mental and emotional stability. Environmental factors include working along and working closely with others. (See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services). ["VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU Major Duties include, but are not limited to: The PCMHI Social Worker provides triage, brief assessment and intervention, education, and consultative services regarding a wide range of behavioral health and behavioral medicine concerns on warm handoff and referral from primary care providers and allied PACT members. The PCMHI Social Worker uses population-based practice management strategies, and maintains competencies in the following core domains: Clinical/Practice Management Skills - Applies principles of population based care (e.g., early identification and intervention, evidence-based treatment, measurement-based care, interdisciplinary collaboration and coordination) and stepped care (i.e., delivery of most effective, least resource intensive treatment appropriate for patients' individual needs, preferences, and resources). - Accepts warm handoffs and referrals from PACT members, and triages, assesses, and refers to specialty behavioral health care services appropriately and efficiently. - Conducts functional assessments and provides time-limited, problem-focused interventions targeting functional outcomes for a broad range of behavioral health and behavioral medicine concerns. These include evidence-based psychotherapy protocols and self-management strategies. - Uses brief assessment measures routinely to assist in intervention planning and outcomes monitoring. - Maintains availability for telehealth and face-to-face visits. - Maintains daily open access slots. - Maintains availability for scheduled appointments within two weeks. Documentation Skills - Writes assessment and intervention notes that are brief, clear, and concise, and that document clinical impressions, recommendations, and plan of care. - Writes notes documenting curbside consultation results. - Completes notes within 24 hours. Consultation Skills - Consults with primary care providers and other PACT members routinely about plan of care for patients. - Routinely provides verbal and/or written feedback to the primary care provider and other PACT members on same day as warm handoff or referral. - Attends regularly scheduled PACT meetings and huddles, and provides curbside consultations on an as-needed basis. - Provides general education and consultation to PACT members on behavioral health issues and strategies for successful care management. Administration - Participates in clinical program development, which may include community outreach involving partnering with local universities, community colleges, and other agencies to improve the delivery of mental health services and increase utilization. - Is accountable for clinical program effectiveness, utilizing outcome evaluations to inform the design and implementation of program- and system-level changes. - Evaluates their own practice through professional peer review, case conferences, consultation, and other appropriate means. - Participates as a non-voting member of the medical staff, in accordance with medical staff by-laws. - Keeps thorough and complete records of clinical encounters with Veterans in the computerized record system (CPRS) and completes documentation in a timely manner and in accord with governing regulations. - Provides other services and duties as assigned by their supervisor and/or the Chief of the Mental Health Service. Teaching and Training - Teaches and mentors staff in their area of practice and provides supervision for licensure or specialty certifications. - Communicates effectively, both orally and in writing, with people from varied backgrounds. - Provides Veterans and their families with accurate information according to established policies and procedures. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00 am-4:30 pm Telework: Available (currently ad hoc with likely transition to regular and recurring in the near future). The employee in this position will need to reside within commuting distance of the duty station. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #:564-00615-F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]
About Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration
Providing Health Care for Veterans: The Veterans Health Administration is America’s largest integrated health care system, providing care at 1,255 health care facilities, including 170 medical centers and 1,074 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics), serving 9 million enrolled Veterans each year.