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**A RECRUITMENT INCENTIVE MAY BE AUTHORIZED FOR HIGHLY QUALIFIED NEW HIRES** The Social Worker is a Clinical Social Worker assigned to the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System Medicine/Surgery Units located in Gainesville, FL. 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. 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/. Exception. VHA may waive the licensure or certification requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified, pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure/certification examinations. This exception only applies at the GS-9 grade level. For the GS-11 grade level and above, the candidate must be licensed or certified. VHA social workers who are not licensed or certified at the time of appointment must become licensed or certified at the independent, master's level within three years of their appointment as a Social Worker. 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 Requirements GS-9 (1) Experience, Education, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements. 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. The GS-9 KSA's for this subject position are; (2) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate 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. Entry Level Assignments. Individuals assigned as GS-9 grade level social workers are considered to be at the entry level and are closely supervised, as they are not yet functioning at the independent practice level conferred by independent licensure or certification. Social workers at the GS-9 entry level are typically assigned to program areas that do not require specialized knowledge or experience. Additional assignments listed in VA Handbook 5005/120. GS-11 (1) 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 2) 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. The GS-11 KSA's for this subject position are; (3) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (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. Full Performance Level Assignments. This is the full performance level. Social workers at this level are licensed or certified to independently practice social work. Incumbents are assigned to all program areas, including but not limited to: inpatient or outpatient medicine, surgery, mental health, neurology, rehabilitation medicine, and geriatrics. Additional assignments listed in VA Handbook 5005/120. 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 . References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G-39. Social Work Qualification Standard GS-185, Veterans Health Administration. Physical Requirements: 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 computer screens. Must be able to exercise extreme control over one's own emotions especially in highly charged and/or crisis situations. The work takes place in the outpatient clinic environment and exposes the incumbent to the typical diseases and conditions associated with a health care setting. ["The Social Worker is a Clinical Social Worker assigned to the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System Medicine/Surgery Units. The Clinical Social Worker's responsibilities include the assessment of mental health and psychosocial problems, often at a time when the Veteran is experiencing crisis. Clinical work includes the provision of discharge planning, crisis intervention, short-term solution-focused or problem solving focused evidence based interventions, and counseling/psychotherapy (appropriate to level of licensure) with Veterans and/or their family members/significant others/caregivers on the acute care medicine, surgery, neurology and intensive care inpatient units. Additional duties include but not limited to: Responsible for providing assessment, discharge planning, and crisis intervention services to Veterans and their families on the acute care medicine, surgery, neurology and intensive care inpatient units. Conducts psychosocial assessments, establishes plans, goals and evaluates outcomes of interventions for a wide variety of individuals from various socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, educational, and other diversified backgrounds. Has a basic knowledge of human development and behavior (physical and psychological), and the differential influences of the environment, society, and culture. Works with patients and families who are experiencing emotional, medical, and social problems utilizing individual, group, and family counseling skills. Consults more experienced social workers to address and resolve complex problems with supervision. Assess the psychosocial functioning and 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. Has basic knowledge of psychosocial treatment modalities and the ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups to achieve treatment goals. Judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving, or crisis intervention techniques. Establishes and maintains effective working relationships with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies. Able to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with people from varied backgrounds. Basic knowledge of medical and mental 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. Working knowledge and skill in the use of word processing, data management, and other computer software. Has the ability to learn and utilize software programs in use by the VHA. Basic knowledge of veteran's benefits and services relating to special programs, service connected compensation, non-service connected pension. Facilitates referrals based upon veteran's needs and eligibility. May serve on committees, councils, workgroups, and/or task forces. Serves as liaison to community agencies and networks with agency representatives. Obtains and/or participates in continuing education to meet facility requirements and to develop knowledge and skills as a social worker. Other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, with rotating tours of duty as needed. Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: Social Worker Relocation: Not Authorized Recruitment Incentives: Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]

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