Summary

The PCMHI Social Worker provides education and brief interventions to patients - monitors response to and side effects from treatment - and provides education and support to patients. The PCMHI SW also provides "on-time - on-target" information to Primary Care Providers (PCPs) and Behavioral Health Services (BHS) staff - and collaboratively makes appropriate care decisions.

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
• 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/
• Physical Requirements
• See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 - Employee Occupational Health Services
• 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: (1) Experience and Education
• One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level
• Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment - demonstrating progressively more professional competency
• Candidate may have certification or other post-master's degree training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship - or equivalent supervised professional experience.(2) Licensure/Certification
• Individuals assigned as social worker program coordinator must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level - and 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) Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation - negotiation - and monitoring
• (b) Knowledge and ability to write policies - procedures - and/or practice guidelines for the program
• (c) Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program
• (d) Skill in organizing work - setting priorities - meeting multiple deadlines - and evaluating assigned program area(s)
• (e) Ability to provide training - orientation - and guidance within clinical practice
• (4) Assignments
• For all assignments above the full performance level - the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope - complexity (difficulty) - and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time
• Program coordinators at the GS-12 grade level are administratively responsible for a clinical program providing treatment to Veterans in a major specialty area - such as but not limited to: Spinal Cord Injury - Homeless Continuum Veteran Program - Hospice and Palliative Care Program - Suicide Prevention Program - Veterans Justice Outreach - Caregiver Support Program and Community Nursing Home Program
• The program coordinator may be the sole practitioner in this specialty at the facility and typically provide direct patient care services in the program area
• The program coordinator oversees the daily operation of the program - develop policies and procedures for program operation - and prepare reports and statistics for facility - VISN - and national use
• They may be 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 program coordinator provides analysis and evaluation of clinical program data and computerized programs to identify system-wide trends and needs to enhance the quality of service
• They may be responsible for - or contribute to - the program's resource and fiscal management - monitoring control points developing the annual budget - operating within that budget - and accounting for appropriated funds
• The program coordinator is administratively responsible for the clinical programming and prepares reports and statistics for facility - VISN - and national use
• They provide leadership - direction - orientation - coaching - in-service training - staff development - and continuing education programs for assigned staff
• They initiate and conduct a variety of program or service audits and complete designated clinical practice audits and reports - including productivity assessments
• They oversee program operations and evaluations - identifying areas for improvement - gathering relevant data - assessing the data - developing and implementing ideas for improvement and evaluating efficacy of improvement efforts
• Preferred Experience: For PCMHI Psychologist - Two or more years of clinical experience comparable to what one would get in a VA setting - either by post-doctoral employment or two years of employment as a psychologist
• Post-doctoral degree fellowships are training programs in an advanced area of clinical practice
• Training as a fellow may substitute for creditable experience on a year-for-year basis
• For a PCMHI Social Worker - a minimum of 2 years post-MSW degree experience in the field of health care social work (VA or non-VA experience) and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• Physical Requirements: The physical demands of this position involve primarily walking - sitting - talking - driving - use of the telephone - etc
• Light lifting - under 15 pounds - Light carrying - under 15 pounds - Hearing (aid permitted).

Duties

• VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf Social Work: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Social-Worker-Career-Flyer.pdf Incumbent is a professional Social Worker assigned to Behavioral Health Services (BHS) - and the PCMHI program
• The incumbent must use a high level of skill in independently assessing and treating the complicated psychosocial problems of Veterans
• Social Work responsibilities include the assessment of psychosocial problems often at a time when the Veteran is experiencing crisis and include the provision of short-term - solution focused counseling with Veterans and/or their families
• Referrals typically originate from PCPs - Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACTs) - BHS teams - Veterans and/or their caregivers - or members of the interdisciplinary PCMHI team
• The incumbent must complete thorough assessments to determine the presenting problem - to determine in-home factors impacting the problem - and to determine obstacles to treatment and/or follow through with recommended treatments
• Case management with members of the PCMHI team and the Veterans PACT - PCP - or BHS team is provided in order to coordinate a collaborative effort to meet the agreed upon goals for a Veteran's treatment needs and include liaison with community professionals regarding needed services for Veterans and/or their families
• The incumbent shall support Veterans access to specialty behavioral health services by facilitating treatment in the most therapeutic milieu possible
• This position shall coordinate consult management that ensures appropriate service options are offered - as well as the prevention of Veterans being lost to services when referred for specialty behavioral health services
• The services include but is not limited to: initial clinical review for service appropriate ness
• compliance tracking
• completing assessments
• The incumbent will serve as one of the points of contact for patients being referred to PCMHI and will triage and forward to the appropriate service
• The incumbent will also serve as one of the points of contact for patients returning to PCMHI if it is determined that BHS care is no longer necessary
• Other related duties as needed
• Work Schedule: 8am-4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized 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 #:PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized