Senior Social Worker - Trauma Recovery Clinic

Summary

The Senior Social Worker is located within the Mental Health Service with primary assignment to the Trauma Recovery Clinic (TRC) at the Dayton VA Medical Center. The TRC is staffed by the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Clinical Team (PCT) which provides comprehensive - evidence-based outpatient services to patients with PTSD and other related mental health needs.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States (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 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 Loss of Licensure or Certification: Once licensed or certified - social workers must maintain a full - valid - and unrestricted independent license or certification to remain qualified for employment
• Loss of licensure or certification will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment
• 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 Experience/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
• 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
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12
• Physical Requirements: The social work duties include sedentary and ambulation (walking) throughout the medical center and in the community according to the demands of daily tasks
• Light carrying - less than 15 pounds-may be required as part of duties related to storing or moving files
• Working around moving objects or vehicles is required as part of daily ambulating within the medical center around patients who use motorized scooters and wheelchairs
• Requires working at intervals during the day (i.e. - documenting progress notes - completing phone calls - etc.)
• Reaching above the shoulder- may be required during daily tasks to access files located in overhead cabinets
• Walking- required approximately 3-4 hours daily associated with walking from assigned office to outpatient clinics and other medical center departments as needed to complete duties of the position
• Standing required approximately 3-4 hours daily associated with walking from assigned office to outpatient clinics and other departments within the medical center as needed to complete duties of the position and filing patient records as needed
• It may be required that this individual be able to operate a motor vehicle in this position and to include transporting patients off-site as part of their duties
• Work will take place in- and outdoors thus exposing them to the natural elements of the weather
• The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium - dementia - or psychiatric disorders
• The incumbent must be a mature - flexible - sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations - able to shift priorities based on patient needs
• May be exposed to infected patients and/or contaminated materials and will be required to take appropriate safety and protective measures.

Duties

• VA Careers - Social Work: VA Careers - Licensed Clinical Social Worker: Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Duties include - but are not limited to: Independently performs case finding functions and outreach - identifying and screening patients for psychosocial needs
• The incumbent possesses advanced knowledge and abilities to independently implement treatment - provide counseling or psychotherapy for individuals - families and groups using evidence-based treatments for PTSD - co-occurring PTSD and Substance Use Disorders - and other mental health issues
• Must be trained in evidence-based psychotherapies for PTSD (e.g. - Cognitive Processing Therapy - Prolonged Exposure - WET - or EMDR) and demonstrate competence within these modalities
• Independently conducts psychosocial assessments including standardized evaluation for PTSD and other mental health conditions
• Develops treatment plans in collaboration with the veteran/family and with the interdisciplinary treatment team
• Engages in measurement-based care to facilitate optimal treatment outcomes
• Possesses the skills to offer psychosocial interventions and to measure outcomes of interventions
• Provides appropriate services via telehealth
• Provides clinical services including - but not limited to - assessment - individual and group therapy - psychoeducation - and case management services to veterans in the assigned work area(s) at the Dayton VAMC
• Knowledge of the principles and theoretical concepts of the practice of clinical social work at the advanced practice level is required
• Incumbent keeps up to date on new findings - trends - and treatment techniques pertinent to their area of social work practice
• Independently provides case management and service coordination for Veterans as assigned to include facilitating admissions - treatment planning - and discharge planning
• Coordinates community-based services - including information and referral for additional services from other VA programs - other government programs - and community agency programs
• The incumbent is required to have knowledge of Veterans community programs and resources and interact not only with the Veteran but also with family and significant others - when indicated - interdisciplinary team members - other VA staff - and community organizations and social service agencies
• Independently identifies high-risk patients and provides case management services
• Provides crisis intervention services - seeking to address the cause as well as the presenting complaint - coordinates family conferences and serves as liaison to family members
• Has working knowledge and experience in use 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
• Establishes and maintains effective therapeutic relationships with veterans and their families
• Independently works with patients and families who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric - medical and social problems utilizing individual - group and family counseling and therapy skills
• Independently provides consultation services to other staff regarding the psychosocial needs of veterans and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and adherence to treatment plan
• Demonstrates the ability to evaluate own practice through professional peer review - case conferences and other organizational means
• Communicates effectively - both orally and in writing - with people from varied backgrounds
• The incumbent demonstrates the ability to teach and mentor staff and students in the special area of practice and to provide supervision for licensure or specialty certifications
• Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 8am-4:30pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases 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) 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 #: 93168-A Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

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The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, providing care at 1,321 health care facilities, including 172 VA Medical Centers and 1,138 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics) to over 9 million Veterans enrolled in the VA health care program. VHA Medical Centers provide a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy. In addition, most of our medical centers offer additional medical and surgical specialty services including audiology & speech pathology, dermatology, dental, geriatrics, neurology, oncology, podiatry, prosthetics, urology, and vision care. Some medical centers also offer advanced services such as organ transplants and plastic surgery.

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