Social Worker (Inpatient - ED)

Description:

The Emergency Department (ED) Psychiatric Social Worker (SW) serves as a member of Psychiatry/Mental Health Service at the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center, assigned to the ED to cover non-administrative duty hours (evenings, weekends, and holiday), and they are responsible for the triage, and behavioral health evaluation of patients presenting to the ED with psychiatric complaints, and/or with concerns of safety from psychosis, suicidality, or homicidal ideation.

Requirements:

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. Indiana requires Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)

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 Determination:
Social Worker, GS-11 (Full Performance Level)

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

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.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

• Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services
• Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic, educational, and other backgrounds
• 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
• Skill in independently implementing different treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, 8 medical, and social problems to achieve treatment goals
• 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. Employees provide professional, independent social work services in the assigned area.

Preferred Experience:
Incumbent must have experience conducting individual psychotherapy with adults.

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 11.

Physical Requirements:
The physical demands of the position involve standard office requirements such as using the telephone, retrieving files, writing reports, data entry and maintenance of computer databases, etc. Work is typically performed sitting at a desk and using a computer.