Senior Social Worker-Home Based Primary Care

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking a Senior Social Worker (GS-12) for the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston.

The role emphasizes advanced psychosocial assessment, case management, and leadership within the HBPC program to support veterans and their families. The position requires an MSW from an accredited school, state licensure, and at least two years of post-advanced practice experience in a specialized area of social work.

Qualifications

• MSW from CSWE-accredited program.
• Licensed or certified to independently practice social work at MSW level.
• Two years of post-advanced practice licensure with specialized area expertise.

Responsibilities

• Conduct comprehensive psychosocial assessments and create care plans for veterans and families.
• Provide individual, group, and family counseling and crisis intervention.
• Coordinate with HBPC interdisciplinary team to develop goals of care and discharge planning.
• Perform case management, outreach, screenings, and intake for eligible veterans and their families.
• Provide consultation to staff on psychosocial care and adherence to treatment plans.

Skills

Clinical social work

Case management

Communication

Crisis intervention

Education

Master of Social Work (MSW)

Job description

Summary

The Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center - a Complexity Level 1A VHA facility - serves as the primary health care provider for more than 120 -000 Veterans in southeast Texas. It is home to a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Clinic; a Network Polytrauma Center; an award-winning Cardiac and General Surgery Program; a Liver Transplant Center; and one of the VA's six Parkinson's disease Research - Education - and Care Centers.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

• Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States
• (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3 - section A - paragraph 3g this part)
• 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
• 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
• 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 Education and Experience
• 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 supervsion for licensure
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 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
• Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice
• 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
• 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
• 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
• Preferred Experience: Working with Geriatric patients and caregivers - working on an interdisciplinary team - working in the Field doing home visits
• Experience working with geriatric patients and their caregivers Experience collaborating as part of an interdisciplinary team Experience conducting field-based work and home visits 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-12
• Physical Requirements: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for this occupation - see duty section for essential duties of this position
• May require standing - lifting - carrying - sitting - stooping - bending - pulling - and pushing
• May be required to wear personal protective equipment and undergo annual TB screening or testing as conditions of employment
• Work Environment: Work is performed in an office/clinic setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions
• the area is adequately lighted - heated - and ventilated
• However - the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations.

Duties

• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Social Work: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Social-Worker-Career-Flyer.pdf The Home Based Primary Care Program enables a patient and their family to assume responsibility for the health care of the veteran at home
• The primary objective of the program is to maintain the veteran at home in familiar surroundings with his family by developing a suitable home environment and training of family members to care for the patient's personal and physical needs
• The HBPC treatment consists of the following: a physician - nursing staff at various levels - rehabilitation therapists - psychologists - dieticians - social work staff and a pharmacist
• The Home Based Primary Care Senior Social Worker is a independent practitioner and is responsible for performing comprehensive initial clinical assessments - education and screenings - discharge planning and case management services to eligible veterans and their family members to meet biological - psychological - social - and environmental needs
• They effectively participate as member of the HBPC interdisciplinary team and as such will contribute to the development of goals of care
• Healthcare - psychosocial problems and needs are complex and require clinical oversight - coordination and creative problem-solving
• Home Based Primary Care Senior Social Worker is accountable and responsible for: Responsible for case finding functions - outreach - screenings - initial intake - detailed psychosocial assessments - and creating a working diagnosis 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
• Establishes and maintains effective therapeutic relationships with veterans and their families
• Independently work with patients and families who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric - medical - and social problems utilizing individual - group and family counseling and therapy skills
• 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
• Communicate effectively - both orally and in writing - with people from varied backgrounds
• General knowledge of veterans' benefits and services relating to special programs - service-connected compensation - nonservice connected pension
• Facilitates referrals based upon veterans needs and eligibility
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday
• 8:00 am - 4:30 pm (subject to change based on facility need) Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• When setting pay - a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade)
• 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 #: 580-01286-F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized