Senior Social Worker (PACT)

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Bakersfield (CA); On-site; USD 80,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

US Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking a Senior Social Worker for the Greater Los Angeles Health Care System, based at the Bakersfield Community Based Outpatient Clinic. The role provides services to Veterans in Primary Care on the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT), within a comprehensive team focused on prevention, health promotion, and care coordination over time.

The ideal candidate has a CSWE-accredited MSW, state advanced practice licensure, and experience in a medical setting.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Social Work from a CSWE-accredited program.
• U.S. citizenship and English proficiency required.
• Must hold state licensure at the advanced practice level and provide supervision for licensure.

Responsibilities

• Provide social work services to Veterans in Primary Care on the PACT team.
• Collaborate with a comprehensive team to deliver longitudinal primary care.
• Engage in prevention, health promotion, coordination and chronic disease management.
• Assist in measuring outcomes and contributing to program improvements.

Skills

Advanced practice social work

Psychotherapy

Case management

Clinical supervision

Policy development

Education

MSW CSWE-accredited

Licensed clinical social worker

Job description

Greater Los Angeles Health Care System is recruiting for a Senior Social Worker for its Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Bakersfield, California. The social worker will provide services to Veterans in Primary Care on the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT). This is a comprehensive team which delivers primary care to veteran patients in a longitudinal fashion, and focuses on prevention, health promotion, coordination and chronic disease management. 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

• Citizenship: Must be a citizen of the United States
• English Language Proficiency. In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English.
• Education: Must 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. Note: 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: Candidates must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work 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.

Grade Determinations

• Experience: 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 and 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.
  • 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

Experience working in a medical setting is highly preferred

Reference

For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/

Performance Level

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12

Physical Requirements

Light lifting (under 15 pounds); light carrying (under 15 pounds); reaching above shoulder; use of fingers; both hands required; walking; standing; hearing (aid permitted).