Social Worker - Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT)

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Lenexa (KS); On-site; USD 52,000 - 76,000; Full time

Job summary

The US Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking a Social Worker to join the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) to deliver comprehensive primary care for Veterans with a focus on prevention, health promotion, coordination, and chronic disease management.

The incumbent will assess and document behaviors or symptoms of abuse, neglect, exploitation, and intimate partner violence, and develop treatment plans in collaboration with Veterans and their families.

Qualifications

• Must have MSW from CSWE-accredited program.
• Licensure in state to independently practice social work at MSW level.
• Understanding of medical and mental health diagnoses and terminology.

Responsibilities

• Assess and document behaviors or symptoms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and/or intimate partner violence.
• Provide social work services within the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) to Veterans.
• Develop and implement treatment plans and coordinate with Veterans and families.

Skills

Counseling skills

Psychosocial assessments

Treatment planning

Interprofessional communication

Medical terminology knowledge

Education

MSW degree (CSWE-accredited)

State licensure for independent practice

Job description

The Social Worker will be joining the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) is a comprehensive team which delivers primary care to Veteran patients in a longitudinal rather than episodic fashion and which has as its focus: prevention; health promotion, coordination and chronic disease management. The incumbent will be assessing and documenting identified behaviors or symptons of abuse, neglect, exploitation and/or intimate partner violence.

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 SW Licensure Summary by State.

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

Social Worker, GS-09

1. Experience, Education, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements.
2. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
   • (a) Ability to work with Veterans and family members from various socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, educational, and other diversified backgrounds utilizing counseling skills.
   • (b) Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veterans problems, strengths, weaknesses, copying skills, and assistance needed.
   • (c) Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups to achieve treatment goals. This judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving, or crisis intervention techniques.
   • (d) Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies.
   • (e) Fundamental knowledge 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.

Social Worker, GS-11

1. Experience and Licensure. Appointment at the GS-11 grade level requires completion of a minimum of one year of post-MSW experience equivalent to the GS-09 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
2. 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.
3. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
   • (a) Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services.
   • (b) Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various various socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, educational and other diversified backgrounds.
   • (c) Knowledge and experience in the use 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.
   • (d) Skill in independently implementing different treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical, and social problems to achieve treatment goals.
   • (e) Ability to provide consultation services to new social workers, social work graduate student, and other staff about the psychosocial needs of patients and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and compliance with treatment.

Preferred Experience

• VA medical social work case management experience

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

The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-09 to GS-11. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services