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Summary The Inpatient Social Work (SW) Team Lead, in conjunction with the Inpatient SW Supervisor, is responsible for clinical program oversight, program effectiveness, and service pattern modification for social work services provided to patients on inpatient medical units. The Team Lead assures high quality, professional clinical social work services are provided to Veterans, their families and caregivers. Responsibilities Duties include but are not limited to: Interventions to increase access to care, including transportation assistance and advanced directives, economic assistance, including assistance with medical bills, financial aid services and strategies to increase income (employment, vocational rehabilitation, VA benefits, disability), and/or reduce expenses, find the appropriate housing for the Veteran's level of need (affordable independent housing, homeless shelters, group and family care homes, assisted living, nursing homes, respite care, hospice care) and order necessary services to assist with functional decline. Establishes and maintains effective therapeutic relationships with Veterans and/or their families admitted to inpatient medical units. The incumbent works independently with Veterans and/or their families who are experiencing a wide range of complicated medical, psychiatric, emotional, behavioral, financial, legal, and psychosocial problems. Actively participates as a member of the interdisciplinary treatment team and collaborates with Veterans and/or family as well as interdisciplinary treatment team members in the development and implementation of treatment goals and interventions. Understands and uses medical and mental health diagnoses, terminology, disability definitions, and treatment procedures, including acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses, substance abuse disorders, and common medications and their effects/side effects. Serves as a liaison between Veterans and/or their families and VA and community resources to ensure thorough delivery of services. Provides consultation and education to Veterans and/or their families regarding community resources, VA benefits and specialty programs, and advance directives. The incumbent accesses and/or coordinates community-based services, including additional services from other VA programs, other government programs, and community programs for Veterans and/or their families when appropriate. Provides consultation to other treatment team and staff members regarding psychosocial needs of Veterans and/or their families and the impact of the identified psychosocial problems on the Veteran's health care planning and compliance with treatment. Serves on committees, work groups, and task forces at the facility as deemed appropriate by the Inpatient Social Work Supervisor and Chief, Social Work Services Participates in Acute Medicine activities at the local and national level. Demonstrates knowledge and skill in the use of software applications for drafting documents and data management as well as other computer systems in use by the VHA. Has clinical oversight responsibilities for the social workers assigned to inpatient social work positions and is responsible for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. Makes recommendations to the Inpatient Social Work Supervisor related to social work assignments, monitoring the use of templates, establishing the focus for care coordination needs. Provides consultation to other treatment team and staff members regarding psychosocial needs of Veterans and/or their families and the impact of the identified psychosocial problems on the Veteran's health care planning and compliance with treatment. The incumbent must be licensed at the advanced practice level and be able to provide clinical supervision for subordinate staff to qualify for licensure. The incumbent provides clinical supervision to a group of employees performing work at various GS levels up to their own grade and provides administrative, technical, and clinical supervision necessary for accomplishing the work of the unit. Completes suicide risk screenings, comprehensive suicide risk evaluations (CSRE) and Safety Plans. May be required to complete CSRE for Veterans on inpatient units for other providers when no other licensed independent practitioner (LIP) is available. Demonstrates knowledge and skill in the use of software applications for drafting documents and data management as well as other computer systems in use by the VHA. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:30am - 4:00pm May vary depending on deployment and/or assigned facility needs Telework: Not Authorized Functional Statement #PD593 06149F Travel: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. You may be required to serve a probationary period. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Must pass pre-employment physical examination and maintain CDT physical readiness. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. Qualifications 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. 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. 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 or Certified. 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 http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. QUALIFICATIONS: As outlined in the VA Handbook 5005/120 Part II, Appendix G39. Must be licensed 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. 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. CUSTOMER SERVICE REQUIREMENTS: Meets the needs of customers while supporting the medical center and service missions. Consistently communicates and treats customers (patients, visitors, volunteers, and all medical center staff) in a courteous, tactful, and respectful manner. Provides the customer with consistent information according to established policies and procedures. Handles conflict and problems in dealing with the customer constructively and appropriately. 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: In addition to the basic requirements stated above, the following qualification criteria must be met for each grade. The candidate's qualifications must clearly demonstrate the level of competence required for the grade. Experience/ Education: 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. Licensed/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. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates 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: Acute care medical Social Work The full performance level of this vacancy is 12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is a GS-12. Assignments. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Senior social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced level. Senior social workers typically practice in a major program area such as but not limited to: Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center or Polytrauma Network Site; a Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Center, or a national VHA referral center, such as a national Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or a national Transplant Center, or other program areas of equivalent scope and complexity. The senior social worker may be assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. Assignments include clinical settings where they have limited access to onsite supervision such as CBOCs or satellite outpatient clinics. The senior social worker collaborates with the other members of the treatment team in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans, ensures equity of access, service, and benefits to this population, ensures the care provided is of the highest quality. The senior social worker provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned social work staff. They serve on committees, work groups, and task forces at the facility, VISN and national level, or in the community as deemed appropriate by the supervisor, Social Work Executive or Chief of Social Work Services. This assignment is to be relatively few in number based on the size of the facility/service and applying sound position management. This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and cannot be used as the full performance level of this occupation. Reference: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39, Social Worker Qualification Standard, GS-0185, Veterans Health Administration, dated September 10, 2019. Physical Requirements: The incumbent is required to be standing and walking throughout the day for prolonged periods of time as they are required to visit with patients bedside on the units. Education IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information The Team Lead provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for social work staff and assists in planning, establishing, and implementing policies and procedures; developing individual or group goals and objectives; and monitoring, coordinating and overseeing the clinical practice of social work staff in addition to providing direct Veteran care. The Team Lead is responsible for resolving problems that arise regarding Veteran care issues and provides clinical supervision for other social workers working toward licensure, as well as graduate trainees. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.