Social Worker - Acute Recovery Center

Summary

This position is located at the James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital in Tampa, FL. JAHVAH is a Level I tertiary medical center with general medicine, surgical, psychiatric, rehabilitation, spinal cord injury, nursing home care beds and one of four Polytrauma treatment facilities in the VA. The Acute Recovery Center (ARC) Social Work Team provide social work support to multidisciplinary inpatient psychiatric teams at JAHVAH in Tampa, Florida.

Duties

The selected Social Worker will deliver a comprehensive range of social work services, including detailed assessments, discharge planning, supportive counseling, care coordination, and other relevant services for Veterans and their families, all while adhering to accepted standards of practice. Additional duties include, but are not limited to; Identifying behaviors or symptoms of abuse, neglect or exploitation. Providing education on advance directives and advanced care planning. Providing social work case management. Acting as an advocate with appropriate VA and community service providers/agencies when it serves the best interest of the Veteran and family members/caregiver. Assessing the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members identifying the Veteran's strengths, weaknesses, coping skills and psychosocial acuity, in collaboration with the Veteran, family, and interdisciplinary treatment teams Maintaining a current network of internal and external resources to educate the Veteran and/or family members/caregivers and assist with the appropriate referrals. Incumbents are assigned to all program areas, including, but not limited to the following: inpatient or outpatient medicine, surgery, mental health, neurology, specialty medicine, rehabilitation medicine, and geriatrics. Use of clinical social work skills and knowledge to maintain Veteran privacy and confidentiality per policies, handbooks or directives The incumbent provides case management and care coordination to facilitate appropriate delivery of health care services, incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of Veterans, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. The social worker links the Veteran with services, resources, and opportunities, in order to maximize the Veteran's independence, health, and well-being. The social worker conducts timely assessment of at-risk Veterans in crisis to identify immediate needs, evaluate risk, and initiate safety plan as appropriate. Completes psychosocial evaluations, mental status examinations, and functional ability assessments of newly admitted patients to determine clinical needs and social determinants of health that influences care access and quality of life. Patient education on internal and community resources, Goals of Care conversations, advance directives, VA benefits that influence healthcare options, and social determinants of health status. Treatment planning with multidisciplinary team members for disposition and discharge planning, care coordination, and other services as appropriate. The Social Worker provides discharge options based on available resources and each Veteran's benefits. Patient education on internal and community resources, Goals of Care conversations, advance directives, VA benefits that influence healthcare options, and social determinants of health status. Provides treatment planning with multidisciplinary team members for disposition and discharge planning, care coordination, and other services as appropriate. Provides discharge options based on available resources and each Veterans benefits. Educates and consults multidisciplinary team members and medical resident on social work practice standards and VA policy and procedures. Engages in commonly accepted standards of social work practice of individual, family and group counseling, and other services as appropriate to help Veterans and families cope with grief and loss, terminal illness, and death. Documents social work interventions in Veterans' medical record according to hospital policies and regulatory guidelines. Adhere to ARC documentation policies and mandates for suicide safety planning, court proceedings, and consult management. Participates in committee assignments, discipline specific meetings and initiatives as deemed necessary for professional growth and development in alignment with scope of assigned duties. Contributes to social work service on-call rotation, including modification of tour of duty to accommodate patient care needs on holidays, evenings, and weekends. Work Schedule: The primary tour of duty will be M-F 7:30am to 4:00pm. However, the selectee may also be required to work various shifts on a permanent or temporary basis, based on the needs of the service and patient care. Recruitment/Relocation Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. 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 #:72122F; 71295F Social Worker Acute Care GS 9/11 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Qualifications

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: 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. Education: 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: 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/. Exception: VHA may waive the licensure or certification requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified, pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure/certification examinations. This exception only applies at the GS-9 grade level. For the GS-11 grade level and above, the candidate must be licensed or certified. At the time of appointment, the supervisor, chief social work or social work executive will provide the unlicensed/uncertified social worker with the written requirements for licensure or certification, including the time by which the license or certification must be obtained and the consequences for not becoming licensed or certified by the deadline.] For appointments at the GS-9 grade level, VHA social workers who are not licensed or certified at the time of appointment must become licensed or certified at the independent, master's level within three years of their appointment as a social worker. Most states require two years of post-MSW experience as a prerequisite to taking the licensure/certification exam, and VHA gives social workers one additional year to pass the licensure/certification exam. In states such as California, Washington, and others where the prerequisites for licensure exceed two years, social workers must become licensed