Senior Social Worker, Primary Care/Mental Health Integration (PCMHI)

at Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration in Chicago, Illinois, United States

Job Description

Summary The incumbent is a Senior Social Worker within the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center’s Mental Health Service Line (MHSL) and provides services within the Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) program. The position is physically located at Jesse Brown VA Medical Center. The incumbent will work within an interdisciplinary team and provide a variety of mental health services to Veterans referred by the Primary Care Clinics. Responsibilities The Senior Social Worker contributes to the administrative functions of the clinical program assigned and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. The Senior Social Worker may be assigned to work with special patient populations with highly complex health or mental health problems. Major Duties: Provides services to Veterans referred to the Primary Care-Mental Health Integration (PC/MHI) clinic. Use advanced clinical skills and knowledge due to the psychiatric nature of cases presented and the independent functioning required of the position. Conducts biopsychosocial assessments to determine needs of veterans and family members referred from either the outpatient medical primary care clinics, specialty medical clinics or PAC. Participates in discharge planning with other disciplines and will be responsible for ensuring that discharge plans are executed in a manner that is timely and appropriate. Provides consultation/education to veterans and families on community resources, advance directives and VA benefits. Acts as a consultant to other team/staff members. Provides consultation/education to psychiatric residents on social work practice and VA policy and procedure. Acts as liaison between VA and community resources, to include marketing and public relation duties as needed. Provides a full range of social work services within commonly accepted standards of social work practice which includes case work, individual and family counseling, discharge planning and other services as appropriate. Addresses Advance Directives and Organ Donation in accordance with the standards of their work area. Coordinates treatment and communicate with the care lines to facilitate continuity of care for veterans. Assists patients and their significant others with coping and dealing with the loss and grief experiences in disability, terminal illness and death. Documents social work interventions and activities in patient’s clinical record utilizing CPRS and ensure appropriate hand off when transferring of patient care. Serves as a mentor to other social workers, social work associates, social work interns, and possibly members of other disciplines. Maintain data and statistical compilations to comply with JCAHO, VA and medical center policy and procedures. Provides additional therapeutic services in the medical center as needed. Performs various functions as delineated in the Scope of Practice for that position. Conforms to ethical and legal standards consistent with VA, State, Federal, and NASW guidelines. Consistently complies with VA, VHA, JBVA, Social Work Services, Mental Health Service Line, and Psychiatric Assessment Clinic policies and procedures. This includes following policies and documentation requirements as required for CARF and The Joint Commission accreditation as well as other internal and external requirements. Consistently complies with HIPAA standards of confidentiality, as well abiding by policies and procedures meant to safeguard PII, PHI, other digital information, equipment and facilities. Responsible for improving professional skills, participating in planning and executing specific staff development projects, attending seminars and institutes, and participating in training programs of other disciplines as requested. Documents in the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) in accordance with the guidelines established by the program and VHA. Progress notes are to be concise and comprehensive, and documentation will be entered in a timely fashion. Performs other related duties as assigned to address programmatic needs. Willingly accepts additional and special assignments that are necessary to meet program goals or customer needs. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 9:00am – 5:30pm Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. 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. 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. 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 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: 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. 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 Master 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/. Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Experience/Education: 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, wh