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The Social Worker position is located in Social Work Service at the Bedford Healthcare Systems located at the Bedford, Massachusetts location. This position is full-time at 40 hours per week. The Social Worker is responsible for the general management, coordination and provisions during evening hours and weekends. 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: Social workers must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j. 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 http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. For the GS-11 grade level and above, the candidate must be licensed or certified. Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. GS-11 Experience and Licensure. Appointment to the GS-11 grade level requires completion of a minimum of one year of post-MSW experience equivalent to the GS-9 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. For the GS-11 grade level and above, the candidate must be licensed or certified. 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. AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 1. Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services. 2. Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, educational and other diversified backgrounds. 3. Knowledge 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. 4. 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. 5. Ability to provide consultation services to new social workers, social work graduate students, and other staff about the psychosocial needs of patients and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and compliance with treatment. References: VA Handbook 5005/120 PART II APPENDIX G39 Physical Requirements: Traveling throughout the Medical Center and the community is required, as is performing activities involving sitting, walking, and standing, bending and carrying such items as books, papers, and files. In carrying out responsibilities it may be necessary for the incumbent to travel into the community where incumbent conducts interviews with the Veterans, their families, representatives of community health and welfare agencies and law enforcement agencies. ["The Independently Licensed Social Worker is responsible for the general management, coordination and provision of Social Work Services to Veterans and their families across the VA Bedford Healthcare System during evening hours and weekends. Duties include but not limited to: Conducts psychosocial assessments to determine needs of Veterans and address family member concerns; Participantes in the treatment planning process with other disciplines; 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 individual, family and group counseling as 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 medical residents on Social Work practice and VA policy and procedures; Acts as liaison between VA and community resources, to include marketing and public relation duties as needed; Provides case management to Veterans and families, as needed, throughout the continuum of care; Provides a full range of Social Work services within commonly accepted standards of Social Work practice which includes case work, individual, family and group counseling, discharge planning, case management and other services as appropriate; Addresses Advance Directives and organ donation in accordance with the standards of their work area; Provides wellness/prevention education and facilitate Patient/family support groups as appropriate; Coordinates treatment and communicates with the care lines to facilitate continuity of care for Veterans; Participates in committee assignments, as deemed necessary by the service manager; Maintains data and statistical compilations to comply with Joint Commission, VA and medical center policy and procedures; 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; Ensures appropriate hand off when transferring of patient care; Assists in the case management and discharge planning of OIF/OEF Veterans and works with the OIF/OEF program manager on identifying these Veterans who are on the inpatient unit; Assists in the case management and discharge planning of those Veterans identified as high risk for suicide and work with the Suicide Prevention team on identifying these Veterans and arranging appropriate follow up; Works with the identified high-risk patient on establishing a safety plan and documenting this is the record; Conducts post discharge follow up phone calls for all Veterans discharged from the inpatient unit to their home as part of performance measure and report this data to the VISN; and Other duties as assigned. VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU Work Schedule: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday; 3:00pm-12:00am Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized Telework: (Ad hoc) telework - An employee who is scheduled to work at an alternative worksite with supervisory approval on an occasional, non-routine basis. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 518-F03205 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Notifications The Social Worker 0185 series is exempt from Veteran's preference under FY 2022 VHA Shortage Occupations as listed on 38 U.S.C. 7412. Qualified veterans will, however, be given full consideration. This position falls under the NAGE bargaining unit This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay. Travel and relocation expenses are not authorized. This position is in the Excepted Service. Current Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. Veterans' preference does not apply for other current permanent Federal agency employees. Incomplete applications will not be considered."]

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