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This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application. 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 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/. Grade Determinations: In addition to meeting the basic requirements stated above, the following qualifications criteria must be met in determining the appropriate grade assignment of candidates. GS-12 Senior Social Worker candidates must have the following: Experience/Education: The candidate must have at least two (2) years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which, one (1) 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, which administers its own clinical examination for advanced practice) and they must be able to provide supervision for licensure. While we no longer require essay-style responses to our Knowledge's Skills, Abilities, and Other Characteristics (KSAOs), you must be able to demonstrate that you possess the (below) competencies which are necessary to perform the work of the position. Please ensure your resume/CV/application contains sufficient information to support the level of experience/education/training; otherwise, we will not be able to award you credit for the experience/education/training you claim. These are the GS-12 KSA's for this subject position: 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. 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). Preferred Experience: Preferred experience in inpatient medical or surgery setting. Prefer candidates with advance practice social work license in a State. References: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39, Social Worker Qualification Standard. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: Able to meet the physical demands of the position, reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. They must have good manual dexterity. Must be able to express or exchange ideas by means of spoken and written word. Must be able to view and read information on computer screens. The job entails walking, standing, bending, traveling among several different stories/floors, sitting, working on a computer, carrying objects. The Senior Social Worker is required to travel on a regular basis to other locations of care within the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System to carry out job duties/assignments. The Senior Social Worker is required to drive and/or travel using personal vehicle or government vehicle to other sites of care within the NF/SG VHS, as well as, to community partners, as necessary to accomplish work assigned. ["The incumbent is a Senior Social Worker working within the Social Work Service Line and is assigned to the Acute Medicine/Surgery unit within the North Florida / South Georgia Health Care System located in Gainesville, FL. The Acute Medicine/Surgery senior social worker is responsible for providing assessment, discharge planning, and crisis intervention services to Veterans and their families on the acute care medicine, surgery, neurology and intensive care inpatient units. This position includes assisting with training acute medicine and surgery social workers within the program area as well as providing clinical supervision for unlicensed social workers. The senior social worker in this position requires an advance level of knowledge and understanding of the bio psychosocial needs of acutely ill Veterans, and the related procedures and policies, federal, state and community resources, and VA benefits and policies. The senior social worker must have skills in diplomacy, patient advocacy, and negotiation to resolve issues across a complex health care system, encompassing multiple VA treatment teams and community healthcare providers. The senior social worker must use high level skill in assessing and treating the complicated psychosocial problems of culturally diverse Veterans. The social workers responsibilities include the assessment of psychosocial problems, often at a time when the Veteran and caregivers are experiencing crisis and include the provision of short term counseling. The senior social worker is responsible for continuous quality improvement activities within the acute medicine and surgery areas. The senior social worker will attend and participate in administrative and clinical staff meetings. The incumbent may also participate in the student training program, as well as, serve on facility, VISN, and national committees and workgroups. Two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure in a relevant specialized practice area to position required. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Not available. Telework: Not available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: Senior Social Worker, FS #000000 EDRP Authorized: Contact Geraldin Louis at geraldin.louis@va.gov and/or Lajuanta Mitchell at lajuanta.mitchell@va.gov, the NF/SG EDRP Coordinators for questions/assistance. Learn more Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]

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