Senior Social Worker - Oncology

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.

01Basic Requirements

United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. 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 Requirement: You 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 must be able to provide supervision for licensure. English Language Proficiency.

Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). 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 - Senior Social Worker, GS-12 Experience/Education: 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.

Examples of experience include, but are not limited to: assessing and documenting identified behaviors or symptoms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and/or intimate partner violence; use of clinical social work skills; maintaining patient privacy and confidentiality per policies, handbooks or directives; acting as an advocate with appropriate community service providers and agencies when it serves the best interest of the patient and family members/caregiver; independently assessing the psychosocial functioning and needs of patients and their family members, identifying the patient's strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and psychosocial acuity.

Applicable experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment. Senior social workers are experts in their specialized area of practice. Applicable experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment.

Licensure/Certification: 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 AND 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. Assignments - Senior Social Worker GS 12. 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.

02Preferred Experience

Post-graduate Oncology Social Work experience, inpatient or outpatient medical social work experience, hospice and/or palliative care social work experience Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

03Physical Requirements

See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services.

VA Careers - Licensed Clinical Social Worker: https://youtube.com/embed/U_xC25QsN0w The incumbent performs specialized treatment of complex physical and mental illness for patients actively followed by the VAMHCS Radiation and/or Medical Oncology Clinics. The incumbent incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of Veteran patients, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved scope of practice.

Screening/Assessment: Assessment and education for newly diagnosed patients and clients beginning cancer treatment, patients contemplating changes in treatment modalities including consideration for bone marrow transplantation, and for end-of-life planning. Interviews Veterans and their family members/significant others to establish facts about their presenting problems and their causes, and the impact of such problems as it relates to their functioning and health as part of a comprehensive psychosocial assessment.

Reviews all data, subjective and objective, and makes a clinical assessment, identifying needs and strengths. Effectively uses professional skill, objectivity and insight. Uses advanced clinical training, insight and experience to interpret data and to identify viable treatment options. Preforms other duties, as assigned.

Psychosocial Treatment: Develops psychosocial treatment plans and works closely with the Veteran's interdisciplinary treatment team to assure good communication and treatment planning across the continuum of care. Identifies high-risk patients and provides case management services as needed. Supportive counseling: Provide the veteran and their family/caregivers with time-limited, supportive counseling.

Assists the Veteran and the family/caregiver in coping with the psychosocial impact of chronic and disabling illnesses, the onset of catastrophic illness, end-of-life and bereavement issues. Evaluates the need for more specialized mental health care and refer to appropriate VA or community resources.

Has knowledge regarding the symptoms and treatment of Depression, Military Sexual Trauma, PTSD, Substance Abuse and Suicidality and screens for these and other mental health issues to ensure appropriate referrals, prompt treatment and needed follow-up. Facilitates, as patient interest dictates, educational/support groups to meet client needs.

Crisis Intervention: Provides crisis intervention services; addresses the cause as well as the presenting complaint, coordinates family conferences and serves as liaison to family members. Assists in mitigating medical or psychiatric crises arising in presenting Veterans, within the scope of social work practice, and participate in developing crisis management and safety plans to minimize the event of future crises.

Coordination of Care: Responsible for coordination of care, including identification and coordination/referral to address barriers to treatment. Work collaboratively with the Cancer Care Coordinators to ensure Veteran's Care in the Community (CITC) Oncology services are coordinated in a timely manner and to address psychosocial needs that impact access to care/ability to engage in care.

Acts as a liaison for family, significant others, VA and community healthcare providers/service coordinators, insurance companies, community agencies, and other staff to effectively coordinate and manage care. Advocacy: Advocate for Veterans to ensure that they have access to all needed care and resources within VA and in the community. Educate and encourage the Veteran and their r family/caregiver to advocate on their own behalf, fostering independence and empowerment.

Program Development and Evaluation & Professional Consultation: Monitors patterns of resource availability, identifying unmet needs and the resultant impact on the Veteran's psychosocial functioning. Communicates with appropriate stakeholders (e.g., the Social Work Chief, the Social Work Practice Sub-Committee, other VA programs, community partners) to encourage the development of new and innovative resources.

Develops and implements methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in specialty areas, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve interventions and demonstrates the ability to implement effective changes based upon empirical findings. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:30am - 4:00 pm Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Telework: Available - Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 512-270125-F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized