Summary

The Fargo VA Health Care System is recruiting for 1 full-time Social Worker (Program Coordinator) for the Geriatrics and Extended Care Service Line to serve as Hospice and Palliative Care Coordinator.

Qualifications

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
• 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/
• 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: GS-12 Social Worker (Program Coordinator) (1) Experience and Education
• One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level - which is defined as: Working knowledge of community resources - how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services - and ability to coordinate services
• Independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic - cultural - ethnic - educational and other diversified backgrounds
• Working 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
• 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
• Providing 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
• Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment - demonstrating progressively more professional competency
• Candidate may have certification or other post-master's degree training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship - or equivalent supervised professional experience
• (2) Licensure/Certification
• Individuals assigned as social worker program coordinator must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level - and must be able to provide supervision for licensure
• Documentation is required if part of your state's requirements for providing supervision for licensure is beyond your licensure only (example: certification of continuing education credits)
• (3) Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation - negotiation - and monitoring
• (b) Knowledge and ability to write policies - procedures - and/or practice guidelines for the program
• (c) Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program
• (d) Skill in organizing work - setting priorities - meeting multiple deadlines - and evaluating assigned program area(s)
• (e) Ability to provide training - orientation - and guidance within clinical practice
• All qualifying experience you possess must be clearly described in your application package
• We will not make assumptions when reviewing applications
• Failure to demonstrate your experience in your resume may result in disqualification
• It is strongly recommended that you write to each KSA in your application package
• Assignments
• 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
• Program coordinators at the GS 12 grade level are administratively responsible for a clinical program providing treatment to Veterans in a major specialty area - such as but not limited to: Spinal Cord Injury - Homeless Continuum Veteran Program - Hospice and Palliative Care Program - Suicide Prevention Program - Veterans Justice Outreach - Caregiver Support Program and Community Nursing Home Program
• The program coordinator may be the sole practitioner in this specialty at the facility and typically provide direct patient care services in the program area
• The program coordinator oversees the daily operation of the program - develop policies and procedures for program operation - and prepare reports and statistics for facility - VISN - and national use
• They may be responsible for the program's budget - developing and monitoring staff compliance with practice - standards and guidelines on documentation - workload - data entry - ethical practice and service delivery
• The program coordinator provides analysis and evaluation of clinical program data and computerized programs to identify system-wide trends and needs to enhance the quality of service
• They may be responsible for - or contribute to - the program's resource and fiscal management - monitoring control points developing the annual budget - operating within that budget - and accounting for appropriated funds
• The program coordinator is administratively responsible for the clinical programming and prepares reports and statistics for facility - VISN - and national use
• They provide leadership - direction - orientation - coaching - in-service training - staff development - and continuing education programs for assigned staff
• They initiate and conduct a variety of program or service audits and complete designated clinical practice audits and reports - including productivity assessments
• They oversee program operations and evaluations - identifying areas for improvement - gathering relevant data - assessing the data - developing and implementing ideas for improvement and evaluating efficacy of improvement efforts
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12
• Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position
• Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.

Duties

• VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf Social Work: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Social-Worker-Career-Flyer.pdf The VA Midwest Health Care Network advocates for a Whole Health System of care in each of the Medical Centers
• This is an approach to healthcare that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their lives to the fullest
• As an employee operating in a Whole Health System of care - you will operate in a model with three core elements - seeking to create a personalized health plan for each Veteran
• This is done in the context of healing relationships and healing environments and a connection back to the Veteran's community
• This aligns with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Mission Statement to Honor America's Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being
• The incumbent is the Hospice and Palliative Care Coordinator and performs program coordination at least 25% of their time
• Program Coordination responsibilities include
• ensuring referrals from within the VA Health Care System are addressed appropriately - coordinating team meetings - ensuring effective communications with community hospice agencies for transitioning veterans - serving as a resource for VA staff that make community hospice referrals - and promoting competency in palliative care for all members of the Palliative Care Team and other clinical staff in the VA Health Care System
• Duties include - but are not limited to: Subject Expert - The position will be a subject expert for Advance Care Planning via Group Visits - understanding documentation for state and VA process
• The position will be a champion for advancing conversations on Advance Care Planning
• Subject expert on Life Sustaining Treatment Decisions and Goals of Care conversations
• Groups - The position will complete regular groups for ACP-GV's
• The position will demonstrate an understanding of group facilitation - development - and recruitment
• When appropriate the position will utilize telehealth for groups
• Coordination - The position will coordinate ADP-GV's development and implementation at the assigned facility and/or CBOC's
• The position will provide facility education and Veteran recruitment for ADP-GV's
• The position will provide training regarding ACP-GV's as requested
• Psychosocial Assessment - The social worker will develop an assessment of the veteran - family - economic - community - and psychosocial support systems when clinically indicated
• Clinical diagnosing using DSM-5 and ICD-10 behavior codes - Incumbent demonstrates knowledge in DSM-5 diagnosing and documents diagnostic impressions in psychosocial assessments when appropriate
• Treatment Planning/Goal Setting - Incumbent demonstrates basic knowledge of psychosocial treatment modalities and demonstrates the ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals - families - and groups to achieve treatment goals
• Therapy - Social worker will provide the veterans and their caregivers with ongoing psychotherapy (group and/or individual) and/or supportive counseling when appropriate
• Incumbent is able to demonstrate the ability to utilize the DSM-V to ensure appropriate treatment recommendations
• Referral to service providers - Throughout the course of treatment the social worker is the subject matter expert on VA and/or community resources
• Resource Development - The social worker is responsible for developing a resource file of VA and community social service programs and will refer the veteran to needed services
• Work Schedule: Monday-Friday - 7:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m
• or 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m
• Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child
• Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment - full time employees with a total family income below $144 -000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Available (Ad-hoc) Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized