Job Description

Summary

The Veterans Affairs Portland Health Care System (VAPORHCS) is a Complexity Level 1a Facility and provides extensive primary - secondary - tertiary - and quaternary care in outpatient - inpatient - residential - and community settings. VAPORHCS is a multi-site medical system that includes a major medical facility in Portland - Oregon; outpatient and residential facilities in Vancouver - Washington; and 10 Community Based Outpatient Clinics.

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 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
• Exception
• VHA may waive the licensure or certification requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified - pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure/certification examinations
• This exception only applies at the GS-9 grade level
• For the GS-11 grade level and above - the candidate must be licensed or certified
• At the time of appointment - the supervisor - chief social work or social work executive will provide the unlicensed/uncertified social worker with the written requirements for licensure or certification - including the time by which the license or certification must be obtained and the consequences for not becoming licensed or certified by the deadline
• Grandfathering Provision
• The following is the standard grandfathering policy for all title 38 hybrid qualification standards
• Please carefully review the qualification standard to determine the specific education and/or licensure/certification/registration requirements that apply to this occupation
• (1) All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title - series and grade held - including positive education and licensure or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation
• For employees who do not meet all of the basic requirements in this standard - but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it - the following provisions apply: (2) Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure or certification - may be reassigned - promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level - or changed to lower grade within the occupation - but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions
• (3) Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed - on a temporary or permanent basis - until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard
• (4) Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation - who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all of the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation
• (5) If an employee who was retained in an occupation listed in 38 U.S.C. § 7401(3) under this provision leaves that occupation - the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation
• NOTE: If social workers covered under the grandfathering provision of the 1991 Federal law regarding licensure or certification of VHA social workers leave the GS0185 social work series - they lose the grandfathering protection
• If they choose to return at a later date to the GS-0185 series - they must be licensed or certified to qualify for employment as a social worker
• Physical Requirements
• See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 - Employee Occupational Health Services
• English Language Proficiency
• Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f)
• Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment - the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates
• Senior Social Worker - GS-12 (1) 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
• (2) 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
• (3) Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• In addition to the experience above - candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) 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
• (b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice
• (c) 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
• (d) 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
• (e) Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the social work profession - and to write policies - procedures - and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery are (4) 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
• Senior social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced level
• Preferred Experience: 2 years of Oncology experience
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-12 to GS-12.

Duties

• Duties included but are not limited to: A
• Program and Data Management VAPORHCS is accredited by the Commission on Cancer as a Cancer Care Center
• Social Work Service and social work staff play integral roles in supporting and advancing cancer care services and ensuring continued accreditation
• The CCNT social worker is assigned the role and responsibility for ensuring that Commission on Cancer Accreditation Standards which include and/or are associated with social work practice are met
• The CCNT social worker is a member of the Cancer Committee (Standard 2.1) - serves as the Psychosocial Distress Screening Coordinator (Standard 5.2) - and participates on Cancer Care Committee subcommittees to identify and address barriers to care (Standard 8.1 - Addressing Barriers to Care) - identify services and programs that address the needs of cancer survivors (Standard 4.8 - Survivorship Program) - and serve as a consultant for social work matters related to other standards
• B
• Psychosocial Screening and Assessment The incumbent conducts psychosocial screens and/or assessments of the Veteran in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team - the Veteran - family members and significant others
• The purpose of the assessment is to understand the Veteran's situation - presenting problems and their causes - and the impact of such problems on the Veteran's level of functioning and health as part of a comprehensive psychosocial assessment that highlights the Veteran's strengths - limitations - high risk factors - acuity levels - and internal/external supports and service needs in order to optimize the Veteran's functional status
• The initial assessment will be completed as specified by the policy for the assigned work area
• An initial patient assessment is required as well as reassessments as defined in policy
• The assessment may require a clinic visit or be accomplished through virtual technology
• It is the responsibility of the social worker - working within the interdisciplinary treatment team - to develop a treatment plan with the Veteran based on this assessment
• The incumbent completes behavioral health clinical reminders for patients in assigned specialty clinics
• The social worker conducts clinical reminders during clinic visits and - as needed - by telephone as clinic visit follow-ups
• The social worker will also provide clinical support to non-assigned specialty clinics for behavioral health clinical reminders
• C
• Psychosocial Treatment and Intervention The CCNT Social Worker works closely with Veterans to identify and support their preferences in care and personal treatment goals - and offers resources and support tailored to the uniquely expressed needs and desires of the Veteran
• The CCNT Social Worker serves as the key link for education and psychosocial support for Veterans - families - and caregivers across the continuum of cancer care
• The incumbent participates in the creation of the Veteran's treatment plan - with special attention to the psychosocial elements of the treatment plan and identifies needed psychosocial interventions
• The plan is developed in collaboration with interdisciplinary treatment team - the Veteran - family members and significant others - and incorporates measurable goals
• The incumbent regularly reviews psychosocial treatment goals and revises them as needed
• The incumbent also regularly evaluates the effectiveness of the services provided through reviewing outcome measures and makes appropriate modifications as identified by these evaluations to ensure the provision of high-quality care and interventions
• Work Schedule: M-F 0730 to 1600
• M-F 0800 to 1630 Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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About Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, providing care at 1,321 health care facilities, including 172 VA Medical Centers and 1,138 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics) to over 9 million Veterans enrolled in the VA health care program. VHA Medical Centers provide a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy. In addition, most of our medical centers offer additional medical and surgical specialty services including audiology & speech pathology, dermatology, dental, geriatrics, neurology, oncology, podiatry, prosthetics, urology, and vision care. Some medical centers also offer advanced services such as organ transplants and plastic surgery.

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Permanent employment, Internship, Remote job, Relocation, Flexible hours,

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