Social Worker-Inpatient Medical/Surgical

Summary

Provides social work services to the inpatient medical/surgical and MICU units. Responsible for management, coordination, and provision of social work services to Veterans and their families.

Services include the provision of direct patient services, collaboration/consultation with the Interdisciplinary Treatment Team, case management, supportive counseling, advocacy, discharge planning, and coordination of other VA or community service providers and/or agencies as needed by the Veteran.

Duties

Duties may include but are not limited to:

• Use a high level of skill in assessing and treating the complicated psychosocial problems of Veterans.
• Responsibilities include the assessment of psychosocial problems often at a time when the Veteran is experiencing or in crisis.
• Completes thorough psychosocial assessments to determine the presenting problem, in-home factors impacting the problem, and obstacles to treatment and/or follow through with recommended treatments.
• Collaboration and consultation with the Interdisciplinary Treatment Team is provided to coordinate a collaborative effort to facilitate a safe discharge and to meet the agreed upon goals for a Veteran’s treatment needs and include liaison with community professionals regarding needed services for Veterans and/or their families.
• Services include but are not limited to nursing home placement, facilitating hospice services, home health services, financial resources, community linkage and referral, VA benefits, and transportation services.
• Independently conducts psychosocial assessments as appropriate for treatment planning.
• Assessment is to highlight the Veteran’s strengths, limitations, internal and external supports, and service needs to optimize functional status.
• Identifies the psychosocial complications that can be caused due to a sudden onset of an acute or chronic illness.
• Independently provides crisis intervention services if needed, seeking to address cause, as well as the presenting complaint, coordinates family conferences, and serves as liaison to family members.
• Effectively manages crises and can effectively use his/her problem-solving skills in an independent manner to assist the Veteran, family, staff, and community providers in solving problems.
• Provides case management services to Veterans and families, as needed, throughout the continuum of care.
• Participates in discharge planning with interdisciplinary team members and will be responsible for ensuring that discharge plans are executed in a manner that is timely and appropriate.
• Provides treatment intervention in collaboration with the Veteran and family, guardian, caregiver, interdisciplinary treatment team, and community members.
• Understands the range of treatment and skills for adult patients related to illness or chronic medical conditions, psychological needs, and age-associated conditions.
• Assist patients and their significant others with coping and dealing with the loss and grief experiences in disability, terminal illness, and death.
• Coordinates community-based services, including information and referral for additional services from other VA programs, other government programs, and community agency programs.
• Facilitates action for community placements through collaboration with Veterans and their families as well as interdisciplinary treatment team members to ensure that appropriate community placements are completed in a timely manner.
• Community placements can involve but are not limited to referrals to contract nursing homes, Community Living Centers, residential care homes, inpatient and outpatient hospice services.
• Serves as a liaison between Veterans and/or their families and VA and community resources to ensure thorough delivery of services.
• Work Schedule: Monday-Friday (7:30 am – 4:00 pm) Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
• When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).
• 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) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.
• 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: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
• Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents).
• Effective May 7, 2025, driver’s licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the “Required Documents” section of this announcement.
• As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest.
• In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
• Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Education

Social Worker, 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.

NOTE: For appointment licensure or certification at this level please refer to paragraph 3c. OR 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. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.

In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services.

Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic, educational, and other backgrounds.

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.

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.

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.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/.

If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

How You Will Be Evaluated

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social).

Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate’s abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

Required Documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Resume Transcript Special Note for Applications: To complete your application, please use the following link https://vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Resume.docx to download the standard Clinical Resume Document.
• This one-page document does not need to be modified and must be uploaded into the two-page restricted ‘Resume’ document upload field.
• Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the ‘Other’ document upload field.
• The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position.
• Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50’s (current/former Federal employees), etc. SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (if applicable for Time in Grade and/or Eligibility): Most recent SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee An SF-50 showing your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials.
• If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement.
• In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade Award 50’s do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade.
• Examples of appropriate SF-50’s include: Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or SF-50’s at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old.
• Cover Letter DD-214/ Statement of Service Disability Letter (Schedule A) Disability Letter (VA) License
• Resume/CV (If longer than 2-pages) Other (2) Other (3) Performance Appraisal Professional Certification
• Resume Separation Notice (RIF) SF-15 SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action Transcript