Senior Social Worker-Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI)

Veterans Health Administration • White City, OR

8d • Onsite

About The Position

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. Program 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. Duties Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Duties include but are not limited to the following: Provides a full range of diagnostic and evaluation services appropriate to the primary care setting, especially in the areas of general psychological evaluation of emotional and behavioral problems and suicide assessment; Provides a full range of psychological interventions consistent with training and expertise, with special emphasis on brief and evidenced-based interventions found to be effective in primary care settings; Develops, implements, and documents the psychotherapeutic treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients, including prompt completion of clinical reminders; Facilitates patient and family education appropriate to the primary care setting and the specific presenting mental or behavioral health issues; Provides consultation services to support PCP decision-making, building on PCP interventions and improving PCP-patient working relationships; Provides interventions with a focus on allowing patients to remain with their Primary Care Provider (PCP) for the full range of their health care needs to the extent that this is clinically appropriate. Supervises trainees conducting direct clinical care; Provides administrative duties including: Scheduling of Veterans and related issues, returning Veterans' phone calls and secure messages, writing reports, attending organizational meetings; May be asked to provide service on a full time bases at one of the CBOC's Grants Pass/K-Falls; Complete certification of the VA National PCMHI Competency Training and continue to display competency and fidelity to the PCMHI model via ongoing review of relevant data and metrics; Other duties as assigned. Provides consultation and training to Primary Care Service Line staff in the identification and management of common mental and behavioral health disorders that present in a primary care setting when indicated; May supervise students, interns, or unlicensed Social Workers, as requested. Assists the PCMHI Coordinator in the design, development, and implementation of clinical programs for a team of treatment providers. Assist the program PCMHI Coordinator in the execution of ongoing program evaluation and data-driven quality improvement projects to monitor the effectiveness of the clinical program. Facilitates liaisons with other health care programs in order to effectively coordinate services. Complies with national and local performance measures, including timely health care screening and completion of clinical reminders for all patients. Complies with all documentation procedures, including timeliness standards for documentation and proper patient check out procedures (e.g., entering diagnostic and procedure codes). Attends and participates in administrative and informational meetings.

Requirements

• 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 evaluation.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• GS-12 Senior Social Worker Grade Determinations: Experience/Education: The candidate must have at least two years of experience 9 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.
• 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.
• 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 area.

Nice To Haves

• Work in primary care setting or prior experiences working with same-day MH needs/crisis management.

Responsibilities

• Provides a full range of diagnostic and evaluation services appropriate to the primary care setting, especially in the areas of general psychological evaluation of emotional and behavioral problems and suicide assessment.
• Provides a full range of psychological interventions consistent with training and expertise, with special emphasis on brief and evidenced-based interventions found to be effective in primary care settings.
• Develops, implements, and documents the psychotherapeutic treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients, including prompt completion of clinical reminders.
• Facilitates patient and family education appropriate to the primary care setting and the specific presenting mental or behavioral health issues.
• Provides consultation services to support PCP decision-making, building on PCP interventions and improving PCP-patient working relationships.
• Provides interventions with a focus on allowing patients to remain with their Primary Care Provider (PCP) for the full range of their health care needs to the extent that this is clinically appropriate.
• Supervises trainees conducting direct clinical care.
• Provides administrative duties including: Scheduling of Veterans and related issues, returning Veterans' phone calls and secure messages, writing reports, attending organizational meetings.
• May be asked to provide service on a full time bases at one of the CBOC's Grants Pass/K-Falls.
• Complete certification of the VA National PCMHI Competency Training and continue to display competency and fidelity to the PCMHI model via ongoing review of relevant data and metrics.
• Other duties as assigned.
• Provides consultation and training to Primary Care Service Line staff in the identification and management of common mental and behavioral health disorders that present in a primary care setting when indicated.
• May supervise students, interns, or unlicensed Social Workers, as requested.
• Assists the PCMHI Coordinator in the design, development, and implementation of clinical programs for a team of treatment providers.
• Assist the program PCMHI Coordinator in the execution of ongoing program evaluation and data-driven quality improvement projects to monitor the effectiveness of the clinical program.
• Facilitates liaisons with other health care programs in order to effectively coordinate services.
• Complies with national and local performance measures, including timely health care screening and completion of clinical reminders for all patients.
• Complies with all documentation procedures, including timeliness standards for documentation and proper patient check out procedures (e.g., entering diagnostic and procedure codes).
• Attends and participates in administrative and informational meetings.

Benefits

• Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP)
• Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• 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)
• Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave
• Child Care Subsidy
• Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting)
• Federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
• Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior