Social Work Clinician

Stanford Health Care • Palo Alto, CA

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The Social Work Clinician is an entry, developmental, and first working level professional social work position at Stanford Health Care. This role is suitable for recent graduates or those with professional social work experience who are not yet licensed as Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW) in California. Employees in this role will initially work under close clinical supervision, with the expectation of developing casework and treatment skills. Supervision will be reduced as knowledge and competency increase. This position is part of a three-level Social Work Job Family (Social Work Clinician, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and Advanced Clinical Social Worker) within a health care institutional setting at LPCH and SHC, requiring a Master's degree in Social Work (MSW) from an accredited school. As a member of a multidisciplinary health care team, Medical Social Workers provide intervention services and/or discharge planning to patients and their families at Stanford University Medical Center. The work involves addressing bio-psycho-social issues, assessing social needs related to health status, and developing service plans that include advocacy, discharge planning, referrals, and practical assistance. Social Work Clinicians also provide consultation, orientation, and training to health care staff on the impact of bio-psycho-social, cultural, and economic issues on patient health management. The organization offers a Voluntary professional development program to recognize and reward professional excellence, with promotion determined by this program, across levels such as Social Worker Level I, Advanced Social Worker Level II, and Expert Social Worker Level III.

Requirements

• Master's degree in Social Work (MSW) from an accredited college or university; OR be within forty-five (45) days of completion of the requirements for graduation with an MSW from an accredited college or university.
• Candidates who meet this qualification and furnish a letter from the Dean of the School Work where they are a student in good standing attesting to this may receive a conditional offer of employment. Such new hires must provide proof of possession of an MSW degree from an accredited college or university within forty-five (45) days of their date of hire, as a condition of continued employment.
• Ability to apply theories, principles and practices of medical social work and of social services delivery systems in a hospital or medical center setting
• Ability to gather data needed to needed to assess needs of patients and families
• Ability to manage a caseload, recall case details; maintain confidentiality of information; determine the appropriate course of action in emergencies and other stressful situations
• Ability to provide written case narratives and reports
• Knowledge of and ability to apply effective assessment, interviewing, and counseling techniques
• Knowledge of and ability to apply social work theories, principles and techniques
• Knowledge of hospital and medical center resources to access and provide for patient care needs, and act on behalf of client needs to obtain necessary services
• Knowledge of needs, problems, attitudes, and behavior of hospital patients and their families

Responsibilities

• Collaborates with interdisciplinary health care teams to treat and plan for the social and medical needs of patients by consulting with other providers and making referrals.
• Devises, develops and implements treatment plans as necessary.
• May make a diagnosis as part of a treatment plan.
• Conducts initial assessment of all new patients to evaluate social, emotional and physical needs by applying social work theories and techniques; interviews and evaluates patients and family members.
• Identifies factors which may interfere with obtaining maximum benefits from treatment.
• Develops and implements patient management plans, including the coordination of referrals to specialty and social services, the recording of progress notes and the provision of continuity of care.
• Helps clients cope with environmental and psychological issues of illness by explaining options and treatments as well as making appropriate referrals.
• Manages assigned caseload.
• Prepares and maintains records and makes written and oral reports to document case activity concerning patient care, counseling and therapeutic activities in accordance with department, hospital, medical center and/or health system policies.
• Prepares reports and other documents concerning patients.
• Participates in monitoring and evaluating the quality and appropriateness of patient care.
• Provides supportive counseling, grief counseling, crisis intervention and other appropriate therapeutic services to assist patients and families in coping with presenting symptoms and problems such as, for example, coping with illness, accepting medical recommendations, and loss of function.
• Provides education to patients and families around issues related to adaptation to the patient's diagnosis, illness, treatment and/or life situation.

Benefits

• Voluntary professional development program designed to recognize and reward professional excellence in the role of Social Worker.
• Stanford Health Care (SHC) strongly values diversity and is committed to equal opportunity and non-discrimination in all of its policies and practices, including the area of employment.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees