Social Worker- Inpatient Medicine

Veterans Health Administration • Kansas City, MO

5d • Onsite

About The Position

Incumbent serving as the Inpatient Medicine/Surgical Unit Social Worker is responsible for serving veterans on the Inpatient Medicine/Surgical Units in the Nursing and Social Work Case Management service line at the Kansas City VA Medical Center. They will provide direct patient care services to Veterans on the inpatient medicine and surgical unit. The Social Worker - Inpatient Medicine includes working knowledge and experience in use of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures, including acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses, substance abuse disorders, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology.

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.
• 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/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.
• Must have a master's degree in social work from a school 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 social work.
• 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.
• 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).
• Ability to work with Veterans and family members from various socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, educational, and other diversified backgrounds utilizing counseling skills.
• Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veterans problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills and assistance needed.
• Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups to achieve treatment goals. This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving, or crisis intervention techniques.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies.
• Fundamental knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures. This includes, acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries; common medications and their effects/side effects; and medical terminology.
• Appointment to the GS-11 grade level requires completion 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.
• 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, cultural, ethnic, educational and other diversified backgrounds.
• Knowledge of medical and mental health diagnosis, disabilities and treatment procedures (i.e. acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminoloy) 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 healthcare and compliance with treatment.

Nice To Haves

• Inpatient medicine/surgical unit experience
• Military veteran experience and/or military service members
• Hospital social work experience

Responsibilities

• Assesses and treats the complicated psychosocial problems of Veterans and their families/significant others.
• Applies clinical judgment with screenings, assessments, safety planning, treatment planning, discharge planning, and care collaboration.
• Utilizes assessments in facilitating the Veteran's maximum use of treatment for attainment of the highest level of independence that is possible and practicable.
• Participates as a member of the interdisciplinary treatment team and actively participate through collaboration with Veterans and family as well as interdisciplinary treatment team members in the development and implementation of treatment goals and interventions.
• Provides direct patient care services to Veterans on the inpatient medicine and surgical unit.
• Collaborates with team to assure information is obtained to meet the Veteran's needs and services.
• Initiates and advocates for appropriate needs, document to meet standards and to assure up to date changes, decisions are reflected in the chart so other team members or services can find needed information.
• Performs other duties as needed.

Benefits

• 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)
• 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 .
• Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and 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: Entry Level