Social Worker - Acute Recovery Center

Veterans Health Administration • Tampa, FL

1d • Onsite

About The Position

This Social Worker position is located at the James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital in Tampa, Florida, and supports multidisciplinary inpatient psychiatric teams in the Acute Recovery Center. The incumbent provides comprehensive clinical social work services to Veterans and their families, including assessment, discharge planning, supportive counseling, case management, care coordination, referrals, advocacy, and patient education. The role may serve program areas across inpatient or outpatient medicine, surgery, mental health, neurology, specialty medicine, rehabilitation medicine, and geriatrics.

The Social Worker assesses psychosocial functioning, needs, strengths, coping skills, and acuity; completes psychosocial evaluations, mental status examinations, and functional ability assessments; and develops treatment and safety plans with Veterans, families, and interdisciplinary teams. The incumbent connects Veterans with VA and community resources and supports their independence, health, and well-being. Duties also include documenting interventions in medical records, consulting with and educating team members on social work practice and VA policy, participating in professional and service activities, and contributing to an on-call rotation.

The primary work schedule is Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The incumbent may be required to work other shifts on a permanent or temporary basis and to adjust the tour of duty for patient care needs, including holidays, evenings, and weekends. Telework is not available.

Requirements

• Master's degree in Social Work from a school fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE); a doctoral degree does not substitute for this master's degree requirement.
• State licensure or certification to independently practice social work at the master's degree level, subject to the stated GS-9 exception for qualifying candidates completing state prerequisites.
• Proficiency in basic written and spoken English for direct patient care.
• For GS-11: at least one year of post-MSW experience equivalent to GS-9 in health care or another social work-related setting, plus independent-practice state licensure or certification; alternatively, a doctoral degree in social work may substitute for the year of professional clinical social work experience.
• Ability to counsel and work effectively with Veterans and families from diverse socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, and educational backgrounds.
• Ability to assess psychosocial functioning and needs, formulate and implement treatment plans, and identify problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed.
• Ability to implement treatment modalities with individuals, families, and groups, using supportive, problem-solving, or crisis-intervention techniques as appropriate.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and community agency representatives.
• Knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, treatment procedures, acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses or injuries, common medications and their effects or side effects, and medical terminology.
• For GS-11: knowledge of community resources and ability to make appropriate referrals and coordinate services.
• For GS-11: skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions with people from diverse backgrounds.
• For GS-11: skill in independently implementing treatment modalities with individuals, families, and groups experiencing psychiatric, medical, and social problems.
• For GS-11: ability to consult with new social workers, social work graduate students, and other staff about patients' psychosocial needs and the effects of psychosocial problems on health care and treatment compliance.
• U.S. citizenship, except where appointment of a non-citizen is permitted under VA policy.
• Meet applicable pre-employment conditions, including background/security investigation, pre-employment physical examination, and seasonal influenza vaccination requirements; applicants selected for testing-designated positions are subject to pre-employment urinalysis.
• Meet Selective Service registration requirements for males born after December 31, 1959.
• Complete required application and onboarding requirements and serve the applicable probationary or trial period.

Nice To Haves

• Mental health social work experience.
• Hospital social work experience.

Responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive social work services to Veterans and their families, including assessments, discharge planning, supportive counseling, case management, and care coordination.
• Assess psychosocial functioning and needs, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and psychosocial acuity in collaboration with Veterans, families, caregivers, and interdisciplinary treatment teams.
• Complete psychosocial evaluations, mental status examinations, and functional ability assessments for newly admitted patients.
• Identify behaviors or symptoms of abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
• Assess at-risk Veterans in crisis, evaluate immediate needs and risk, and initiate safety plans as appropriate.
• Develop treatment plans with multidisciplinary team members for disposition, discharge planning, care coordination, and other services.
• Provide discharge options based on available resources and each Veteran's benefits.
• Educate Veterans and families about internal and community resources, goals of care, advance directives, VA benefits, and social determinants of health.
• Maintain a current network of internal and external resources and make appropriate referrals.
• Advocate with VA and community service providers or agencies when doing so serves the best interests of the Veteran and family or caregivers.
• Link Veterans with services, resources, and opportunities to maximize independence, health, and well-being.
• Provide individual, family, and group counseling and other services to help Veterans and families cope with grief, loss, terminal illness, and death.
• Educate and consult multidisciplinary team members and medical residents on social work practice standards, VA policies, and procedures.
• Maintain Veteran privacy and confidentiality in accordance with applicable policies and directives.
• Document social work interventions in Veterans' medical records according to hospital policies and regulatory guidelines.
• Follow ARC documentation policies and mandates for suicide safety planning, court proceedings, and consult management.
• Participate in committee assignments, discipline-specific meetings, and initiatives as appropriate to assigned duties and professional development.
• Contribute to the social work service on-call rotation and adjust the tour of duty to accommodate patient care needs, including holidays, evenings, and weekends.

Benefits

• Federal health, vision, dental, term life, and long-term care insurance; many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement.
• Competitive salary and regular salary increases.

What This Job Offers

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