Summary

The Senior Social Worker is assigned to the acute medicine/surgery unit at the Gainesville VA Medical Center - located in Gainesville - Florida. The Senior Social Worker is responsible for providing assessment - discharge planning - and crisis intervention services to Veterans - their families/caregivers on the acute care medicine - surgery - neurology - intensive care inpatient units - emergency department and outpatient clinics.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet the requirements by the closing date of this announcement. 06/25/2026

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Must be US Citizen
• Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f)
• 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
• 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 of 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
• Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/
• Grade Determinations: In addition to meeting the basic requirements stated above - the following qualifications criteria must be met in determining the appropriate grade assignment of candidates
• GS-12 Senior Social Worker candidates must have the following: Experience/Education: Must have at least two (2) years of experience POST advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which - one (1) 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
• AND 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
• Advanced License must be submitted with application
• While we no longer require essay-style responses to our Knowledge's Skills - Abilities - and Other Characteristics (KSAOs) - you must be able to demonstrate that you possess the (below) competencies which are necessary to perform the work of the position
• Please ensure your resume/CV/application contains sufficient information to support the level of experience/education/training listed below
• otherwise - we will not be able to award you credit for the experience/education/training you claim
• If selected - you may be required to submit narrative responses then
• These are the KSA's for this subject position and grade level: 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
• Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice
• 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
• 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
• 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
• References: VA Regulations - specifically VA Handbook 5005/120 - Part II - Appendix G39 - Senior Social Worker Qualification Standard - dated 9/10/19
• For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12
• Physical Requirements: It is VA policy to ensure that all selected applicants and employed personnel are physically - mentally - and emotionally fit to perform the duties of the position to which assigned
• A pre-placement physical examination is required for all full-time - part-time and intermittent employees identified by VA Directive and Handbook 5019
• The pre-placement physical examination shall be completed prior to appointment to determine the physical and mental fitness for candidates for appointment in VA
• The examination will be concerned with the mental and physical ability of the applicant to satisfactorily perform the duties of the proposed assignment and will include requisite laboratory and other screening as required by Federal regulatory agencies
• The work requires frequent walking - bending - stooping - standing - stretching - sitting and carrying objects
• The physical demands of the work requires use of fingers
• near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4
• far vision correctable in on eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other
• hearing aid permitted
• clear speech
• emotional stability
• moderate duty
• Works in a shared office setting with other team members and requires the ability to focus and concentrate on accomplishment of job duties while navigating distractions such as sounds - voices - and people entering and exiting the office.

Duties

• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The Senior Social Worker is primarily responsible for providing psychosocial and mental health assessment - diagnosis - treatment planning/execution - care management - case management - crisis intervention and evidence-based psychotherapy services to Veterans - their family members and caregivers in within Acute Medicine-Surgery units
• Duties for this position include but are not limited to: Receives referrals from a variety of sources to include triage - consults - phone calls - and warm hand-offs from internal/external stakeholders
• The Senior Social Worker is required to utilize available data sources to proactively identify patients for screening/triage - assessment - treatment planning - case management and care coordination
• Provides crisis intervention services - seeking to address the cause as well as presenting complaint - coordinates family conferences and serves as a liaison to family members/caregivers
• The Senior Social Worker has working knowledge and experience in use of medical and mental health diagnoses - disabilities - and treatment procedures
• This includes acute - chronic - and traumatic illnesses/injuries - mental health conditions - and common medical terminology
• Independently conducts psychosocial and behavioral health/mental health assessments - can provide accurate diagnosis using most current version of the DSM
• Measures outcomes of interventions to improve treatment services
• The Senior Social Worker designs changes based on empirical/measurement-based care and other findings
• Utilizes clinical knowledge in the social work profession - and writes policies - standard operating procedures - and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area as directed by Social Work Supervisor
• Proactively addresses advance directive education and facilitates completion and proper documentation and record scanning to ensure clear and accurate information regarding the Veterans' wishes are available in the electronic health record
• Serves as a subject matter expert for clinical social work practice/processes within the Acute Medicine-Surgery units
• Provides 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
• Provides orientation and training for new clinical social work staff as directed by Social Work Supervisor
• Provides licensure supervision and coaching for unlicensed staff to become licensed in accordance with State laws and VA policy/standard operating procedures
• Teaches - mentors and coaches MSW students in specialty area and provides supervision for licensure and participates in the MSW student training program
• This position may include weekends and evening hours and requires the ability to make decisions and complete work assignments within the program area - with very limited or no direct supervision
• Preferred experience: Advance knowledge of medical and mental diagnoses and terminology - discharge planning and case management in an Acute care health and/or mental health setting - and experience working with interdisciplinary teams
• Advance knowledge of community resources to support Veterans experiencing significant social determinants of health
• Ability to navigate a fast paced environment and make quick decisions that align with policy guidance and NASW code of ethics
• Work Schedule: Monday to Friday 8am to 4:30pm (may include weekend and evening coverage based on staffing or clinical needs related to patient care) Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position Functional Statement #: 51920F Additional Benefits 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) Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases 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) 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.