The incumbent serves as the program coordinator for the Outpatient Palliative Care (OPPC) clinic at Truman VA Medical Center. The incumbent coordinates the daily operation of the clinic, develops policies and procedures for clinic operation and prepares reports and statistics for service line, facility, VISN, and national use. Basic Requirements: 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. 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: Social Worker (Program Coordinator) GS-12 (1) Experience and Education. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. Candidate may have certification or other post-master's degree training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship, or equivalent supervised professional experience. (2) Licensure/Certification. Individuals assigned as social worker program coordinator must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and must be able to provide supervision for licensure. (3) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation, negotiation, and monitoring. (b) Knowledge and ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program. (c) Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program. (d) Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s). (e) Ability to provide training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice. (4) Assignments. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Program coordinators at the GS- 12 grade level are administratively responsible for a clinical program providing treatment to Veterans in a major specialty area, such as but not limited to: Spinal Cord Injury, Homeless Continuum Veteran Program, Hospice and Palliative Care Program, Suicide Prevention Program, Veterans Justice Outreach, Caregiver Support Program and Community Nursing Home Program. The program coordinator may be the sole practitioner in this specialty at the facility and typically provide direct patient care services in the program area. The program coordinator oversees the daily operation of the program, develop policies and procedures for program operation, and prepare reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national use. They may be responsible for the program's budget, developing and monitoring staff compliance with practice, standards and guidelines on documentation, workload, data entry, ethical practice and service delivery. The program coordinator provides analysis and evaluation of clinical program data and computerized programs to identify system-wide trends and needs to enhance the quality of service. They may be responsible for, or contribute to, the program's resource and fiscal management, monitoring control points developing the annual budget, operating within that budget, and accounting for appropriated funds. The program coordinator is administratively responsible for the clinical programming and prepares reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national use. They provide leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned staff. They initiate and conduct a variety of program or service audits and complete designated clinical practice audits and reports, including productivity assessments. They oversee program operations and evaluations, identifying areas for improvement, gathering relevant data, assessing the data, developing and implementing ideas for improvement and evaluating efficacy of improvement efforts.] References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/120, PARTII, Appendix G39 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: Light Lifting (under 15 lbs); Light carrying (under 15 lbs); Straight pulling (1hr); Walking (2hr); Standing (2hr); Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; Far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other; Hearing aid permitted. Environmental Factors: Working closely with others; Working alone ["The incumbent works independently, and has both administrative and clinical responsibilities for the OPPC clinic. The incumbent promotes the use of the OPPC Clinic by PACT teams, surgery service and other specialty care clinics. The incumbent works collaboratively with both existing VA providers/programs and community organizations to optimize accessibility and utilization of palliative care resources and to integrate delivery of services for those patients with serious illness and their caregivers. The OPPC program coordinator is a social worker who is responsible for Veterans requiring psychosocial and medical support as they present with serious and complex illness. The incumbent is capable of practicing at an advanced practice level, has significant knowledge in the palliative care field and possesses program coordination skills. Extensive experience, independence, initiative, resourcefulness, and clinical skills are required to manage these complex clinical situations and ensure viable treatment options. The incumbent accepts other duties as assigned. Program coordination/administrative responsibilities:\n1) The OPPC provides consultation and specialty care services for Veterans diagnosed with cancer and/or other serious illness, providing care coordination, psychoeducation, and supportive interventions as needed. The incumbent is responsible for program coordination, improvement of policies and care processes, and coordination with interdisciplinary team members and across services.\n2) The incumbent will be trained and/or certified in system redesign at the minimum level of green belt in order to lead and/or participate in system redesign projects for the OPPC clinic.\n3) Development and management of data to assist in evaluating the effectiveness of interventions and the efficacy of the clinic by preparing project reports to inform leadership. The incumbent evaluates practice and identifies areas to improve services based on target outcome measures. The incumbent gathers relevant data, assesses the data and proposes program changes based on findings to improve outcomes. This includes continuously developing and designing improvements for program efficiency, effectiveness, and quality of services provided.\n4) The incumbent has the ability to organize work, set priorities, meet multiple deadlines and evaluate assigned program areas. The incumbent uses sound judgment in the interpretation of trends and patterns, the application of practice guidelines and the recommendation of program enhancements. The incumbent will participate in activities that obtain feedback from patients and their family/caregivers to enrich services and interventions.\n5) Based on program evaluation and research findings, the incumbent may propose new outcome measures and initiate changes in practice at the program level. The incumbent has the ability to plan and project for program expansion based on current service needs and demands.\n6) Promote life sustaining treatment initiatives with primary care medical providers, geriatric medicine, psychiatry, and social work services. Develop collaborative relationships between OPPC, surgery and specialty care clinics and teams.\n7) The incumbent has extensive knowledge of medical center policies and procedures, VHA and VBA regulations. Screening, Psychosocial Assessment, treatment planning responsibilities: 1) The incumbent functions as a Social Work representative within the OPPC Clinic and assesses Veterans as part of a multi-disciplinary team process. Specific tasks may include:\na) Assessing the Veteran's understanding of diagnosis and\nproposed treatments.\nb) Assessing the Veteran's coping with complex chronic illness\ndiagnoses and the many emotions that arise.\nc) Providing education related to the patient's VA, Social Security and\ndisability benefits.\nd) Counseling individuals, couples and families regarding referrals to\nspecialized mental health providers.\ne) Linking with to appropriate support groups and educational programs.\nf) Facilitating communication between the treatment team, Veteran and\nfamily, including advocacy.\ng) Facilitating family discussions regarding illness, healthcare and life\nchanges.\nh) Advocating for home health or hospice care.\ni) Supporting end-of-life planning/care preferences through assistance with Advanced Directives for Health Care. Preferred Experience:\n2-3 years' experience with end of life care 2-3 years' experience with case management 2-3 years' experience with program development /coordination Lean training (prefer green belt certified) Knowledge of VA and VBA resources VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU Work Schedule: 8:00am to 4:30pm; Monday - Friday\nTelework: Not Available\nFunctional Statement #:000000\nFinancial Disclosure Report: Not required"]