Senior Social Worker (Oncology)

Quick Facts

• Role: Senior Social Worker specializing in Oncology (VA oncology clinics)

• Schedule: Monday–Friday, 7:30am–4:00pm (Telework: ad-hoc)

Description

The Oncology Senior Social Worker provides specialized social work services to Veterans evaluated by or actively treated in medical and radiation oncology clinics. The role includes complex psychosocial assessment and diagnosis within scope, supportive psychosocial treatment, crisis intervention, and coordination of care across VA and community resources. The position also supports program development through monitoring needs and using outcome evaluations to improve specialty services.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialized clinical treatment for complex physical and mental illness for oncology patients followed by the clinics

• Assess and educate newly diagnosed patients and clients starting cancer treatment, including patients considering changes in treatment modalities and end-of-life planning

• Interview Veterans and family/significant others to gather facts, evaluate impacts on functioning and health, and complete comprehensive psychosocial assessments

• Review subjective and objective data to form clinical assessments identifying needs and strengths

• Develop psychosocial treatment plans and collaborate with the interdisciplinary oncology treatment team across the continuum of care

• Identify high-risk patients and provide case management as needed

• Provide time-limited supportive counseling for coping with chronic/disabling illnesses, catastrophic illness onset, end-of-life, and bereavement

• Screen for depression, military sexual trauma, PTSD, substance abuse, and suicidality; evaluate need for specialized mental health care and refer to appropriate VA or community resources

• Facilitate educational/support groups when patient interest dictates

• Provide crisis intervention, coordinate family conferences, and act as a liaison to family members

• Support mitigation of medical/psychiatric crises within scope of practice and participate in crisis management and safety planning

• Coordinate care by identifying and referring to address barriers to treatment; collaborate with Cancer Care Coordinators for timely coordination of Veteran’s Care in the Community (CITC) oncology services

• Serve as liaison among family/significant others, VA and community healthcare providers, service coordinators, insurance companies, community agencies, and other staff

• Advocate for Veterans’ access to care and resources in VA and the community; educate and encourage Veterans and caregivers to advocate for themselves to foster independence and empowerment

• Monitor patterns of resource availability and unmet needs and communicate with stakeholders to develop new resources

• Develop and implement methods to measure effectiveness of social work practice using outcome evaluations; implement changes based on empirical findings

• Provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students and assist with writing policies/procedures/practice guidelines for the service delivery area

Benefits

A comprehensive federal employee benefits package is provided; eligibility depends on the position type, and details should be confirmed with the hiring agency.