Job Summary:
In accordance with the Mission, Vision and Values, and strategic directions of Provincial Health Services Authority patient safety is a priority and a responsibility shared by everyone at PHSA, and as such, the requirement to continuously improve quality and safety is inherent in all aspects of this position. The Social Worker I – MSW is responsible for providing advanced clinical and consultative social work services to clients and families focusing on how the client’s relationships are affected by their environment. Duties include conducting social and psychosocial assessments, providing individual, family and group counselling services, maintaining client records, attending interdisciplinary clinical/case conferences, identifying applicable community resources for clients and facilitating care throughout the continuum.

Duties/Accountabilities:

1. Conducts comprehensive psycho-social assessments by methods such as interviewing the client and/or family, obtaining relevant information, gathering social data regarding the client’s family, environment, living situation, and financial status, and interpreting the data to therapeutically impact the client's and family's coping abilities and intervenes in cases of complex social-emotional or family issues.

2. Collaborates with designated care management personnel to facilitate the management of cases with complex discharge needs. Receives referrals from care management personnel and other members of the interdisciplinary team to assist patients/families with complex emotional or social presentations, as well as facilitate care through the continuum.

3. Provides individual, family and group counselling services by methods such as exploring emotional responses to illness/injury in order to identify problems, personal concerns and treatment objectives and to facilitate change in coping style, behaviour, attitude, feelings and adaptive responses to an adverse life event. Refers to community services for follow-up as necessary.

4. Attends clinical/case conferences as a member of an interdisciplinary team for client reviews, admissions, and discharges by methods such as providing input from a social work perspective on a variety of care issues related to the client, and to ensure proper and effective treatment of the client.

5. Provides consultative and direct services to clients, families, staff and community health professionals regarding issues such as adult guardianship, advanced directives, domestic violence, abuse or neglect, immigration, housing, financial concerns, or matters concerning government agencies (public trustee) and authorities (courts, police).

6. Prepares and maintains client records by methods such as documenting client assessments, interventions, evaluations, modifications and client goals, charting client information, preparing progress notes and reports in accordance with established standards, policies and procedures, to meet regulatory requirements, and provide evidence and rationale that support findings and intervention plan.

7. Develops research proposals and conducts approved social work interdisciplinary research and special projects, in collaboration with relevant personnel, through methods such as identifying current trends/gaps in the literature, writing research proposals/grant applications, developing and monitoring budgets, following through with research methodology and disseminating research findings. Ensures clinical practices and protocols are consistent with current research findings.

8. Engages in program/practice evaluation by methods such as identifying opportunities for change, assessing available resources, analyzing outcomes, and identifying areas for improved efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery to enhance client service within hospital programs and reduce gaps in services in the community.

9. Maintains broad knowledge of developments in the Social Work profession and sets measurable goals and objectives within a team or individual environment, by methods such as reviewing literature in specialty areas, consulting with clinical and community experts within the field, evaluating clinical practice, participating in professional development activities to improve care through new practices, and developing a plan in collaboration with the Practice Coordinator, Professional Practice Leader, Allied and Patient Services Manager for professional development; reviews progress to ensure that goals are achieved within established time frames.

10. Maintains a variety of records such as workload statistics by methods such as recording information into approved formats, collating data, analyzing trends, accounting for variances, and recommending an action plan to the Clinical Practice Leader.

11. Attends and/or leads meetings, in-services, and corporate initiatives by methods such as presenting relevant materials/topics to remain informed of departmental/practice activities and to contribute to hospital initiatives.

12. Provides preceptorship to social work students as assigned, by providing guidance and the opportunity to observe and take an active role in the treatment of social work clients.

13. Performs other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications:
Education, Training and Experience

• Master of Social Work from an accredited School of Social Work and one (1) year post Bachelor of Social Work experience in a health care setting.
• Current full registration with the British Columbia College of Social Workers.

Skills and Abilities

• Broad knowledge of systems thinking as it related to social work process.
• Broad knowledge of other health disciplines and their role in healthcare.
• Broad knowledge of research methodology.
• Broad knowledge of counselling skills and clinical practice models.
• Broad knowledge of family, group and change therapy.
• Broad knowledge of legislation and government policies and procedures that relate to the client.
• Demonstrated ability to apply systems theory to practice in Social Work assessment and intervention.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct social and psychosocial assessments.
• Demonstrated ability to understand and influence group and inter-group processes, decision making and problem solving.
• Demonstrated ability to establish rapport with clients and families in order to explore issues that are beyond the initial presented concerns.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing with clients, families, team members, other groups and community agency personnel.
• Demonstrated ability to adjust to new or unexpected events.
• Demonstrated ability to deal effectively with conflict situations.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively as a member of an interdisciplinary team.
• Physical ability to perform the duties of the position.
• Skilled in the use of equipment, and in the techniques appropriate for treatment.
• Basic Computer literacy.