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T.H. Social Worker I (SL4)

This title is in the unclassified service and in the SUNY Professional Services Negotiating Unit.

As a family, Social Services positions are an integral part of the hospital health care team. Collectively they provide the most comprehensive service possible to be able to assess and identify psychosocial needs and develop criteria to assure that patients and families in need of social work assistance obtain needed services. The social service climate, supervision, and training resources are utilized optimally to deliver the full range of social service.

• Provides social services to patients/families, who are in need of help with psychosocial problems triggered or exacerbated by illness;
• engages patients/families in a professional treatment relationship to access the need for and extent of social work intervention.
• Determines need for long- and short-term treatment and/or crisis intervention according to individual needs in specialty cases (i.e., burn patients, peds ICU, ESRD, transplant);
• develops and fully integrates social work service through initiation of social work team rounds, case conferences and any other professionally appropriate channel, to strengthen the role of social work and provide improved patient care.
• Participates in the rotation instruction and interdisciplinary orientation on specific areas of social service practice and the impact of working with terminally ill patients.
• May provide supervision to subordinate staff and social work students in order to teach the skills of the profession, and provide knowledge of hospital policies and procedures.
• Provides leadership to the department when the Director and Associate Director are unavailable, and to make administrative decisions in a clear and concise manner;
• coordinates and participates in the department in-service education program and continually works toward the further enhancement of own skills and knowledge to develop subordinates.
• Receives general supervision from the Associate Director and Director and directly supervises Social Workers II, III and Assistants.

Preferred Qualifications:

MSW and CSW certification or eligible. At least five years of experience in a hospital or health care setting to include one year in a specialty.

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