Social Worker III

The Department of Psychiatry is seeking a Social Worker III I to ensure successful delivery of social work clinical services for the Medicaid Directed Payments Quality Plan. This social worker will provide direct social work services including assessment, psychotherapy, interventions, case management, and recommendations to facilitate movement through the continuum of care to patients with Medicaid insurance and their families. This will include direct clinical services through the facilitation post-hospital therapeutic sessions support patients and decrease the need for repeat visits to the emergency department, crisis unit, or inpatient psychiatric units.

This role presents a specialized opportunity within the Department of Psychiatry catering to individuals who have obtained their master's degree in social work and who would like to seek additional training to work as a therapist while also being able to grow in case management skills. The Department of Psychiatry will provide direct supervision and complete all clinical supervision hours for the purposes of obtaining an independent social work licensure. This individual will work closely with the inpatient psychiatry units, Crisis Stabilization Unit, and Emergency Department psychiatric social workers to ensure patients' needs are met post hospital visits.

The University of Iowa, Department of Psychiatry offers competitive salary, excellent benefits, and a collegial professional environment. As an academic medical center, we highly value diverse learning experiences and we encourage continuing education and training opportunities both internally as well as externally to the University. The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics has been recognized as one of the best hospitals in the United States and is Iowa's only comprehensive academic medical center and regional referral center. We are committed to providing patient-focused care-available to every person, around the clock-in an environment devoted to innovative care, excellent service, and exceptional outcomes.

Characteristic Duties and Responsibilities
- Complete mental health assessments of child and adult patients presenting with a range of behavioral health complaints and concerns in an outpatient setting.
- Develop clinical impressions and assess severity of concerns for planned interventions.
- Formulate diagnostic opinions and treatment plans utilizing the criteria of the DSM 5.
- Provide brief psychotherapy interventions to adults and children/adolescents following emergent psychiatric care.
- Provide risk assessments for self-harm and harm to others.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the impact of diagnosis on psychosocial issues.
- Provide range of social work services responsive to identified problems.
- Provide liaison and referral services to hospital resources and community agencies.
- Collaborate and communicate with health care providers from both internal and external agencies to assist in the facilitation of a smooth transfer to and from the hospital setting.
- Represent the interests of the University of Iowa Health Care in the use of resources to meet service and productivity demands within departmental goals and budgets; strive to promote continual process and quality improvement.
- Document according to departmental policies and procedures.
- Receive essential clinical supervision and interdepartmental training to facilitate licensure at the independent level of social work (LISW).
- Actively participate in education and training sessions, including but not limited to 1:1 and group clinical supervision.

Provide specialized practice skills in the following areas:
1. Psychosocial assessment for all ages
2. Psychotherapy for all ages
3. Consultation

- Comply with standards regarding attendance, documentation, quality improvement, data collection, clinic policies, and the Code of Ethics.
- Keep current with social work and health care knowledge base and to pursue further enhancements of job-related knowledge.
- Provide program development, teaching and research services.
- Maintain effective working relationships with faculty, staff, learners, and the public.
- Demonstrate respect for all members of the University community in the course of performing one's duties and in response to administrators, supervisors, coworkers, and customers; constructively brings forward workplace concerns to coworkers and/or supervisor.
- Welcome the richness of talent from a diverse workforce and recognizes that diversity brings stimulation, challenge, and energy that contribute to a productive and effective workplace.
- Represent the interests of the University and of unit leadership in the use of resources to meet service and productivity demands within unit goals and budgets; strives to promote continual process and quality improvement.
- Seek opportunities to enhance one's own professional knowledge, skills, and abilities as they relate to one's current position and/or to prepare for potential future roles and overall career development.
- Performs other projects and tasks as assigned.

Percent of Time: 50-100%
Staff Type: Allied Health Professional

Education, Licensure, and Certifications
A Master's degree in Social Work.
A license to practice social work (LMSW) in Iowa is required. LISW accepted.
Certification by the Academy of Certified Social Workers is desirable.

Required Qualifications
Minimum 6-12 months of Clinical Social Work experience, which can include internship experience.
Demonstrated education on formulating diagnostic opinions utilizing the DSM-5.
Demonstrated experience with evidence-based practices; including but not limited to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, and Interpersonal Psychotherapy.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Demonstrated experience collaborating as part of multi-disciplinary care teams, including ability to effect change and resolve recalcitrant problems.

Desirable Qualifications
Two years of experience working with patients diagnosed with a psychiatric illness.
Experience working on a psychiatric treatment team in an inpatient or outpatient setting.
Experience providing planned and emergent assessments of patients presenting with a wide range of behavioral health complaints and concerns in adult and child inpatient and outpatient clinic settings.
Experience formulating treatment plans utilizing the criteria of DSM 5.
Experience providing individual psychotherapy services to patients in adult and child outpatient clinic settings.
Ability to provide a wide range of therapeutic interventions.
Expertise in Iowa child and dependent adult abuse/neglect law.

Application Process
In order to be considered, applicants must upload a Cover Letter and Resume (under submission relevant materials) that clearly address how they meet the listed required and desired qualifications of this position.
Job openings are posted for a minimum of 14 calendar days. This job may be removed from posting and filled any time after the minimum posting period has ended.
Successful candidates will be required to self-disclose any conviction history and will be subject to a criminal background check and credential/education verification.
Professional references will be required at a later time in the recruitment process.
For more information, contact lori-posey@uiowa.edu .