Job Summary
In accordance with the Purpose, Vision, Values, Coast Salish Teachings, and strategic direction of PHSA, safety, including both patient and employee safety, is a priority and a responsibility shared by everyone at PHSA. As such, the requirement to continuously improve quality and safety is inherent in all aspects of this position.
The Social Work Clinician in the Tertiary Specialized Outpatient Programs is a clinical practitioner who provides leadership to the interdisciplinary team in the complex care needs in the discharge planning process and determining the effective utilization of resources. The Social Worker Clinician acts as a resource to patients, families and staff by focusing on how the patient relationships are affected by their environment. The Social Work Clinician plays a central role as a liaison with community agencies and resources such as MCFD, schools, other hospitals, eating disorders teams, community mental health, interpreter services and charitable organizations around the province. Teaches evidence based therapies relevant to the service area to trainees across disciplines within the team and from across the province. Provides leadership in program planning and clinical practice guidelines, evaluates and develops clinical treatment practice, initiates and participates in psychosocial research and maintains knowledge on research and best practices.
Duties/Accountabilities
- Provides advanced therapeutic clinical counseling relevant to the service area to young patients, families and groups by methods such as exploring the emotional response to identify problems, personal concerns and treatment objectives, facilitating change in coping style, behavior, attitude and feelings, community supports and interdisciplinary treatments to coordinate services, facilitating meetings and making referrals to appropriate resources.
- Conducts comprehensive mental health and/or addiction, and family assessments by methods such as interviewing the patient and family, obtaining relevant information, gathering social data regarding the patient and family and formulation of assessment and plan of intervention, in accordance with professional practice standards and clinical policies.
- Provides clinical consultation and participates in complex discharge planning by methods such as consulting on complex cases and therapeutic challenges by phone or telehealth to community child and youth mental health therapists around the province; providing guidance to the team and relevant community agencies regarding child protection concerns, custody and access, release of information, treatment refusal and consents to treatment; assisting with coordinating therapy follow-up with other team members and community partners; and utilizing skills in teleconferencing to include health care professionals in care planning with patients and families around the province
- Evaluates and develops treatment practices, guidelines and protocols within the team to promote excellence in social work practice.
- Provides instruction and supervises Master level social work students on field education practicum within the program by performing duties such as demonstrating and explaining procedures and processes and providing input regarding progress. Provides students with the opportunity to observe and take an active role in the treatment of patients and their families. Provides teaching both formally and informally (case-by-case). Facilitates in-services within the hospital and community, as needed.
- Supports patients and their families by providing education, short-term counselling and crisis intervention during the adjustment to hospitalization, new diagnosis of mental health and/or addiction issues, and change or loss in mental health functioning.
- Establishes and maintains effective collaborative and constructive liaison relationships with a variety of individuals and groups, including patients and families, community providers, MCFD social workers, schools, hospitals and other agencies, in order to coordinate services across the continuum of health care.
- Participates in program planning and development as part of an inter-professional team within BC Children’s Hospital and BC Mental Health and Addiction Services and the continuum of health care. Identifies, promotes and participates in program planning strategies to enhance system processes and resources for patients and their families. Participates in relevant committee work within the program, hospital and community.
- Promotes patient and family care by participating in relevant committee work within the Social Work discipline, specialized program, hospital-setting, and/or continuum of health care. Collaborates with team members in many forums, both informal and formal, in case consultations by attending team meetings, rounds, and psycho-social forums relevant to family centered care.
- Advocates for the patient and family or caregiver for resources within the hospital and the community by determining the financial and other material needs through assessment and working in coordination with community resources to meet these needs.
- Provides clinical consultation on psycho-social issues indicators of referrals and priority setting with interprofessional team members by presenting at team days and case rounds. Presents at in-services within the hospital and community.
- Participates in psycho-social research activities for program planning and development, relevant to the needs of the patient and family by methods such as collaborating with members of the interprofessional team, conducting literature searches and planning forums for presentation of findings.
- Maintains current knowledge on social work evidence based practice in mental health and/or addiction by such methods as reviewing literature, consulting with clinical and community experts in the field, evaluating clinical practice and participating in professional development activities in order to improve care through new practices.
- Participates in strategic discipline planning and professional practice by attending regular meetings
- Implements appropriate evidence based research outcomes into strategic planning and professional practice.
- Performs administrative tasks by maintaining clinical documentation, progress notes, workload statistics and updating health records in accordance with established standards.
- Performs other related duties as required.
Qualifications
Education, Training and Experience
- Completion of a Master’s degree in Social Work from an accredited School of Social Work, including relevant graduate level mental health courses and mental health practicum.
- Three (3) years of recent related experience in providing assessment, clinical expertise and treatment in an evidence based therapeutic interventions including individual, family, group and teaching to the population of children and youth relevant to the service area
- Post-masters certificate in an evidence based mental health therapies designed for the population of children and youth seen in the relevant service area
- Post-graduate experience or education in clinical research, adult education, and teaching provincially, nationally, and internationally.
- Current full registration with the British Columbia College of Social Workers
