Associate Medical Social Worker II - Per Diem

Provides assessment, coordination, and implementation/evaluation of professional social services to patients and their families to aid them in coping with social, emotional, and economic difficulties related to medical problems or which predispose to illness. This role handles more difficult and complex cases, including crisis intervention and behavior modification.

Responsibilities

• Upholds Kaiser Permanente’s Policies and Procedures, Principles of Responsibilities, and applicable state, federal, and local laws.
• Performs bio-psychosocial assessments, including:
  • Reasons for referral and source of referral
  • Physical/medical issues
  • Interpersonal and social relations
  • Emotional/psychiatric/adjustment issues, including depression assessment
  • Role performance/social transition
  • Community planning/resources
  • Legal/protective issues
• Provides crisis intervention, counseling, information/referral, and consultation to physicians and healthcare teams.
• Develops and implements culturally sensitive treatment plans aligned with departmental and medical center policies.
• Offers counseling services based on clinical assessment and patient needs.
• Performs patient and family advocacy within Kaiser Permanente and the community.
• Provides patient education on psycho-social adjustment to medical illness through individual, group, or class settings.
• Demonstrates knowledge of bio-psychosocial development stages, personality development, and human behavior to guide assessments and interventions for specific age groups:
  • Neonates: Substance abuse, parent/infant bonding, family relationships, safety, developmental milestones, parental coping, birth/death.
  • Pediatrics: Child abuse/neglect reporting, substance abuse, safety, legal issues, parent/guardian/child relationships, developmental milestones, family relationships, peer groups, school/academic performance.
  • Adolescents: Abuse/neglect reporting, substance abuse, developmental milestones, family relationships, peer group relationships, sexuality, education.
  • Adults: Abuse/neglect reporting, substance abuse, adequacy of self-care, developmental milestones, sexuality, family responsibilities.
  • Geriatric: Elder abuse/neglect reporting, substance abuse, adequacy of self-care, support system, developmental milestones, mental status/competency, mortality.
• Functions as an effective team member, consultant, and liaison to medical, nursing, and ancillary staff, as well as community agencies.
• Educates physicians and staff on the role of social work and the importance of addressing bio-psychosocial issues for quality patient care.
• Participates in patient care conferences, planning meetings, and forms teams as needed.
• Demonstrates professional conduct consistent with departmental policies, legal mandates, and professional standards (e.g., NASW Code of Ethics, TJC, Title 22, NCQA).
• Utilizes supervision and consultation appropriately, including regular attendance at supervisory sessions and seeking peer consultation.
• Represents the department in medical center and community meetings.
• Identifies improvement opportunities and participates in Quality Management activities.
• Maintains confidentiality, complies with safety and infectious disease policies, and works in a self-directed manner.
• Maintains productivity by prioritizing workload, meeting direct service time requirements (70% of time), and completing documentation within departmental time frames.
• Case-finds and screens high-risk patients according to department protocols.
• Responds to referrals within departmentally delineated time frames.

Requirements

• Master’s Degree in Social Work.
• Registered Associate Clinical Social Worker (California).
• One year of post-master’s experience in Medical Social Work.
• Basic Life Support (BLS) certification.
• For Home Health, Hospice, and Palliative positions: Current CA Driver’s License, clear driving record for the past 2 years, and proof of automobile insurance.

Preferred Qualifications

• One year of experience in a healthcare environment, preferably in an inpatient hospital setting.

Schedule

• Per Diem, primarily weekends with potential weekday shifts.
• Working hours: 08:30 AM – 07:00 PM, including weekends.

Pay

$53.91 - $68.87 per hour. Kaiser Permanente offers a market-competitive total rewards package, with pay determined by labor market data, internal alignment, and candidate qualifications.