Social Worker II (LCSW) - Oncology

FLSA Status: Exempt. This position provides compassionate, clinical social work, psychosocial assessments, diagnosis and treatments, and complex discharge planning to patients and their families on designated unit(s). In collaboration with physicians and the interprofessional healthcare team, the role sensitizes providers to social and emotional aspects of illness, facilitates efficient quality care, and uses case management skills to address social, financial, and psychological problems related to health conditions. The position holds joint accountability with case management for psychosocial and continuing care issues across the continuum, leads unit or departmental social work program development, and serves as a hospital-wide, service-line leader for psychosocial issues, complex discharge planning, and population disease management.

Qualifications

Education

• Master's degree in social work from an accredited university

Experience

• Three (3) years social services experience in a healthcare setting

Licenses and Certifications

• LCSW — Licensed Clinical Social Worker, State Licensure (Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation)

Skills and Abilities

• Demonstrates skills and competencies necessary to safely perform assigned job functions, validated through ongoing assessments and performance evaluations
• Sufficient proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing English to perform essential functions, especially those impacting patient or employee safety
• Effective communication with patients, physicians, family members, and co-workers with a customer-service focus and positive language principles
• Knowledge of community resources, healthcare financial and payer issues, and eligibility for state, local, and federal programs
• Maintains individual competencies in critical Social Work functions: payer rules and regulations, psychosocial assessments, and discharge planning methods
• Ability to work independently and exercise sound judgment with physicians, payers, patients, and families
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Access, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Word)
• Critical thinking, collaboration, negotiation, and mediation skills
• Time management and prioritization skills
• Adherence to NASW clinical practice standards for healthcare settings, specifically hospitals and medical centers
• Maintains professional contributions as defined in the Career Path program

Essential Functions

People

• Role models active, positive, and effective communication with all healthcare team members; reports pertinent patient care and family data comprehensively and without bias; listens and responds to others' ideas
• Uses therapeutic communication to establish relationships with patients and families; communicates discharge plans and facilitates transitions and handoffs
• Supports patients and families in clinical or ethical issues
• Provides staff education specific to patient populations and departmental processes
• Functions as a preceptor and mentor to new employees
• Identifies opportunities for professional growth of self and peers

Service

• Serves as hospital/post-acute leader for comprehensive case management: assesses high-risk patients, leads team identification of at-risk patients, participates in daily Care Coordination rounds, and identifies and leads resolution of barriers to efficient patient throughput
• Completes full assessments based on social work assessment, leading and addressing solutions for social determinants via patient/family interview, medical record review (H&P, labs, test results, plan of care, physician orders, nursing and progress notes)
• Uses advanced clinical expertise and screening tools to identify need for case management and/or social work intervention
• Addresses and manages conflict within comprehensive psychosocial treatment plans using clinical social work diagnoses, treatments, and interventions (crisis intervention, brief individual/marital/family therapies, patient/family/caregiver groups)
• Maintains ownership of psychosocial component — assessments, diagnosis, and treatment — of discharge planning on assigned units
• Assists with screening, identification, diagnosis, management, and treatment of victims of abuse, neglect, domestic violence, and mental health/substance abuse problems in patients and families
• Establishes mutual educational goals with patient and family, providing appropriate resources and incorporating post-discharge care planning
• Educates physicians and interprofessional team on mutually identified goals of care; uses knowledge of levels of care to ensure appropriate discharge disposition and facilitate transfers
• Provides brief, goal-directed counseling to assist patients/families in coping with transitions

Quality/Safety

• Consistently documents completed patient screening/assessment and reassessment upon admission and concurrently as needed
• Modifies care based on continuous evaluation of patient condition; demonstrates problem-solving, critical thinking, and evidence-based analytical decision-making
• Considers variables impacting treatment plans: emotional, social, and environmental strengths and problems related to illness, treatment, or life situation
• Consistently reviews total patient picture for care facilitation opportunities and discharge planning needs
• Works with case manager for routine discharge; anticipates, prevents, and manages/elevates emergent situations with focus on discharge plan and elimination of psychosocial barriers
• Collaborates with interprofessional team on safety data to improve outcomes and ensure safe transitions through effective patient handoffs

Finance

• Completes timely, thorough assessments on all unfunded patients to identify community resources for effective transition; demonstrates effective community resource knowledge and judgment to select and coordinate resources, including referrals to regulatory agencies (CPS/APS)
• Identifies, obtains, and utilizes alternative resources to fill gaps in established community resources
• Guides discharge planning for assigned patients; collaborates with case managers, interprofessional team, patients, and families to intervene and coordinate cost-effective, complex discharge outcomes and decreased length of stay

Growth/Innovation

• Educates hospital physicians, nurses, and healthcare providers on community resources and psychosocial impact on care needs
• Identifies improvement areas based on evidence-based practice literature
• Completes and updates My Development Plan (MDP) on an ongoing basis
• Identifies, initiates, and leads evidence-based practice/performance improvement projects based on observations; offers solutions and participates in unit projects and activities

Supplemental Requirements

Work Attire

• Business professional required
• Uniform: No
• Scrubs: No

On-Call

• Yes — employees may be required to be on-call during emergencies (disaster, severe weather events, etc.)

Travel

• May require travel within the Houston Metropolitan area
• May require travel outside the Houston Metropolitan area