Social Worker II (LMSW)

About the role

The Social Worker II (SW II) position at Houston Methodist Hospital provides compassionate, clinical social work, psychosocial assessments, diagnosis and treatments, and complex discharge planning to patients and their families of a targeted patient population on a designated unit(s).

In collaboration with physicians and the interprofessional health care team, this position sensitizes other health care providers to the social and emotional aspects of a patient's illness to collaboratively facilitate efficient quality care and achievement of desired treatment outcomes and affect positive patient and family outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Provides compassionate, clinical social work, psychosocial assessments, diagnosis and treatments, and complex discharge planning to patients and their families of a targeted patient population on a designated unit(s).
• Sensitizes other health care providers to the social and emotional aspects of a patient's illness to collaboratively facilitate efficient quality care and achievement of desired treatment outcomes and affect positive patient and family outcomes.
• Uses case management skills to help patients and their families address and resolve the social, financial and psychological problems related to their health condition.
• Serves as a hospital-wide, service-line leader for psychosocial related issues, complex discharge planning activities, and population disease management.
• Serves as a hospital/post acute-based leader for comprehensive case management activities including assessing high-risk patients and leading team to identify at-risk patients, participating in daily Care Coordination rounds, and identifying and leading resolution to barriers of efficient patient throughput.
• Completes a full assessment based on the social work assessment, leading and addressing solutions of social determinants which is accomplished by patient/family interview, review of the medical record including previous episodes of care, H&P, lab and other test results/findings, plan of care, physician orders, nursing and progress notes.
• Addresses and manages conflict associated with a comprehensive psychosocial treatment plan utilizing appropriate clinical social work diagnoses, treatments and interventions, including crisis intervention, brief individual, marital and family therapies, and patient, family and caregiver groups.
• Maintains ownership of the psychosocial component, assessments, diagnosis and treatment, of the discharge planning process on assigned units.
• Assists with screening, identification, diagnosis, management and treatment of victims of abuse, neglect, and domestic violence and of mental health and/or substance abuse problems in patients and family members.
• Establishes mutual educational goals with patient and family, providing appropriate resources, incorporating planning for care after discharge.
• Provides education to physicians and other interprofessional health care team members on mutually identified goals of care and uses knowledge of levels of care, working with patient and family, to ensure discharge disposition is the appropriate level and facilitates transfers.
• Provides brief, goal-directed counseling services to assist patients/families to cope more effectively with the transition.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in social work from accredited university
• Three (3) years social services experience in a healthcare setting
• Licensed Medical Social Worker - State Licensure - Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation_PSV and Magnet
• ANCC-recognized Case Management certification

Skills and Abilities

• Demonstrates the skills and competencies necessary to safely perform the assigned job, determined through on-going skills, competency assessments, and performance evaluations
• Sufficient proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing the English language necessary to perform the essential functions of this job, especially with regard to activities impacting patient or employee safety or security
• Knowledge of community resources and health care financial and payer issues, and eligibility for state, local and federal programs
• Maintains individual competencies around critical Social Work functions including; payor rules and regulations, psycho-social assessments and discharge planning methods
• Well versed in computer skills of the entire Microsoft Office Suite (Access, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Word)
• Critical thinking, collaboration, negotiation, and mediation skills
• Time management and prioritization skills
• Adherence to the clinical practice standards set forth by NASW practice standards for healthcare settings and more specifically in hospitals and medical centers

Benefits

Commensurate with experience

Pay

TBD

Schedule

TBD

Supplemental Requirements

• Work Attire: Uniform: No Scrubs: No Business professional: Yes Other (department approved): No
• On-Call*: Yes
• Travel**: May require travel within the Houston Metropolitan area Yes May require travel outside Houston Metropolitan area Yes