Social Worker BSW, Tertiary Older Adult Program

1. Provides comprehensive therapeutic mental health interventions to patients focusing on the family, social, emotional, and cultural needs of the patients; provides psycho-education to patients and their families; develops, implements, evaluates and documents psycho-social care plans including life skills training in the areas of personal life and leisure in collaboration with the patient, family and interdisciplinary team members.
2. Assist in the development and implementation of unit social work assessments through patient and family interview and other available sources of information to determine and to describe the social and emotional factors pertinent to the patient's situation. Evaluates the need for service/intervention.
3. Plans social work interventions that are directed at resolving patient care problems and/or achieving treatment goals, in collaboration with the interdisciplinary team. Provides social work counselling services including individual, family and resource counselling to facilitate changes in identified non-functional behaviour, attitude, feelings and/or environment.
4. Participates by taking a lead role in the admission, discharge and transfer of patients within the Tertiary Older Adult Acute program.
5. Determines the financial needs of patients and assists patients and families by working in coordination with community resources to meet these needs.
6. Evaluates the effectiveness of Social Work interventions and communicates to the interdisciplinary team and the physician/psychiatrist of changes in the patients' condition; assists in the development, implementation and evaluation of patients care plan. Seeks clinical social work direction from the Chief of Social Work as necessary.
7. Participates in interdisciplinary activities such as resident conferences and daily/weekly report meetings.
8. Observes, identifies, assesses, and assists with managing potential emergency situations involving patients and develops short term strategies to deal with such situations.
9. Maintains patient records by methods such as documenting patient assessments, charting patient information, preparing progress notes, discharge summary and other reports in accordance with established standards. Completes workload statistics, program records and reports for submission to Program Coordinator or Clinical Chief of Social Work as required.
10. Develops, coordinates and delivers in-services, presentations, psycho-educational and support groups and/or training related to mental health by methods such as collaborating with team members of the interdisciplinary team, determining relevant content and required audio-visual/handout aids, conducting literature searches and planning and coordinating seminars.
11. Participates in orientating patients, families, staff, volunteers, and students to the unit by familiarizing
12. Participates in student education by providing guidance and input to current and potential Social Work students.
13. Initiates, develops and carries out research activities and program planning and development relevant to the needs of the patient, families, and community in collaboration with the interdisciplinary team by methods such as identifying current trends/gaps in literature, and writing research proposals. Follows through with research methodology, disseminates research findings and ensures clinical practices and protocols are consistent with research findings.
14. Maintains current knowledge in Social Work practice in the mental health field by methods such as reviewing literature, consulting with clinical and community experts within the field, evaluating clinical practice and participating in professional development activities in order to improve care through new practices.
15. Performs other related duties as assigned.

• Comprehensive knowledge and understanding of emotional issues related to older adults living with a mental illness and addictions.
• Comprehensive mental health intervention skills including crisis counselling, brief therapeutic interventions and group work applicable to resents and families.
• Knowledge of psychiatric disorders, medications and side effects.
• Working knowledge and application of psychosocial rehabilitation and recovery principles.
• Ability to make effective referrals, reflecting both in-depth knowledge of community resources and supports.
• Ability to educate and provide consultation to patients, families and healthcare professionals.
• Ability to utilize outcome measurement tools.
• Ability to assess situations and diffuse crisis incidents.
• Knowledge of relevant legislation including the Mental Health Act.
• Ability to initiate, develop and carry out research activities.
• Ability to organize work and prioritize workload.
• Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.
• Physical ability to perform the duties of the position.
• Ability to work effectively with others in an interdisciplinary team environment.
• Ability to operate related equipment.

Fraser Health is the heart of health care for over two million people in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley in British Columbia, Canada, on the traditional, ancestral and unceded lands of the Coast Salish and Nlaka’pamux Nations and is home to 32 First Nations within the Fraser Salish region.

People - those we care for and those who care for them - are at the heart of everything we do. Our hospital and community-based services are delivered by a team of 48,000+ staff, medical staff and volunteers.

We are committed to planetary health and value diversity in the work force. We strive to maintain an environment of respect, caring and trust. Fraser Health’s hiring practices aspire to ensure all individuals are treated in an inclusive, equitable and culturally safe manner.

Together, we are the heart of health care.

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