Medical Social Worker II - Grade 10

Job Summary

The primary role of the Medical Social Worker II is to assist patients and families/caregivers to cope with the social/emotional issues and practical arrangements related to the patients' illness. Under the general direction of the Social Work Manager/LCSW, the role delivers age‑appropriate social work care to patients and their caregivers in accordance with agency policy and procedure and state and federal regulations.

The Medical Social Worker II serves as an integral member of the healthcare team, providing assessments, coordination, treatment planning, information and referral to community resources and other social work services to meet the complex needs of patients and families in the hospital and clinic settings.

• Provides psychodynamic interventions, crisis intervention, grief/bereavement counseling, problem solving, stress reduction and development of healthy coping strategies in individual/family/group settings. Provides counseling for disease acceptance and understanding.
• Responsible for developing and implementing an individual Plan of Treatment that assists patients and families to cope and/or restore social, emotional, financial and environmental factors affected by illness.
• Completes psychosocial assessments and partners with patients to identify needs and develop and implement individual treatment plans based on mutually agreed upon goals.
• Discusses options for care proactively, including Kaiser resources and external community/government resources, to assist patients and families in developing short‑ and long‑term care plans as appropriate.
• Teams with other disciplines in assessing, planning and providing services for patients utilizing biopsychosocial information.
• Assists patients in advocating for themselves to receive appropriate services within Kaiser and in the community.
• Assists patients and families with care planning and discharge plans.
• Takes, reviews, evaluates and prioritizes written and oral referrals.
• Maintains documentation, records and data collections.
• Ensures completion of required documents in a complete and timely manner.
• Functions as part of the Skilled Nursing Facility Team to assure appropriate, timely placement of Kaiser members in nursing facilities.
• Liaison between patient and Kaiser, maintaining a positive relationship and ensuring continuity of care.
• Identifies appropriate levels of care and facilities for referred patients where applicable.
• Obtains placements where applicable.
• Collaborates with internal and external resources in Kaiser and the community to meet mutually agreed upon goals and objectives.
• Provides information and referral to community resources as requested.
• Coordinates exchange of information between Kaiser, families, members, and skilled nursing facilities.
• Determines application of Kaiser, Medicare and Medi-Cal benefits to specific patient situations.
• Participates in Utilization Management/Quality Assurance activities.
• Assists in coordinating communication between regional offices, clinics, hospitals, and field staff, triaging phone calls from members/families.
• Works with referral sources to clarify and complete required clinical and psychosocial information.
• Performs other related duties as necessary.

• Step I: 0–2 years social work experience.
• Step II: 2–4 years social work experience within the last five (5) years.
• Step III: 4 or more years social work experience within the last ten (10) years.

• Masters in Social Work accredited by the Council of Social Work Education.

• N/A

• Demonstrated ability to work on a multidisciplinary team.
• Must have solid psychosocial assessment skills.
• Knowledge of chronic and acute disease and how it impacts patient and family functioning.
• Demonstrated excellent oral/telephone communication skills and written documentation.
• Must be computer‑literate and, preferably, experienced in automated clinical information systems.
• Must demonstrate ability to effectively and efficiently handle a demanding workload involving multiple tasks.
• Demonstrated ability to function independently as a collaborative, supportive team member.
• Must be able to master detailed and complex information regarding benefits and coordination of care.
• Must be willing to work in a Labor Management Partnership environment.
• Also refer to Position Specifications outlined in the appropriate collective bargaining agreement.

• LCSW preferred.
• At least one (1) year post‑MSW experience in a health care setting preferred; MSW internship may be considered in lieu of this requirement.