Social Worker MSW - Mental Health Strategy, Measurement Based Care Initiative

Dedicated exclusively to children and their families, The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) is one of the largest and most respected paediatric healthcare centres in the world. As innovators in child health, we lead and partner to improve the health of children through the integration of healthcare, leading-edge research and education. Our reputation would not have been built – nor could it be maintained – without the skills, knowledge and experience of the extraordinary people who come to work here every day. SickKids is committed to ongoing learning and development, and features a caring and supportive work environment that combines exceptionally high standards of practice.

When you join SickKids, you become part of our community. We share a commitment and determination to fulfill our vision of Healthier Children. A Better World.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to work alongside the world’s best in paediatric healthcare.

Social Worker, MSW - Mental Health Strategy, Measurement Based Care Initiative

(1.0 FTE, 1 year 1 day contract with modified benefits -5 days per week)

Overview

The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) is a leading specialty pediatric hospital providing complex, innovative care and treatment to children, youth, and families. Serving a diversity of patients and families, SickKids social workers are members of the Brain and Mental Health Program and deployed across specialty divisions of the hospital providing a broad range of important clinical supports and interventions to ensure caregivers, families and patients receive holistic, comprehensive care, treatment, and transition planning. Providing services in one of the most diverse cities in the country, SickKids social workers are committed to enhancing health equity, respectful service and inclusion of all populations served by the hospital.

In 2020 SickKids launched its first enterprise-wide Mental Health Strategy https://2025.sickkids.ca/mental-health/ and is now growing its capacity to realize the important goals of this plan that include improved evidence-based care across the care continuum inclusive of inpatient and outpatient specialized mental health services, emergency department and urgent care services. A key priority of the strategy is to design and implement a Measurement-Based Care (MBC) framework for performance measurement at the patient, provider, and system level.

The mental health clinician will play a key role in supporting implementation of the hospital wide mental health measurement-based care initiative. The role will provide support to patients with moderate to urgent mental health needs across the hospital that may be identified through standardized measurement of anxiety and depression. In collaboration with the Measurement Based Care Social Worker, this role will also play a key role in designing, developing, and delivering Measurement Based Care education throughout the hospital, support project and clinic staff in practice change and promotion of Mental Health literacy.

Here's what you'll get to do:

• Respond to and support patients who are experiencing moderate to urgent mental health concerns

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  Provide support through a variety of modalities including crisis intervention (I.e.: conducting suicide risk assessments), using a trauma-informed approach, providing consultation to other clinicians, case navigation/management and advocacy.

• 
  Support patients and their families in safety planning and exploring mental health resource options.

• Provide brief, individualized evidence-based therapeutic interventions. Understanding and prior practice using CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) and DBT (Dialectical Behavioural Therapy) with children and youth would be an asset.
• Support the project management and clinical teams in implementing practice changes with respect to the mental health screening implementation
• Facilitate educational sessions, aimed at building capacity for clinical teams to respond to patient mental health concerns and integrating change management practices
• Practice from an integrated biopsychosocial model that considers the implications of medical, physical, mental health, family cultural contexts and issues of social complexity.
• Demonstrate skills in patient and family engagement, interviewing skills with individuals, parents, and families.
• Demonstrate capacity to manage highly charged situations inclusive of the prevention and management of behavioral escalations and responding to Code White situations.
• Collaborate with a large and diverse inter-professional health care team.
• Navigate and secure resources that address issues related to the social[MP1] [MP1] determinants of health.
• Work collaboratively with community agencies and services such as CAS (Children s Aid Society), Ontario Works, Children¿s Mental Health agencies.
• Support the academic mandate of the hospital by supervising MSW students from affiliated universities.
• Assume responsibility for all aspects of practice including accountability for standards of practice, productivity, and workload related data necessary for hospital reporting

Here's What You'll Need:

Essential Requirements:

• Master's degree in Social Work, preferably with Paediatric hospital experience
• Registration with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers
• 3 to 5 years' experience in a health care or mental health setting
• Clinical experience with adolescents with significant mental health challenges and their families.
• Clinical experience using brief, individualized evidence-based therapeutic interventions.
• Understanding and prior experience using CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) and DBT (Dialectical Behavioural Therapy) with children and youth
• Well-developed mental health assessment skills, risk assessment skills and safety planning skills
• Experience working as part of an interdisciplinary team
• Experience and well-developed skills in managing crisis situations.
• Understanding of health care delivery systems and the practice of social work in a secondary setting
• Ability to collaborate effectively as a member of the inter-professional health care team and to take initiative and leadership when appropriate.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, organizational, time management skills and attention to detail
• Demonstrated critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated commitment to practice in a manner that is consistent with the philosophy of continuous quality improvement and evidence-based practice.
• Proficiency in the use of electronic platforms such as Microsoft Office, hospital documentation systems and other relevant technology.
• Ability to contribute towards staff education and capacity building related to measurement-based care and suicide risk assessment.
• Demonstrated commitment and actions in advancing equity, diversity and inclusion objectives.

Assets:

• Knowledge of the network of community services and resources

Employment Type: 1.00 FTE, 1 year contract with modified benefits (health and dental). To accommodate the needs of patients and families, this job will be primarily on-site.

The children and families we care for are from a variety of communities, and so are our employees. We welcome and encourage everyone to join our organization and be part of our team.

When requested, SickKids will provide access and inclusion supports to eligible candidates to support their full engagement during the interview and assessment process. Information received related to access or inclusion will be addressed confidentially.

Thank you for your interest in joining SickKids. Only those applicants selected for an interview will be contacted. In accordance with our Hospital policy, employment at SickKids is conditional upon the Hospital¿s receipt of all necessary documentation.

How to Apply

Tip: Combine your cover letter and resume into ONE document of 20 pages or less as you cannot upload multiple documents as part of your application.

If you are still experiencing technical difficulties please email ask.hr@sickkids.ca to send us a short description of the issues you are experiencing. Please note that we will not accept resumes sent to this inbox but we are happy to respond to requests for technical assistance.