The Therapy Assistant is assigned to the Spinal Cord Injury/Disorders (SCI/D) in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The VA Caribbean Healthcare System (VACHS) a level 1A facility located in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Services are provided to veterans residing in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Duties

Duties consist of the following, but are not limited to: Plans, schedules, and implements a diverse variety of leisure and therapeutic recreational activities for Veterans and family members. Assists the Recreation Therapy Section in implementing treatment plans, therapeutic programs, activities, and events to meet Veterans' leisure and therapeutic needs. Provides appropriate therapeutic recreational activities for each Veteran in consideration to their behavioral and physical capabilities, psychological and emotional considerations, attitudes, individual interests, and medical restrictions. Coordinates supports and assists in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of therapeutic recreational programs and/or special events. Performs activity support functions. Assists in all preparation efforts for therapeutic recreation intervention. Reports reactions and responses of the Veterans to the activities, enters documentation electronically. Utilizes equipment for the treatment of patients. Checks condition of equipment before, during and after use. Maintains treatment areas organized, recognizing potential hazardous situations and notifies any hazards for immediate correction. Reports noted deficiencies in service delivery and contributes with ideas to improve operations. Work Schedule: Thursday to Monday 8 am to 4:30 pm, Rotating shifts that may include evenings & weekends. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Therapy Assistant/PD672-013401-O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/24/2023. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. Individual Occupational RequirementsExperience Specialized Experience : Examples of qualifying specialized experience include work as an assistant to one of the specialized therapies such as occupational, physical, manual arts, corrective, or educational therapy; or experience gained as an assistant or aid in patient care, social work, or psychology where the duties involved actual participation in physical medicine and activities of a hospital or clinic. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: Carefully read the following descriptions of the required specialized experience for the position. Your resume must support your response. Applicants must have one (1) full year of specialized experience related to this position. This experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-05 grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Plans, schedules, and implements a diverse variety of leisure and therapeutic recreational activities; Implement treatment plans, therapeutic programs, activities, and events; Assist with preparation efforts for therapeutic recreation intervention; Perform basic documentation. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: CommunicationsPatient CareTechnical Competence Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: The work requires regular and recurring physical exertion such as standing or walking for prolonged periods of time, frequent bending, reaching, stooping, and stretching to set up and take apart equipment and apparatus; lifting and repositioning patients; pushing or pulling heavy objects; leading or directing physical exercise. The work may require specific physical characteristics and abilities such as above-average agility and dexterity to perform intricate therapy procedures, as well as skill and ability in the therapist's creative arts discipline. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Contacts

• Address San Juan VA Medical Center 10 Calle Casia San Juan, PR 00921 US
• Name: Miguel Viera-Rodriguez
• Phone: 787-641-7582
• Email: [email protected]