The Lead Occupational Therapist position is assigned to the Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Service (PM&RS) at the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Healthcare System in New Orleans, LA, which is a complexity lb facility. The incumbent has a primary an active role in clinical oversight of daily operations of Occupational Therapy inpatient and outpatient practice settings and acts as a liaison between OT practitioners and the PM&R Supervisory Occupational Therapist.

Duties

The duties of the Lead Occupational Therapist include, but are not limited to: Performs all duties of a staff OT including evaluation and treatment of patients on inpatient, outpatient, and/or virtual practice settings. Complete complex evaluations and treatments applying advanced evaluation methodologies and treatment theories in the provision of care. Collaborate with staff throughout the medical center to coordinate care and triage operations. Serve as a consultant for complex OT evaluations and treatment and provide clinical guidance as well as best practice to OT practitioners. Independently monitor and evaluate OT practitioners' treatment programs for clinical appropriateness and best practice. Implement, revise, and update evidence-based protocols, interventions, and competencies for OT practitioners in inpatient, outpatient, and virtual practice settings. Triage, prioritize, and disseminate daily caseload to inpatient OT practitioners with focus of meeting Veteran needs and equitability in OT workload. Provide supervisor input on inpatient and outpatient employee performance. Proactively plans for foreseen and unforeseen Occupational Therapy inpatient and outpatient coverage needs while considering Veteran needs and priorities and OT department and Veteran access. Assess, prioritize, and address interpersonal and programmatic conflicts at lowest level possible. Act as liaison between OT practitioners and the OT supervisor by coordinating clinical activities, program development, outcome management, overseeing OT workload equitability, and strategic planning. Assist with coordinating new employee orientation. Assist OT supervisor in identifying OT practitioner in-service/knowledge needs, means of standardizing and implementing best practice, and streamlining OT inpatient and outpatient day to day operations. Participates in performance improvements and peer reviews as needed. May participate in review of community care OT requests (outpatient, acute and CLC). Accept and respond to OT consults and document evaluation and treatment in compliance with PM&RS policies. Possesses skill in independently utilizing appropriate screening and standardized and non-standardized evaluation tools required to appropriately provide and direct patient care in multiple settings Responsible for comprehensive assessment of a variety of patients as appropriate for their diagnoses to determine current levels of functioning. Evaluations may cover the following areas: activities of daily living, strength, range of motion, coordination, sensation, perception, vision, cognition, vocational and avocational aptitudes. Evaluations consider the patient's lifestyle, culture, social support system, the patient's military, work and leisure history and limitations and abilities related to the patient's age. Establishes an individualized treatment plan that identifies specific, measurable, action-orientated, realistic goals and a time frame to achieve agreed upon intermediate, long-term, and/or discharge goals appropriate to the patient's functional level and related impairment to maximize patient outcomes. Work Schedule: Monday to Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm (Subject to change based upon agency needs) Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: N/A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English. Education and/or Experience. The individual must meet at least one of the following requirements below: (a) Bachelor's degree in occupational therapy and two (2) years of experience as an occupational therapist NOTE: The baccalaureate degree must be from an approved program prior to the AOTA January 1, 2005 decision that the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) would only accredit master or doctoral degree programs in occupational therapy. Or, (b) Bachelor's degree in occupational therapy and two (2) full years of graduate education in a related field; NOTE: The baccalaureate degree must be from an approved program prior to the AOTA January 1, 2005 decision that ACOTE would only accredit master or doctoral degree programs in occupational therapy. or (c) Master's Degree or higher in occupational therapy. NOTE: Individuals must be a graduate of a degree program in occupational therapy approved by the ACOTE or predecessor organizations. This is inclusive of an internship (supervised fieldwork experience required by the educational institution). ACOTE is the only accreditation agency recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Degree programs may be verified by contacting the American Occupational Therapy Association website or at their office address: American Occupational Therapy Association, P.O. Box 31220, Bethesda, MD 20824-1220. Certification. Candidates must possess a current National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapist certification as an Occupational Therapist. State Licensure. Candidates must possess a full, current, and unrestricted state license, to practice occupational therapy in a state, territory or Commonwealth of the United States (i.e., Puerto Rico), or in the District of Columbia. May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Grade Determinations. Occupational Therapist, GS-13: (1) Education, Experience, and Licensure. Completion of one year of experience equivalent to at the GS-12 grade level and directly related to the position being filled. And, (2)Demonstrated KSAs. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Knowledge of contemporary occupational therapy across multiple areas of practice. (b) Ability to apply advanced occupational therapy knowledge to provide clinical guidance and mentorship to OT practitioners. (c) Ability to independently monitor and evaluate clinically appropriate treatment programs. (d) Ability to act as a liaison between OT practitioners and the supervisor by coordinating clinical activities, program development, outcome management, and strategic planning. (e) Ability to assess, prioritize, and address interpersonal or programmatic conflicts at the lowest possible level. (f) Ability to implement, revise and update evidence based protocols, procedures and approved competencies for occupational therapy services. Preferred Experience: N/A References: VA Handbook 5005/127, Part II, Appendix G14, December 13, 2019 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13. Physical Requirements: Involves moderate lifting, light carrying, reaching above shoulder, use of fingers, both hands are required, walking, standing, repeated bending, climbing, ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously, both eyes are required, depth perception, hearing aid permitted, slippery or uneven walking surfaces, working around moving objects or vehicles, working closely with others, working alone and ability to independently operate a motor vehicle.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address New Orleans VA Medical Center 2400 Canal Street New Orleans, LA 70119 US
• Name: Christopher Billiot
• Phone: 504-507-7616
• Email: [email protected]