This position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs New Jersey Health Care System, in the Recreation Therapy Section under the Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Service (PM&RS). The Recreation Therapy Program is designed to provide an opportunity for all patients Served at the medical center to participate in constructive therapeutic and leisure experiences. The incumbent works with Veterans who have a variety of disabling conditions with varying degrees of impairment.

Duties

Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Duties include, but are not limited to, Adapts, modifies, adjusts recreation techniques and develops new approaches as necessary to ensure the realization of patient treatment goals. Assesses clients based on info from RT assessments, observations, medical records, medical staff, family and clients. Participate in the planning and implementation of special events and projects as assigned. Provides information regarding activities and services to program participants. Communicates orally with patients of varying degrees of understanding in order to channel energies and interests, aiding physical, emotional, or mental rehabilitation in order to promote successful therapeutic objectives. Shares ideas and exchanges pertinent information related to treatment goals orally or in writing to other members of the interdisciplinary team. Performs workload and productivity reporting. Documents patient's progress and/or response to treatment from inclusion in the medical file. Develops appropriate recreation therapy interventions and objectives consistent with the overall treatment plan using a variety of techniques to treat or maintain client's physical, mental and emotional well-being. Motivates patients to participate in recreational activities. Manages fitness room memberships, and provides orientation to new members. Coordinates, monitors and supervises volunteer sponsored activities. Other duties, as assigned. Work Schedule: Rotating Shifts and Various Tours available. Rotating Shifts and Weekends are required. Position Description/PD#: Therapy Assistant/PD08389A Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/06/2023. 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-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Working closely with therapists to assist with implementing recreation therapy treatment plans in a clinical or hospital setting. Assisting with development of treatment plans for patients. Knowledge of a broad range of recreation activities, exercise and fitness programs, their uses and ability to make adaptations to activities that meet the needs of patients. Thorough knowledge of Recreation Therapy Fundamentals/ biological/medical science and psychology for assessment needs, development of goals, objectives, and for implementation of treatment. Skilled in interviewing, monitoring, observing, and communicating techniques to determine the extent of individual treatment programs and to motivate difficult or uncooperative patients. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Creative ThinkingCustomer ServiceOral CommunicationPlanning and EvaluatingWriting 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: Work requires physical health, normal use of arms and legs, and good visual and auditory acuity. Prolonged standing, bending, kneeling, reaching, gripping, and walking are regular. Pushing and participation in Recreation Therapy activities. Moderate to heavy lifting (between 5-50 pounds) is required for assisting patients. The work is primarily very active in nature with some sedentary work involved when performing administrative tasks. The work involves irregular tours of duty and driving recreation vehicles such as a sedan or van in and out of a variety of settings in the community. 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.

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 VA New Jersey Health Care System 385 Tremont Avenue East Orange, NJ 07018 US
• Name: Yaneth Ferrer
• Phone: 718-584-9000 X6569
• Email: [email protected]