This position is located at the VA Medical Center in Wilmington, DE, a facility of the Delaware and Southern New Jersey Health Care System. The duties and responsibilities are carried out primarily at the Wilmington VAMC but can also be performed throughout the CBOCs, including all clinical and patient care areas involved with the service. This position is primarily for an inpatient physical therapist but the employee may also be called upon to help in any area:

Duties

The staff physical therapist is an independent health care professional who is responsible for evaluating referred patients and establishing and executing treatment plans that include a full range of treatment procedures and modalities. These treatment plans are designed to restore individual patients to their highest possible functional level and to enhance their adaptive capacities through the use of physical measures, activities, prostheses or assistive devices. The staff physical therapist also assists in the growth and development of the department and the profession through participation in educational activities, quality improvement initiatives, and programs as assigned. CLINICAL: Ability to work in interdisciplinary environment as well as independently evaluate and treat patient who seek physical therapy services. Skill in performing examinations and evaluations of individuals who have or may develop impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions related to conditions of the musculoskeletal neuromuscular, cardiovascular, pulmonary, and/or integumentary systems while considering the effects attributable to unique psychosocial and environmental factors. Ability to interpret findings from examination and evaluation, select appropriate test and measures, and integrate findings into the physical therapy plan of care for the full range of patient populations Ability to establish a diagnosis within the scope of physical therapy and identify the appropriate rehabilitation intervention, including referral to another provider for further consultation as clinically indicated. Consultation with more experienced therapists on very complex patients is expected and appropriate. Documents treatment progression and/or modifications according to departmental and Medical Center standards. Ensures appropriate patient referrals and discharge planning in concert with the Physical Therapy and Medical Center staff. Independently develops and implements PT treatment programs including modifying programs as necessitated by changes in the patient's medical condition. Works in areas as assigned based on patient need (inpatient vs outpatient vs embedding in primary care or ED clinic (Main Wilmington facility vs CBOC based on needs of the facility) EDUCATION: Provides orientation/training to medical staff regarding the physical therapy program. Provides or assists in clinical training and supervision to physical therapy/physical therapist assistant students. Assists other staff members in identifying needs and designing and implementing programs for assigned services as needed. Provides feedback about student's progress and performance. Keeps current of principles and techniques of physical therapy assessment and interventions through professional literature, in-service programs and continuing education. Provides in-services and patient education programs as indicated. Completes the annual training/education required by the facility as mandatory. Attends continuing education training courses and does independent study, as required, to retain PM&RS clinical scope of practice as well as stay abreast of current best-practices. PROFESSIONAL/ADMINISTRAVTIVE: Participates in developing guidelines/protocols in treatment of various diagnoses and in developing new patient programs and evaluating existing programs. Maintains patient records and submits other data (i.e. FIM, billing/coding, MDS) as required by section, service and medical center. Submits requests for expendable supplies, additional equipment and maintenance items to the rehab supervisor. Ensures proper supply inventory levels are maintained for efficient clinical operations. May be requested to serve on service level committee or as a PM&RS Representative on a medical center committee. Participates in Rehab section and hospital Continuous Quality Improvement activities and utilization review activities. Maintains documentation in accordance with hospital and regulatory bodies' requirements. Assures that timely Return-to-clinic orders are used utilizing the most current form/program. Participates in Peer chart documentation reviews as well as any other new or ongoing quality assurance initiatives. Submits and responds to supervisory requests for information and data in an accurate and timely fashion. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-12:00pm or 12:30pm - 4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. 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. Education and experience. The individual must meet at least one of the requirements below (1) Bachelor's degree in Physical Therapy AND five (5) years of progressively independent experience as a physical therapist. (2) Master's degree in Physical Therapy AND two (2) years of progressively independent experience as a physical therapist. (3) Doctorate degree in physical therapy. NOTE: Individuals must be a graduate of a Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) accredited college or university. The CAPTE is the only accreditation agency recognized by the United States Department of Education (USDE) and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) to accredit entry-level physical therapy programs. Verification of accredited programs may be obtained from the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) at www.apta.org. Licensure. Individuals hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to practice physical therapy in a State, Territory or Commonwealth of the United States, or in the District of Columbia. Non-licensed PTs, who otherwise meet the basic requirements in this standard, may be given a temporary appointment as a graduate PT at the GS-11 grade level under the authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405 (a)(1)(D) for a period not-to-exceed two years from the date of employment on the condition that such PT provide care only under the supervision of a PT who is licensed. Failure to obtain licensure during that period is justification for termination of the temporary appointment. English Language Proficiency. Individuals appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C. chapters 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA must be proficient in written and spoken English. 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: GS-11 Physical Therapist (Entry) (a) Education, Experience, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements.(b) Assignment. PTs at this level are responsible for providing assessment and treatment intervention. PTs plan and modify treatment based on a patient's response to intervention and/or change in medical condition. PTs at this level may be given general assignments in any physical therapy program area where advanced specialized knowledge is not required or may serve as the sole PT such as in an outpatient clinic. Licensed PTs may provide oversight and delegate patient care responsibilities to a Physical Therapist Assistant, and/or delegate non-patient care duties to non-licensed staff. PTs that are not licensed must practice under the close supervision of a licensed PT (2) GS-12 Physical Therapist (Full Performance Level)(a) Education, Experience and Licensure. In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level, hold a valid unrestricted state license and demonstrate all the KSAs below: Demonstrated Knowledge Skills and Abilities: 1. Ability to make autonomous clinical decisions in a Direct Access environment. This includes ability to independently evaluate and treat patients who seek physical therapy services. 2. Skill in performing examinations and evaluations of individuals who have or may develop impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions related to conditions of the musculoskeletal, neuromuscular, cardiovascular, pulmonary, and/or integumentary systems while considering the effects attributable to unique psychosocial and environmental factors. 3. Ability to interpret findings from examination and evaluation, select appropriate test and measures, and integrate findings into the physical therapy plan of care for the full range of patient populations. 4. Ability to establish a diagnosis within the scope of physical therapy and identify the appropriate rehabilitation intervention, including referral to another provider for further consultation as clinically indicated. 5. Ability to determine physical therapy prognosis by incorporating examination findings with the patient's preferences in order to set clinically appropriate treatment goals, optimize outcomes and maximize functional independence. 6. Ability to independently provide clinical oversight of Physical Therapy Assistants as well as students on clinical affiliations who are in Doctoral PT Programs or PTA Programs. References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/99 PART II APPENDIX G12 The full performance level of this vacancy is 12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the GS-12. Physical Requirements: There will be periods of walking and ambulating patients and providing patient transfers. This position frequently requires minimal (under 15 lbs.) to moderate (15-45 lbs.) lifting particularly in transferring of patients and in the assessment of the safe patient handling for nursing staff.

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 Wilmington VA Medical Center 1601 Kirkwood Highway Wilmington, DE 19805 US
• Name: Lisa Newton
• Phone: (610) 384-7711
• Email: [email protected]