The Recreation Assistant is responsible for planning, developing, providing, and/or coordinating both individual and group activities for both ambulatory and non-ambulatory inpatient, outpatient, Hospice, Geriatric Short Stay, Mental Health programming, and Long Term Care residents under the guidance of a Therapeutic Recreation Therapist. We currently have two full time vacancies : Sunday - Thursday and Tuesday - Saturday; hours are listed in the Work Schedule section of this announcement.

Duties

The duties of the Recreation Assistant include but are not limited to the following : Planning, developing, providing, and/or coordinating individual and group activities for ambulatory and non-ambulatory inpatient, outpatient, Hospice, Geriatric Short Stay, Mental Health programming, and Long Term Care residents under the guidance of a Therapeutic Recreation Therapist. Consults with a broad spectrum of professional, technical, and lay personnel to ensure that patient activities are diverse, highly specialized to meet individual needs, and consistent with the objectives of the interdisciplinary treatment plan. Coordinating both individual and group activities for Voluntary Services Staff and other customers. Perform basic assessment of patient's needs for activities and reports patient needs in patient file. Prescribe the appropriate activity for desired goal of patient. Serve as an attendant back up for established activities for other patient groups. Consult with the interdisciplinary treatment team to tailor individual patient goals. Document in patient medical record appropriately and accurately. Adhere to and apply all station policies and procedures pertaining to the cleaning of Reusable Medical Equipment. Promotion Potential: The vacancy is at the full performance level GS-05 . Work Schedule: Full Time - 40 hours Sunday-Thursday Sunday & Monday- 9:00 AM -5:30 PM Tuesday- 10:00 AM- 7:30 PM Wednesday- 7:30 AM- 4:00 PM Thursday- 9:00 AM- 4:30 PM OR, Tuesday-Saturday Tuesday- 9:00 AM- 5:30 PM Wednesday- 10:00 AM 7:30 PM Thursday- 7:30 AM- 4:00 PM Friday & Saturday- 9:00- 5:30 PM Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Recreation Assistant/PD631-03698-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): 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, 11/06/2023. Time-In-Grade Requirement: For GS-05 and below: Candidates may be advanced without time restriction to positions up to GS-5 if the position to be filled is no more than two grades above the lowest grade the employee held within the preceding 52 weeks under his or her latest non-temporary competitive appointment. 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 Requirements: These requirements are specific to the Recreation Assistant occupation and have to be met in addition to any grade determining requirements. Specialized Experience: Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: Group leader, counselor, or similar work in public and private recreation programs for adults or children such as summer camps, local playgrounds, YWCA and YMCA clubs, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, urban community centers, or resort recreational activities. Teacher's aid in elementary school recreation or physical education program, with emphasis on development of general recreational skills and abilities. Aid or assistant assignments in recreation while on active military service. Aid or assistant in the organization and administration of recreation activities, such as preparing activities calendars, maintaining attendance records, and providing information concerning schedules and activities. Summer aid in a State or national park, with duties related to the recreational activities of visitors to campsites, trails, picnic areas, nature and raft centers, and boating and fishing areas (e.g., demonstrating camping techniques and park safety, conducting nature tours, and overseeing farm animal areas provided for children). Sales or stock clerk in a recreation supplies and equipment shop. Aid or assistant in the issuance of authorized property, and in the maintenance of inventory control and accountability for such property in a recreation facility. Aid or assistant in a hotel or resort recreation service, with duties such as setting up areas for games, tournaments, and other organized group recreational activities. OR, Education and Training: Successful completion of a 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with major study or at least 24 semester hours in courses related to recreation or physical education. Grade Determination GS-05: You must qualify based on your specialized experience or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to ; Independently planning and carrying out highly specialized and complex treatments to promote appropriate physical, cognitive, social and emotional health; to provide opportunities for self-expression, personal responsibility and choice; and to provide stimulation or solace to residents who cannot benefit from more integrative and/or participatory activities ; working with in an interdisciplinary treatment team , initiating and implementing innovative Recreation Programs and Activities ; reviewing patient progress and participation, identifying problems, and making activity program changes; maintaining program-related records and statistical reports, including Quality Assurance data and writing periodic progress notes within the veterans' medical record. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 4-year course of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses directly related to this occupation. OR, Combining Experience and Education: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience are also qualifying. If education is used to meet specialized experience requirements, then such education must include courses directly related to the work of the position. (When crediting education, prorate the number of hours of related courses required as a proportion of the total education to be used.) For GS-5 level positions, only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. Two full academic years of study, or 60 semester hours, beyond the second year is equivalent to l year of specialized experience. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Clinical Data Collection/DocumentationPlanning and EvaluatingVulnerabilities Assessment 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 involves a good deal of standing, bending, kneeling, and walking. Moderate lifting is required for positioning patients, assisting with transfers, moving activity equipment and procuring supplies. 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

TRANSCRIPT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Do not submit a diploma as it does not provide the required information to determine your eligibility.

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 Northampton VA Medical Center 421 North Main Street Leeds, MA 01053 US
• Name: Karen Terebesi
• Phone: (203) 951-9651
• Email: [email protected]