The License Occupational Therapist will function as a therapist in the area of outpatient or acute care. This employee will work under direct supervision of the Chief of Occupational Therapy/ Inpatient Section Chief of OT. Indirect supervision of the department Clinical Specialist as assigned.

Duties

Duties listed, however, not limited to: Must be able to develop treatment plans for individual patients assisting with restoration of independent living through improved function. Develops and plans functional measurable outcome base goals for individuals with objectives such as improving cognition, neuromuscular re-education or facilitation, perceptual retraining, adaptive equipment needs independence in activities of Daily Living Skills and provide patient/family education. Able to carry out all appropriate treatment plans for patients. Re-evaluates continually and modifies treatment as necessary. Discuss patient's functional status with physicians and other members of the team on a regular basis. Evaluate home situation for those patients capable of returning to an independent home environment and assist with discharge preparation as appropriate within your discipline. Able to document clearly perform independent initial evaluations. progress report as outline in the policy manual. Define goals and intervention techniques clearly defined. Employee provides in-services education to physicians, nurses. and other health care professional regarding the treatment and care of the patient referred for Occupational Therapy interventions. Implements Occupational Therapy's concepts, provides judgments and skills in the evaluation of a patient and formation of a comprehensive treatment plan. Employee collaborates on a regular basis with treatment team members through staffing and individual conferences to provide factual data for use in evaluations and interpretations of diagnosis, expected prognosis and functional status. Employees assist with collection of QA/Pl data and establishing performance improvements indicators. Periodically re-evaluates and documents the changes in client's performance and component skills including formulation and implementation of program changes that are consistent with changes in functional status. Assesses and monitors treatment programming with regards to the needs of the patient population, independently solves complex problems related to Occupational Therapy in the treatment of patient referred. Develops and implements new treatment programs, techniques and/or modifies present programs to increase the functional level of clients. Employee is responsible for the indirect supervision of all students, level I. II, Fieldwork I & ll, work-study students and volunteers. Employee completes daily documentation and encounter forms on all patients referred to Occupational Therapy. Employee is responsible for maintaining a safe therapeutic work environment. Responsible for maintaining clinical inventory. prepares appropriate document for request for equipment and supplies. Employee will monitor and design measures for Quality Control/Total Quality Management in the areas of treatment services, therapist skills and documentation. Employee will be responsible for the supervision of all volunteer and Work-studies assigned to the OT Clinic when requested. Indoctrinates and orients new staff members as deemed necessary and suitable to establish and support cohesive work relationship. Employee will perform other administrative duties as delegated by the Chief of Occupational Therapy section, with the primary reference of carrying out the policies and procedures of this VAMC and the Occupational Therapy section. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30AM - 4:00PM Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 52182F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized 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. English Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f) Education and 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 the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) would only accredit master or doctoral degree programs in occupational therapy. OR (c) Master's Degree or higher in occupational therapy. Certification. Candidates must possess a current NBCOT 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: GS-12 Education, Experience, and Licensure. Completion of one year of experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level and directly related to the position being filled. Demonstrated KSAs. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of occupational therapy principles and techniques consistent with current clinical standards based on OT theory and evidence based practice. Knowledge is inclusive of physical, occupational, cognitive, and psychosocial functional deficits. Ability to collaborate and communicate orally and in writing with all internal and external stakeholders. Ability to use critical analysis, clinical reasoning, and creativity to independently solve complex problems related to adapting and modifying assessments, treatment plans, activities and procedures to meet the needs of patients. Skill in procuring, fabricating, adjusting, adapting, and modifying orthoses, splints, and adaptive equipment for activities of daily living (inclusive of durable medical equipment). Assignment: OTs at this level practice independently and are responsible for comprehensive assessment of functional and occupational roles using standardized and non-standardized evaluation tools. OTs select and provide direct occupational therapy interventions and procedures with varying degrees of complexity to enhance safety, wellness, and performance in ADL, instrumental IADL, education, work, play, leisure, and social participation. OTs demonstrate a full professional understanding of the theories of treatment in occupational therapy and their proper application through the use of activity analysis, behavioral intervention, frame of references, and therapeutic procedures. They are assigned to all program areas within VHA and provide professional, independent occupational therapy services. OTs at this level may be given assignments in any area where advanced specialized knowledge is not required on a recurring basis due to the patient population served and complexity of the facility and/or treatment area. Individuals may perform ancillary assignments, including program management duties on an occasional basis, where the complexity and amount of work is not substantial (less than 25% of the duty time). The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. References: VA Handbook 5005/127, Part II, Appendix G14 Occupational Therapist Qualification Standard GS-0631 dated December 13, 2019, Veterans Health Administration. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: The work requires long periods of standing, walking, and sitting. Work involves constant bending, lifting, and twisting. The work requires pushing wheelchair and stretcher patients. Positioning patients who are unconscious or disabled requires considerable effort and working in awkward positions. Lifting of totally incapacitated patients is done only with the help of other employees.

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 Atlanta VA Medical Center 1670 Clairmont Road Decatur, GA 30033 US
• Name: Donna Mackey-Pollard
• Phone: 334-590-9523
• Email: [email protected]