Position is located in the Physical Therapy Department of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service (PMRS) at the Minneapolis VAHCS. The PTA provides treatment that promotes prevention, remediation, and rehabilitation of acute and chronic psychosocial dysfunction.

Duties

Major Duties: Following initial review, evaluation and set up of treatment plan and goals, of referred patients by the physical therapist, the assistant is expected to function with minimal guidance and direct supervision. The physical therapist assistant possesses advanced practice skills and experience with a wide range of patient complexity and routinely carries out specialized treatment procedures, requiring both standard and non-standard approaches that have been established by the physical therapist. The incumbent must be able to make or modify changes in one's program that will help patients achieve established goals based on guidelines established with the physical therapist and also demonstrates the ability to modify treatment techniques based on the learning needs and perceptions of the patient. Provides evidenced based skilled interventions including but not limited to, therapeutic exercise, therapeutic activities, therapeutic modalities, gait and transfer training, manual treatment, neuromuscular re-education, self-care management training, patient/caregiver's education and group therapy to a vast array of functional impairment and patients with geriatric and neurologic conditions. Provides therapeutic interventions using a wide variety of Safe Patient Handling equipment to facility mobility including ceiling lifts, powered and non-powered sit to stand, full body floor-based lifts, and fall recovery equipment. Work Schedule: Rotating Telework: AD-HOC Functional Statement #: 000000 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. Education. Individuals must meet at least one of the requirements below: (1) Associate degree from an accredited community college, junior college, college or university in a physical therapy assistant education program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education OR (2) Graduate of foreign physical therapy assistant degree programs that meet the educational requirement and have successfully passed the National Physical Therapy Exam (NPTE) for PTAs. OR (3) Graduate of military physical therapy assistant programs that meet the educational requirement and have successfully passed the NPTE for PTAs. c. Licensure. Current, full, active and unrestricted license as a PTA in a State, Territory or Commonwealth (i.e. Puerto Rico) of the United States, or 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). Physical Therapy Assistant, GS-9 requirements: (1) Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate one of the following: (a) A minimum of 2000 hours of clinical practice directly in the specialty area, and completion of 60 contact hours of selected continuing education coursework. This time must be within the past five years; or (b) Advanced Practice Proficiency (APP) in the specialty area recognized by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA); or (c) An additional academic degree related to the health care mission. (2) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the basic requirements, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: (a) Ability to mentor other staff in advanced clinical guidelines and best practices. (b) Ability to serve as a subject matter expert (SME) for healthcare providers in specialty practice areas regarding physical therapy care. (c) Ability to present] advanced knowledge in the therapeutic interventions and clinical practice guidelines with the healthcare team. (d) Ability to interpret and apply clinical practice guidelines. (3) Assignment. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty) and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. PTAs at this level apply advanced practice skills to treat complex patients. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements. References: A Handbook 5005/139; PART II APPENDIX G23

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application.

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 Minneapolis VA Medical Center One Veterans Drive Minneapolis, MN 55417 US
• Name: Timothy Michael
• Phone: 612-467-5503
• Email: [email protected]