The position is assigned to Recreation Therapy Service, VA Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, administering a comprehensive unit-based non-skilled general activity program to meet the needs, interests, and capabilities of the long-term and skilled nursing unit populations.

Duties

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** Duties include, but may not be limited to the following: Administers an Activities Program to include: Independently implements structured and unstructured unit-based non-skilled activity programs coordinated through Assistant Chief Recreation Therapy Service or designee; coordinates, conducts and delivers daily formal/informal non-clinical/ non-skilled, conventional, unconventional/alternative therapeutic measures as well as unplanned activities daily; under the clinical guidance of assigned recreation therapist, devises, improvises, and adapts these various activities to the wide range of participant interests and needs; coordinates the activity schedule with the Assistant Chief, Recreation Therapy Service and Chief, Voluntary Service or designees to ensure standards of practice and facility requirement compliance; provides guidance, activity promotion counseling, and activity education services to veterans, unit nursing staff, and volunteers; and participates in care planning, interdisciplinary team, meetings, staff meetings, and communicates with cultural transformation team regarding any changes in veteran needs. Program Resources Services and Support includes: Assists in the coordination of scheduling all on-unit non-skilled activity specific Recreation Therapy sponsored internal and external community activities; serves as the Recreation Therapy Service liaison to Voluntary Service; provides backup coverage for and in the absence of therapists and/or therapy/activity assistants; escorts patients to community activities; serves as a resource for producing reports, preparing documents, and retrieving information from various electronic media and software programs; and serves on various committees and task forces as a representative of the service as requested. Receives/Interprets Activities Requests to include: Completes a preliminary screen of veteran activity interests/preferences, compiles and organizes pertinent information, and develops/presents a veteran profile to be used in assessing status and ascertaining veteran's need for unit-based non-skilled activity program; and acts as an alternate in overseeing the administration and interpretation of activity assessments and/or Minimum Data Set (MDS) as instructed. Interviews and Observes Veterans to Assess Aptitudes and Interests to include: Uses effective interviewing techniques to obtain objective and factual information pertaining to the veteran's interests and aptitudes; under the clinical guidance of unit recreation therapist, interview veterans with severe or multiple diagnoses that require unconventional interview approaches and action to devise effective methods and procedures; and coordinates the overall veteran activity plan with the treatment team and veteran's family/caregiver. Plans Effective Activities to include: Designs, implements, and carries out individualized veteran centered unit-based non-skilled activity programs, exploring interests, abilities, attitudes, and motivation to participate in activities; and plans and coordinates the details of recurring and nonrecurring unit-based non-skilled activities, special events, and joint educational-recreational programs to make maximum use of facilities, services, and other resources, e.g. Community Based Leisure Activities. Evaluates and Adjusts Activity Program to include: Reviews veteran's progress, introduces new or more challenging activities or adjusts activities to a lesser challenge as the circumstances dictate; discusses progress and performs regular activity preference assessments to determine appropriate action in consultation with the unit assigned recreation therapist, interdisciplinary treatment team and physician; and documents the activity rendered, veteran's progress, and response to activities in the medical record. Performs other related duties as required. Work Schedule: Tuesday through Saturday: 8am-4:30pm OR 11am-7:30pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

Qualifications

ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to meet the requirements of this position. AND SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to the above requirement, applicants must possess one (1) year of specialized experience that equipped them with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position. To be creditable, this experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-7 level in the Federal service. Position requires experience that demonstrated the ability to apply the principles of one or more specialty areas of recreation. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: Planning, organizing, coordinating, supervising, or evaluating community, industrial, outdoor, institutional, or other recreational programs; Planning, establishing, or evaluating a recreational curriculum for junior college or higher academic levels; Instructing in the principles and techniques of recreational program planning and management; Serving in a leadership role in the programs and activities of local, regional, and/or national recreational organizations. OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE (Transcript Required) - Applicants must possess 1.5 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a masters or equivalent graduate degree with major study in general recreation, or one of the appropriate fields of recreation such as outdoor recreation; recreation and parks leadership; wild land recreation management; natural resources recreation; youth recreation; public, urban, or community recreation; special populations recreation (e.g., senior citizens, institutional, etc.); or physical education. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. OR COMBINING EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE (Transcript Required) - Combination of successfully completed graduate education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Clinical Data Collection/DocumentationCritical ThinkingCustomer Service (Clerical/Technical)Interpersonal SkillsPatient CareTechnical Competence IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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. 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; religious; 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. Physical Requirements: The appellant's work requires some physical exertion such as long periods of standing, lifting, carrying and storing supplies and equipment, as well as some bending and stooping. The work environment relates to the various types of recreation program specialists in which everyday risks and discomforts require normal safety precautions typical of recreation halls, gymnasiums, playing fields, activity centers, etc. Activities are usually planned and conducted in a building or an outdoor facility or area designed and built or renovated especially for a recreation program or activity. Heating, lighting, ventilation, sanitation, and safety features are adequate. Outdoor activities are not held during inclement weather. 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

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 VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System 10701 East Boulevard Cleveland, OH 44106 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]