This Position is within the Associate Chief Nurse of Ambulatory and Extended Care at Wilmington Veteran Affairs Medical Center (MC) under the direct supervision of the Nurse Manager CLC-Extended Care Programs. The incumbent will serve as a Therapy Assistant for assigned patient care program(s). They play a crucial role in supporting the primary recreation or creative arts therapist in carrying out recreation services.

Duties

Some of the major duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following: Independently develops and implements programs after receiving approval from the Recreational Therapy Lead or designee Responsible for carrying out a full range of therapeutic recreation services inclusive of recreational therapeutic modalities and general recreation (diversional) activities Works with patients who have a variety of illnesses, diseases, and/or disabling conditions with varying degrees of impairment. Patient care areas include sub-acute rehab, medicine, behavioral health, home based primary care, community living center, outpatient substance abuse treatment, pain management Provides guidance and leadership to the various activities modifying, adapting, expanding or otherwise changing plans and procedures for scheduled recreation activities Records patient participation in electronic recording system and utilizes the computerized patient record system (CPRS) to obtain patient goals, and to record notable occurrences during programming Responsible for developing specific activities and routines to maintain or improve patient's general state of physical and/or mental health based on the therapeutic recreation assessment completed by the Certified Recreation Specialist Assist with activities sponsored by volunteer groups for the service and completes any forms necessary and appropriate Plans and assists the details of special events and federal holidays Orients all new service volunteers to the service facilities and services using the current published handbook and guidelines Publicizes recreation activities ensuring maximum effectiveness in attracting and motivating participants and in providing the widest possible range of activities in terms of interest and needs Performs other duties as assigned Preferred Experience: Experience as a recreation therapy aid. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, rotating evenings and weekends Compressed/Flexible: Not available Position Description/PD#: Therapy Assistant/PD02590A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved 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, 01/17/2024. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education is described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: work as an assistant to one of the specialized therapies such as occupational, physical, manual arts, corrective, or educational therapy; or experience gained as an assistant or aid in patient care, social work, or psychology where the duties involved actual participation in physical medicine and activities of a hospital or clinic. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position. Graduate education or an internship meets the specialized experience required above GS-5 only in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position per OPMs guidance on Technical and Medical Support Assistants. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: AccountabilityAttention to DetailDecision MakingEducation and TrainingFlexibilityIntegrity/HonestyInterpersonal Skills 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: The work requires regular and recurring physical exertion such as extended periods of standing or walking for prolonged periods of time and over rough, uneven, or rocky surfaces; frequent bending, crouching, reaching, stooping, and stretching or similar activities to set up and take apart equipment and apparatus; recurring lifting of moderately heavy items such as bowling and sports equipment and repositioning patients; and pushing or pulling heavy objects. The work may require specific physical characteristics and abilities such as above-average agility and dexterity to perform intricate therapeutic procedures. Must be able to push wheelchair patients on level and inclined ground and physically able to drive the station vehicles and complete all requirements for operating VHA vehicle. 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

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address Wilmington VA Medical Center 1601 Kirkwood Highway Wilmington, DE 19805 US
• Name: Shaunella Kennedy
• Phone: 412-822-3562
• Email: [email protected]