This position is administratively aligned under Recreation Therapy Section within the Extended Care and Rehabilitation service line. The Recreation Assistant organizes, coordinates, schedules and implements a program of therapeutic and free-choice recreation activities for designated patient groups that consist of young adults to geriatric patients with simple to complex psychiatric and/or physical disabilities.

Duties

Responsible for planning and implementing recreation activities for designated patient groups. Adapt activities to provide enjoyable and therapeutically oriented activities that educate, motivate and entertain patients. Utilize a wide range of activities, modalities and motivational techniques to stimulate patient interest and participation. Responsible for understanding and following patient-specific precautions and preferences and may participate as a member of a multidisciplinary treatment team(s). Prepare medical record documentation, as assigned, to document the progress of patients, response to interventions, or unusual incidents. Report all unusual or emergent incidents; i.e. illness or injury of patient, staff, and volunteers in a timely fashion and to the proper authority. Work closely with the recreation therapists and patient care product lines in planning both regular therapy sessions and special events. Foster relationships with service organizations through frequent communication and collaboration to maintain their ongoing monetary and volunteer support. Attends VA Voluntary Service (VAVS) meetings as requested to report on recreation programs and activities that affect the VAVS membership and represents the St. Cloud VA Health Care system at on- and off-station recreation related activities, programs, and meetings. Responsible for understanding and complying with policies and procedures documented in the service, Medical Center, and Accreditation Standards. Responsible for his/her work environment, ensuring that the work area is clean and free of safety or health hazards. Performs regular safety checks on equipment and inspects work area and assures that equipment is safe and in good operating condition, immediately reporting any unsafe conditions or equipment failure. Responsible for required administrative duties such as scheduling vehicles and facilities, patient and volunteer attendance records, entering Event Capture data, and preparing reports. Prepare supply orders, assure availability of adequate resources to prevent disruption in program continuity, and will accommodate special, unusual, or unplanned needs as the situation warrants. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 9:00am - 3:30pm Position Description/PD#: Recreation Assistant/PD90145A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: 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, 03/11/2024. 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-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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. Minimum qualification Requirements: You may qualify based on your experience as described below: This position has individual occupational requirements for specialized experience that are defined as: 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. 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 what is stated above, as well as, but are not limited to: experience implementing a body of standards and skills sufficient to provide recreation activities, modify treatment approaches, and provide the emotional support necessary to encourage patients to function as independently as possible; experience working with the particular psychiatric and medical conditions prevalent in the patient populations served including: levels of motor, cognitive, psychological, and social skills and abilities expected at various stages of life, common disabilities or challenges associated with emotional, neurological, orthopedic and general medical conditions that interfere with the ability to function; and activities or compensatory techniques to assist the person to regain or improve leisure capacities. Preferred Experience: Experience leading Recreation Therapy programs to a geriatric population. Programs including exercise, movement, leisure programs, music, entertainment, etc. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Clinical Data Collection/DocumentationCommunicationPatient CareTechnical Competence 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: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination. 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

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Contacts

• Address St Cloud VA Medical Center 4801 Veterans Drive St Cloud, MN 56303 US
• Name: Yalonda Smith
• Phone: 6124675071
• Email: [email protected]