This position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Mid Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6), Richmond VA Medical Center (VAMC), in the Recreation Therapy Section under the Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Service (PM&RS). The Recreation Therapy Program is designed to provide an opportunity for all patients served at the medical center to participate in constructive therapeutic and leisure experiences.

Duties

Duties Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Duties include, but are not limited to, Plan and carry out direct patient care activities in accordance to the individual and group treatment plans for the rehabilitation of patients with physical and psychiatric conditions. Responsible for conducting and educating volunteers and Interns, work study program students to the overall program and provides orientation on the effective use of equipment to meet the treatment goals. Provide training to staff, volunteers, and Interns, work study program students on Infection Control measures to deliver direct patient care activities within health standards by teaching them how to use health devices. Organize educational materials and ensures that patients are educated on the effective use of the equipment to meet their treatment goals. Evaluate patient's response to therapeutic activity and reports to pertinent therapist. Document response in Recreational Therapy (RT) template in the the CPRS record with co signature of assigned Recreation Therapist. Assist Recreation Therapists in carrying out special therapeutic activities by providing adequate material, equipment and coordinating all arrangements needed to provide activities to patients. Work Schedule: Various tours include; Evenings, Weekends and Holidays Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Therapy Assistant/PD027450 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not required Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/07/2024. 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as 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: recognize physical/mental conditions that require application of standard and non-standard modalities of treatment, to interpret medical information in relations to disabilities, and to plan and evaluate activities. Skill in interviewing, monitoring, observing, and communicating techniques to determine the extent of individual treatment programs and to motivate difficult or uncooperative patients. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: CommunicationHuman FactorsMechanicsTeaching Others 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: Work requires physical health, normal use of arms and legs, and good visual and auditory acuity. Prolonged standing, bending, kneeling, reaching, gripping, and walking are regular. Moderate to heavy lifting (between 5-50 pounds) is required for assisting patients. 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 Central Virginia VA Health Care System 1201 Broad Rock Boulevard Richmond, VA 23249 US
• Name: Ryan Leash
• Phone: 980-401-2554
• Email: [email protected]