This position is located within the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service Line (PM&RS) at the Hampton VA Medical Center in Hampton, VA. The Therapy Assistant combines direct patient care activities with support functions for the Physical Therapist, Physical Therapy Assistant, Occupational Therapist, Occupational Therapist Assistant, Kinesiotherapist, and Chiropractor. The functions are characterized by both clinical and administrative duties. 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~ In addition to the English Language Proficiency, to qualify for this position at the GS-5 level, you must meet one of the following: Experience: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-4) in the Federal Service that has given you the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Therapy Assistant, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Qualifying specialized experience include 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. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates, AND hours worked per week. ~OR~ Education: Successfully completed a four (4) year course of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses directly related to the specialized field of therapy for the Therapy Assistant position. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business or technical school, junior college, college, or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. One year of full-time undergraduate study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business or technical school. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. ~OR~ Combination: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed post-high school education (beyond the second year) and specialized experience, as listed above, may be used to meet total experience requirements. The education portion must include courses directly related to the specialized field of therapy for the Therapy Assistant position. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business or technical school, junior college, college, or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: CLIENT ORIENTATION CLERICAL SELF MANAGEMENT DATABASE ADMINISTRATION CLINICAL DATA COLLECTION/DOCUMENTATION 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 work of this position requires bending, stooping, lifting, pushing, pulling, standing, and walking on a daily basis. 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/. ["***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** The major duties include but are not limited to: Performs a variety of clerical tasks including creating and maintaining logs, recording data, generating meeting agendas, coordinating departmental in-services, answering the telephone, and other office support tasks; Schedules appointments and records cancellations in electronic patient scheduling system; Checks in patients and notifies providers of patient arrival; Schedules virtual appointments and explains processes of how to connect to a virtual appointment - assists with troubleshooting to successfully connect; Generates various electronic documents including meeting agendas, monthly newsletters, emails, log sheets, memos, etc.; Creates educational programs and handouts for patients; Updates Safety Data Sheets (SDS) books throughout the service to ensure accuracy, etc.; Assists with adding employees to Vocera system (two-way communication system); Maintains cleanliness of equipment and tools by sanitizing with gloves and cleaners/sanitizers; Cleans hydrocollator per manufacturer recommendations and records cleaning; Records refrigerator, paraffin, and hydrocollator temperatures in daily log; Takes and records vital signs; Monitors patients while performing exercises and assists with counting repetitions and ensures accurate performance of the exercises; Explains treatment activity and guides patients in techniques to be used; Observes patients for changes in attitudes, behavior, and physical condition; Chaperones chiropractic and pelvic floor physical therapy rehabilitation; Develops, implements, and oversees exercise group for Veterans participating in virtual and face to face group exercise programs; Tracks inventory; Picks up and delivers adaptive equipment from prosthetics (i.e., walkers, canes, shower chairs, elevated commodes, etc.); Tracks wheelchair consult requests to support timely receipt of wheelchairs to Veterans; Requests quotes from various vendors to assist with procurement of equipment and clinic supplies; and, Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm. Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved"]
The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, providing care at 1,321 health care facilities, including 172 VA Medical Centers and 1,138 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics) to over 9 million Veterans enrolled in the VA health care program. VHA Medical Centers provide a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy. In addition, most of our medical centers offer additional medical and surgical specialty services including audiology & speech pathology, dermatology, dental, geriatrics, neurology, oncology, podiatry, prosthetics, urology, and vision care. Some medical centers also offer advanced services such as organ transplants and plastic surgery.
