Summary

The Supervisory Physical Therapist/ Therapy Section Chief (TSC) is responsible for the supervision, administrative management, and direction of the Physical Therapy (PT), Occupational Therapy (OT) and Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) programs at the Fredericksburg VA Health Care Clinic (FxHcc), a satellite clinic under the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service (PM&RS) at Central Virginia Veterans Health System (CVHS) in Richmond, VA, a High Complexity Level 1 facility.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy
• English Proficiency
• Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. §
• 7403(f) Education and Experience: The individual must meet at least one of the following requirements below:(a) Bachelor's degree in occupational therapy and two (2) years of experience as an occupational therapist
• NOTE: The baccalaureate degree must be from an approved program prior to the AOTA January 1, 2005 decision that the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) would only accredit master or doctoral degree programs in occupational therapy
• OR (b) Bachelor's degree in occupational therapy and two (2) full years of graduate education in a related field
• NOTE: The baccalaureate degree must be from an approved program prior to the AOTA January 1, 2005 decision that ACOTE would only accredit master or doctoral degree programs in occupational therapy
• OR (c) Master's Degree or higher in occupational therapy
• Individuals must be a graduate of a degree program in occupational therapy approved by the ACOTE or predecessor organizations
• This is inclusive of an internship (supervised fieldwork experience required by the educational institution)
• ACOTE is the only accreditation agency recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation
• Degree programs may be verified by contacting the American Occupational Therapy Association website or at their office address: American Occupational Therapy Association, P.O
• Box 31220, Bethesda, MD 20824-1220.d
• Certification
• Candidates must possess a current NBCOT certification as an OT
• State Licensure
• Candidates must possess a full, current, and unrestricted state license to practice occupational therapy in a state, territory or Commonwealth of the United States (i.e., Puerto Rico), or in the District of Columbia
• May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria)
• Loss of Credential
• An employee in this occupation who fails to maintain the required state or territorial licensure and the NBCOT certification, both current and in good standing, must be removed from the occupation, which may result in termination of employment
• Grade Determinations
• In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates: Supervisory Occupational Therapist, GS-14: Experience
• In addition to the GS-13 requirements, you must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level
• Supervisory Occupational Therapists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (GS-14): a
• Knowledge of evidence-based practices and clinical practice guidelines in multiple professional areas to use these resources to guide the program staff in providing clinically appropriate treatment interventions
• b
• Skill in interpersonal relationships and conflict resolution in dealing with a diverse range of employees, team leaders, and administrators
• c
• Ability to manage resources for a large, integrated service including not only occupational therapy, but also other focused rehabilitation, ancillary, or other health care services
• d
• Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing with a diverse group of professional staff
• e
• Ability to translate extensive rehabilitation knowledge into cogent and useful policy in complex facilities and/or across multiple sites
• f
• Skill in providing clinical and administrative oversight and supervision of multidisciplinary rehabilitation programs in complex facilities and/or across multiple sites
• g
• Ability to collaborate with strategic planning committees at local, VISN or national levels for new ventures addressing patient care delivery systems, facilities management, and system reorganizations
• References: VA Handbook 5005/127, Part II, Appendix G14 Occupational Therapist Qualification Standard GS-0631 dated December 13, 2019, Veterans Health Administration
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-14
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-14.

Duties

• The incumbent provides administrative and clinical supervision of PT, OT, SLP and Physical Therapy Assistant (PTA) staff in the settings of Outpatient and Home-based care at the satellite location and reports directly to the FxHcc PM&RS Section Chief
• The TSC works closely with FxHcc PM&RS Service Chief and the PM&RS leadership of CVHS in Richmond which includes PM&RS Service Chief, PM&RS Director of Therapy Services, and the PM&RS Section Chiefs for PT, OT and SLP
• Duties include but are not limited to: ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPERVISORY: 1) Supervises the FxHcc and Fredericksburg HBPC therapy personnel as assigned by the PM&R Service Chief
• Provides overall clinical supervision to therapy staff that ensures proper coordination and delivery of care within the therapy sections and the facility at large
• 2) The incumbent uses data analytics software and programs to identify inefficiencies in clinical care, makes recommendations for improvement and implementation when needed
• 3) The incumbent regularly and routinely assesses therapy section clinical and administrative operations and, with great autonomy, makes recommendations to alter, change or abandon processes to ensure efficient clinical operations and access of and for the therapy sections
• 4) Provides detailed analysis to the FxHcc Chief of PM&R on clinical and administrative operations of the PM&R Therapy Services and makes recommendations to improve efficiency and results of those operations
• 5) Is responsible for oversight of the daily operations of the PM&R multi-disciplinary therapy service
• These operations would include Outpatient and Home-based care (through HBPC), Fredericksburg
• 6) Is expected to have detailed knowledge of the Master Agreement, the VHA Handbook, VHA policy and PM&RS policy regarding administrative management of clinical operations and personnel
• The incumbent Is expected to effectively interact with the Union and involved staff to solve challenges at the lowest level possible but to have the insight to involve the Chief, PM&R or other management or executive level leadership should it be deemed necessary
• 7) Is actively involved in strategic planning and initiatives that support of the achievement of organizational goals and ensures that staff understand their role in achieving those goals and related missions of PM&R, CVHS and VHA
• 8) Recruits candidates for employment, receives applications, conducts pre-employment interviews, and recommends appointments, advancements, promotions, or disciplinary actions
• 9) Acts as a mentor to therapy staff regarding clinical and administrative operations and delegates supervisory/above full performance level work as needed to complete work and/or to provide opportunities for career development
• 10) With a great deal of autonomy, makes decisions about clinical and administrative work assigned to therapy staff, analyzes performance, as needed, takes corrective actions, and recommends to the Chief, PM&R any accolades, incentives or disciplinary actions based on expert knowledge of VHA policies on such tasks
• 11) at times, may be asked to serve on service, facility, VISN or VACO committees as a representative of CVHS PM&R, as an administrative leader and or as a subject matter expert in the Incumbents field(s) of specialty and/or subspecialty
• 12) Assists PM&R Service Line senior management in planning, developing, and implementing strategic initiatives in clinic management, patient care, research initiatives and education/training of clinical staff
• 13) Monitors clinical performance of therapy providers and makes recommendations to the Chief, PM&R, on actions that ensure staff are assigned appropriate work and workload
• CLINICAL: 1) This position is mostly administrative
• The incumbent will spend no more that 20% of time providing direct patient care
• 2) Evaluates and provides OT treatment to patients presenting complex problems using knowledge of OT principles and techniques consistent with current clinical standards based on OT theory and evidenced based practice
• Knowledge is inclusive of physical, occupational, cognitive, and psychosocial functional deficits
• Provides information to physicians for use in differential diagnosis
• 3) Identify and develop goals and objectives for OT in consort with the mission of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service and the Medical Center
• 4) Knowledge of evidence-based practices and clinical practice guidelines in OT and to use these resources to guide the program staff in providing clinically appropriate treatment interventions
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m
• to 4:30 p.m
• Telework: Ad Hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Position Title/Functional Statement #:Supervisory Occupational Therapist/PD03184F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required