EDRP - The incumbent for this position may be eligible to apply for the Education Debt Reduction Program. Please contact Human Resources at this medical center and speak with the Education Debt Reduction Program Coordinator for additional information.

Incumbent develops the Occupational Therapy program for patients treated on the Spinal Cord Injury and Dysfunction Unit. Goals of treatment are to demonstrate advanced skills with the SCI/D population, to evaluate physical and cognitive functioning, maintain, restore, and enhance performance and potential for independent living.
FUNCTIONS INCLUDE, BUT NOT LIMITED TO:

• Demonstrates advanced knowledge of Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES): advanced knowledge to include depth and breadth of equipment available to issue; evaluation techniques.
• Performs complex occupational therapy evaluations for SCI/D patients with regards to activities of daily living following 1176 guidelines for male and female patients aged 20-85+ years old.
• Evaluates patients with spinal cord injuries and related dysfunctions for specialized and individualized needs.
• Provides training and application of FES equipment.
• Evaluates And trains in use of FES equipment in the hospital setting, in the Veteran's home or at another acceptable location.
• Incumbent will problem solve FES equipment related problems over the phone with Veterans, will instruct Veterans in se of warranty and repair procedures as well.
• Evaluates Veterans with SCI/D for issuance of FES equipment. FES equipment to include, but not limited to, FES bicycle, upper extremity Bioness, and MotoMed with UE FES component.
• Develops policies/protocols for evaluation and issuance of FES equipment, including templates for documentation, reference sheets, and individual procedures.
• Documents patient evaluation and progress in the medical record to include baseline function, test results, assessment, and short and long-term goals relating to the SCI/D population.
• Assesses the need for and patient's ability to use adaptive equipment including ADL aids, power mobility, bathroom aids, emergency access technology and , positioning equipment.

Work Schedule: Monday & Wednesday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm; 16 hours per week
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to a background/security investigation
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/04/2019.
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.
• Graduation from a degree program in occupational therapy approved by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) or predecessor organizations to include an internship (supervised fieldwork experience required by the educational institution). The ACOTE is the only accreditation agency recognized by the United States Department of Education (USDE) and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Degree programs may be verified by contacting the American Occupational Therapy Association website or at their office address.
• Certification/Examination.Possession of written documentation that the individual has passed the entry-level certification examination for OTs which is administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT).
• State Licensure/Certification/Registration/Trademark (hereafter referred to as state regulatory requirement). The OT must hold a full, current, and unrestricted state license, certification, or registration or trademark to practice occupational therapy in a State, Territory, a Commonwealth of the United States (i.e., Puerto Rico), or in the District of Columbia.
• Physical Requirements.See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.
• English Language Proficiency.OTs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook Part II, chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3j.

Preferred Experience: Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Experience

Grade Determinations: GS-12 Clinical Specialist/Lead Occupational Therapist. The individual assigned responsibility for serving as the subject matter expert in a content specialty area and as a consultant to occupational therapy and other medical center staff in evaluating and treating patients in the specialty areas of occupational therapy practice that are beyond the general practice of occupational therapy. This individual must demonstrate skills and techniques for a specific patient population who have varying degrees of highly complex occupational and/or mental problems. This individual provides professional oversight and consultation for staff therapists and monitors and evaluates clinically appropriate treatment programs with great autonomy. Clinical specialties may include: certified hand therapist, ergonomic specialist, blind/visual rehabilitation, assistive technology specialist, functional capacity examination specialist (FCE) and/or demonstrate advanced skills to plan, develop, lead, and administer programs/clinics in care settings such as acute, sub acute, Long Term Care (LTC), outpatient, Mental Health, Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Polytrauma and other specialty care service delivery areas. Clinical Specialists generally would be found in Complexity Level 1 (High Complexity) or Level 2 (Medium Complexity) facilities, or practice at a facility designated as a Polytrauma Support Clinic Team, Polytrauma Network Site, or Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center.
Clinical specialists may also practice in facilities of lesser complexity levels where an applicable specialty area exists (e.g., - a facility where coordinated rehabilitation services are provided on a long term care unit may have the need for a Geriatric Clinical Specialist).

In addition to completion of 1 year of progressively difficult experience comparable to the next lower grade level (GS-11), OTs assigned to this position must fully demonstrate the following can fully demonstrate the following KSAOs::

a. Advanced knowledge of contemporary occupational therapy across multiple areas of practice, and the demonstrated ability to apply this advanced knowledge to provide clinical guidance to staff OTs within the department.
b. Demonstrated clinical knowledge of advanced specialized evaluation, interventions, and services to independently develop treatment strategies for specialty populations;
c. Skill in developing protocols and procedures for intervention programs based on current occupational therapy theory, recent research and practice;
d. Ability to provide consultation to other health care practitioners and outside groups about occupational therapy scope of practice and areas of expertise;
e. Ability to implement, revise/update evidence based occupational therapy services in specialized areas such as polytrauma, TBI, SCI, geriatrics, mental health, driver rehabilitation, home based primary care (HBPC) and other specialty areas;
f. Advanced knowledge in prosthetics/orthotics devices and demonstrated ability to make adjustments on devices or adaptive equipment to obtain maximum benefit from the device. May assess for and fabricate orthotic devices and proceed with modifications as needed.

References: VA Handbook 5005/25, Part II, Appendix G14 dated February 26, 2009, This is available in the Human Resources Liaison Office for review.

The full performance level of this vacancy is 12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of 12 to 12.

Physical Requirements: Occupational Therapy is considered a vocation that requires medium strength according to the Department of Labor. Medium Work entails: exerting 20-50 pounds of force occasionally, and/or 10 to 25 pounds of force frequently, and/or greater than negligible up to 10 pounds of force constantly to move objects. Examples of the medium strength required by Occupational Therapists are as follows:

• Standing, walking, squatting, bending, and sitting, and changing from one position to the other frequently throughout the day.
• Sitting at a desk and using upper extremities to reach, grasp and place papers, charts and binders.
• Reaching, lifting, carrying, pushing and pulling: 1-10 pounds constantly, 10-25 frequently, and 20-50 pounds occasionally.
• Setting up equipment for patients such as weights or durable medical equipment.
• Lifting and carrying adaptive equipment ranging in weight from negligible to 50 pounds.
• Pushing and rolling equipment such as walkers, wheelchairs and supply carts.

Assisting patients in mobility such as ambulation and transfers, from minimal assistance to dependent transfers, which may be up to 50 pounds.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, résumé, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

NOTE: The Professional Standards Board (a peer-review group) will review the selected candidate's education and experience and recommend the grade and salary at which the candidate will be placed. For internal selectees eligible for promotion, the board will recommend grade and HR will determine step in accordance with policy.

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.