Clarification from the agency

This announcement is an INTERNAL ANNOUNCEMENT and is limited to current permanent employees of the Fargo VA Health Care System and current permanent VA Nationwide employees. Current permanent employees of the Fargo VA Health Care System will receive first consideration. The public and employees of other Federal agencies should apply to announcement number CBSY-12830437-26-MS.

Videos

VA Careers - Physical Therapy: https://youtube.com/embed/Gi2hoFqIoqY

Duties include, but are not limited to:

• apply advanced knowledge of contemporary physical therapy within specialty area to provide clinical guidance, training or education for internal and external stakeholders.

• Demonstrates advanced knowledge of evidence-based practices and clinical practice guidelines in multiple professional areas, and the ability to use these resources to guide the provision of clinically appropriate treatment interventions across the continuum of care.

• First line evaluation and provision of therapy services, mentorship of students and rehabilitation therapists, as needed coverage of outpatient physical therapy services and evaluation of patients with specialized conditions/treatment protocols.

• Ability to serve as a consultant within the assigned program area for intra-agency and interagency planning and to provide service coordination to optimize program continuity, efficiency and effectiveness.

• Functions as an independent care provider within the health care team with the ability to make autonomous clinical decisions. This includes ability to independently evaluate and treat patients referred to physical therapy services.

• Expected to interpret findings from examination and evaluation, select appropriate test and measures, and integrate findings into the physical therapy plan of care.

• Apply thorough evaluation principles to tease out difficult clinical symptoms to establish a diagnosis within the scope of physical therapy and identify the appropriate rehabilitation intervention, including referral to another provider for further consultation as clinically indicated.

• Determines physical therapy prognosis by incorporating examination findings with the patient's preferences to set clinically appropriate treatment goals, optimize outcomes and maximize functional independence.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm, 8:00am-4:30pm, or 8:30am-5:00pm
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

(a) Citizenship. Citizen of the United States.
(b) Education and Experience: The individual must meet at least one of the requirements below:

1. Bachelor's degree in Physical Therapy AND five (5) years of progressively independent experience as a physical therapist.
2. Master's degree in Physical Therapy AND two (2) years of progressively independent experience as a physical therapist.
3. Doctorate degree in physical therapy.

• NOTE: Individuals must be a graduate of a Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) accredited college or university. The CAPTE is the only accreditation agency recognized by the United States Department of Education (USDE) and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) to accredit entry-level physical therapy programs. Verification of accredited programs may be obtained from the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) at www.apta.org.

Foreign Graduates. Graduates of foreign physical therapy programs meet the requirements in subparagraph 3b if they have a full unrestricted and current license to practice physical therapy in a State, Territory or Commonwealth of the United States, or in the District of Columbia.

(c) Licensure. Individuals hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to practice physical therapy in a State, Territory or Commonwealth of the United States, or in the District of Columbia. Non-licensed PTs, who otherwise meet the basic requirements in this standard, may be given a temporary appointment as a graduate PT at the GS-11 grade level under the authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405 (a)(1)(D) for a period not-to-exceed two years from the date of employment on the condition that such PT provide care only under the supervision of a PT who is licensed. Failure to obtain licensure during that period is justification for termination of the temporary appointment.

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).

Grade Determinations:

GS-13 Physical Therapist (Program Coordinator)

(a) Experience. In addition to meeting the basic requirements, one year of progressively complex experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate all the following KSAs.

(b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
1. Ability to apply advanced knowledge of contemporary physical therapy within specialty area to provide clinical guidance, training or education for internal and external stakeholders.
2. Ability to serve as a consultant within the assigned program area for intra-agency and interagency planning and to provide service coordination to optimize program continuity, efficiency and effectiveness.
3. Knowledge of and skill in management, administration and/or education methodologies. This includes the ability to monitor and track data, utilize available resources effectively, evaluate program quality, and generate reports for local, and/or VISN and/or VACO leadership.
4. Ability to develop and coordinate treatment and/or educational programs within a concentrated field or specialty area, such as, but not limited to, amputee, spinal cord injury, chronic pain, student clinical education/residency programming, polytrauma/traumatic brain injury.
5. Ability to establish and maintain collaborative relationships within department and with other departments or affiliated programs.
6. Ability to guide the work of a multi-disciplinary team

(c) Assignment. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety, and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. PTs at this level have experience that demonstrates advanced practice skills and judgment across one or more areas of physical therapy. The individual may be assigned broad administrative responsibility. The individual is assigned a major content specialty area to include assessing, planning, evaluating and delivering care within a special clinical program or component of a Rehabilitation Service, which usually involves multiple disciplines. See the definition for specialty areas in paragraph 2. i, that includes Polytrauma/Traumatic Brain Injury, Chronic Pain, Amputation, Spinal Cord Injury and clinical education programs. PTs provide administrative direction and decisions related to the program. The Physical Therapy Program Coordinator is responsible for the coordination of multiple professionals from a variety of disciplines for optimal clinical care and educational programming. He/she implements programs, policies, and procedures to meet program goals, policy and external accreditation requirements. He/she monitors outcomes, participates in strategic planning and implements strategies for program improvement particularly in assigned content specialty area. The Program Coordinator supports the rehabilitation service and serves as a point of contact providing guidance to facility leadership on matters related to specialty content area. He/she collaborates with Clinical Specialists and with Rehabilitation Service leaders to assist with administrative processes to obtain resources and equipment for operations of content specialty area. He/she assists with developing local policy for new or emerging practices and technologies.

Preferred Experience: Two years outpatient physical therapy experience.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-13.

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.

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, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for 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; 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.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.