Clarification from the agency

This is an INTERNAL ANNOUNCEMENT and is limited to current permanent employees of the Iowa City VA Health Care System to include CBOC's.

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The Assistant Rehabilitation Supervisor provides physical therapy evaluation and treatment to patients and is responsible for assisting with the supervision, administration management, and direction of the PT program in the rehabilitation service.

Major duties include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Provides therapeutic physical therapy care independently, characterized by sound assessment, treatment planning, goal setting, treatment implementation, evaluation, and follow-up of assigned patients.
• Assessment and treatment reflect professionally recognized, theory-based practice and utilized strategies to address the unique physical, developmental, and psychosocial needs of specific patient populations.
• Collaborates with and shares responsibility with other therapists to provide for care of patients in all rehabilitation settings.
• Evaluates the Veteran's needs for assistive devices, and adaptive appliances, recommends adjustments for prosthetic/orthotic devices and makes minor adjustments to obtain maximal functional benefits.
• Plans and administers physical therapy to patients with multiple, severe, acute physical/neurological/psychological disabilities.
• Completes all phases of evaluation, treatment, teaching, discharge planning, and follow-up documentation in a thorough and timely manner.
• Participates in planning care for patients with physical therapy needs by collaborating with other health care providers and through regular participation at multidisciplinary rounds.
• Initiates/participates in patient/family/caregiver teaching.
• Initiates/coordinates available resources within and outside the hospital to facilitate continuity of care.
• Participates in developing departmental protocols, policies, and teaching materials.
• Assists with incoming PT/OT consult review, Non-VA Care Rehabilitation Services consult authorization, resolution of delinquent PT/OT consults and other administrative duties as assigned.
• Serves as Rehab Services point of contact for questions regarding fee basis rehabilitation requests. Reviews local rehab provider's notes for appropriateness of therapy and contacts local therapists directly to assist in care coordination between the VA Medical Center and local PT/OT clinics or agencies. Completes similar duties for Contract Nursing home patients. Acts as approving official for fee basis rehabilitation and contract nursing home placements.
• Acts as volunteer and work study coordinator. Coordinates schedule of student hours for the Rehabilitation department. Connects perspective students with Volunteer Services as appropriate.
• Responsible for time and leave management including approvals, denials and planning of departmental leave to ensure coverage in the department.
• Determines long range planning and evaluation of program goals. Assigns patient load and clinical duties to ensure work priorities are accomplished and consult completion occurs as per medical center and service line guidelines.
• Contributes to the development and monitoring of the Rehab Department performance improvement processes to monitor the quality of care and/or effectiveness of treatment.
• Assists with development of quality improvement and systems redesign projects as indicated.
• Assists with Rehabilitation Department new employee orientation.
• Provides direct supervision and teaching of students, volunteers, therapy assistants, and health technicians/aides.
• Provides orientation for new staff as assigned.
• Conducts educational in-services to interdisciplinary health care providers as needed/requested.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm or 8:00am - 4:30pm CST
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.
• 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

All qualifying experience you possess must be clearly described in your application package. We will not make assumptions when reviewing applications. Failure to demonstrate your experience in your resume may result in disqualification. It is strongly recommended that you write to each KSA in your application package.

Basic Requirements:

(a) Citizenship. Candidates must be a 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.

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:
Physical Therapist (Supervisory) GS-13
(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.Knowledge of contemporary physical therapy across multiple areas of practice, and the demonstrated ability to apply this knowledge to provide clinical guidance to Staff PTs within the department.
2.Knowledge of human resources administration, including such functions as the ability to interview and select qualified applicants, monitor and evaluate performance, and maintain effective labor management relations within scope of responsibility
3.Ability to effectively supervise, direct, and manage a physical therapy staff.
4.Skill in forging positive interpersonal relationships and conflict resolution.
5.Ability to analyze clinically appropriate data effectively to optimize quality, performance, and productivity within the section.
6.Ability to set priorities, delegate tasks, and solve problems in order to meet multiple deadlines and identify/address organizational problems.
7. Ability to manage advocacy roles and planning activities within the VA and the greater rehabilitation community.

(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. Supervisory PTs are responsible for the supervision, administrative management, and direction of the physical therapy program in a rehabilitation service or equivalent service-level department which consists of three or more PTs or other multi-discipline staff. The incumbent provides supervision of key clinical and training programs, including the overall technical oversight of the staff that He/she administratively supervise. Supervisors are responsible for the development and implementation of policies and procedures to address focused clinical needs and the overall services delivered and provided within the section. He/she demonstrates autonomy in performing supervisory responsibilities that include, but are not limited to, assigning work to employees, monitoring workload and clinical volume, reviewing work of employees to assure accuracy and validity of submissions, assuring adequate clinical staffing, imposing disciplinary measures, and monitoring clinical privileges. He/she is required to provide overall clinical supervision that assures the proper coordination and delivery of care within the section and the facility.

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.