Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below. This announcement is for current permanent employees of the VA Puget Sound Health Care System and its outlying clinics only.

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This employee serves as a consultant to occupational therapy and other medical center staff in evaluating and treating patients in the specialty areas of SCI OT practice and Geriatrics and SCI beyond the general practice OT. This therapist must demonstrate advanced/specialized skills and techniques for the SCI population in the specialty area of Geriatric interventions and the effects of aging on the SCI population.

Functions of the position.
Clinical:

• Demonstrate advanced knowledge of regular aging effects and those of SCI patients and hold a Certification in Geriatrics.
• Evaluate patients with SCI diagnosis for functional decline considering the Veteran's type of injury, this includes pain assessment, communication ability, and disorders of hearing, dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
• Evaluate equipment needs and modification of equipment. Focus may include fall prevention, review of mobility devices and their use, posture/seating, evaluation of strength and endurance, changes in weight, skin changes, and upper limb problems that might affect the patient's ability to perform pressure releases or transfers safely.
• Develop policies/protocols for evaluation and issuance of equipment, including templates for documentation, reference sheets, and individual procedures.
• Evaluate patients as appropriate using specialized evidence based occupational therapy services for their age and diagnosis to determine current levels of functioning (range of motion, strength/manual muscle test, coordination, sensation, proprioception, visual-perceptual skills, self-care, mobility skills, community living skills, pre-vocational skills, cognitive status).
• Participate in home visits as appropriate to patient's home or place of employment to assess for safety, self-care capability at home, ergonomic considerations, and need for adaptive equipment.

Educational:

• Demonstrate knowledge of general aging characteristics as well as aging with a spinal cord injury.
• Maintain Certification in Geriatrics and act as a resource in this area for the SCI population and staff. Serve as subject matter expert on Geriatrics and SCI both locally and nationally; clinicians mentored will be VA therapists as well as private sector therapists.
• Develop educational offerings for non-therapy staff (including nursing, social work, psychologists) on Aging with SCI strategies and interventions.
• Work with multi-disciplinary staff problem-solving Veteran accommodation for home, mobility, ADLs, function, exercise, and cognition.
• Exhibit an advanced skill set in SCI geriatric interventions allowing for participation in national conference calls to develop policies for Aging with SCI and interventions.
• Establish contact with local and national Geriatric SCI specialists, including device vendors to keep up to date on the newest products and rehabilitation interventions.
• Provide advanced expertise and training to occupational therapists and physical therapy assistants assigned to SCI service with additional focus on Geriatrics, Aging with SCI.

Administrative:

• Liaise with Prosthetics Department to review 1173.02 equipment to be ordered to allow for maximal usability by Veterans.
• Serve as a subject matter expert for the SCI department in Geriatrics, Aging with SCI.
• Make recommendations for purchase of capital equipment requests related to functional needs associated with SCI and aging and assessment.
• Participate in occupational therapy employee selection as requested.
• Provide input to SCI Therapy Manager for the development and/or revision of OT department policy and procedures as requested.
• Monitor occupational therapy equipment, informing SCI Therapy Manager when items are broken or missing.
• Assist the SCI Therapy Manager to establish patient care standards by designing and implementing an evaluation and program planning protocol for the service as requested.
• Monitor patient evaluation and treatment practices by occupational therapists within their specialty program as requested.
• Demonstrate ability to provide coverage during SCI Therapy Manager absence as requested.

Communication:

• Seek clarification, listen, and convey information clearly in written and verbal forms.
• Investigate and respond appropriately to all patient complaints and takes effective corrective action.
• Demonstrate the ability to identify and resolve interpersonal or professional conflicts when dealing with patients and VAPSHCS.
• Demonstrate tact, courtesy, and a positive approach to communication and interaction with other employees, visitors, physicians, and the public.
• Represent the SCI service and medical center in a positive manner.

Work Schedule: Mon - Fri, 8:00am to 4:30pm.
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.
• 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 identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• A valid state issued driver's license with a clean driving history in accordance with VA Policy to drive a government vehicle.
• Ability to operate and drive a government vehicle as determined by an Occupational Health driving 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

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS.
1. United States Citizenship. Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.

2. Education and/or experience.
a. The individual must meet at least one of the following requirements below:
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 American Occupational Therapy Association (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
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
Master's Degree or higher in occupational therapy.

b. 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.Foreign Graduates. Graduates of foreign occupational therapy programs meet the requirements of paragraph 2 above if they have a current, full, active, and unrestricted license as described below in State Licensure.

3. Certification. Candidates must possess a current National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) certification as an OT.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. English Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

GRADE DETERMINATIONS.In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

Occupational Therapist (Clinical Specialist), GS-13.
1. Education, Experience, and Licensure. Completion of one year of experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 level and directly related to the position being filled and one of the following:
(a) A minimum of 2,000 hours of clinical practice directly in the advanced practice area. This time must be within the past five years;
(b) Certification in an area recognized by the AOTA;
(c) Completion of a fellowship/residency or advanced degree program in the advanced practice area; or
(d) An additional advanced degree in a related field.

2. Demonstrated KSAs. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all the following KSAs:
(a) Knowledge of contemporary occupational therapy across multiple areas of practice.
(b) Ability to provide clinical guidance in the advanced practice area to other OT practitioners.
(c) Knowledge of advanced specialized evaluation, interventions and services to independently develop treatment strategies for area of specialization.
(d) Skill in developing protocols and procedures for intervention programs based on current occupational therapy theory, recent research, and practice.
(e) Ability to provide consultation to other health care practitioners and outside groups about occupational therapy scope of practice for area of specialization.
(f) Ability to implement, revise/update evidence based occupational therapy services and programming in area of specialization.

• Note:Clearly describe how you meet these KSAs in your resume; we cannot make assumptions regarding your 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.

Physical Requirements: The work requires moderate lifting and carrying (15-44 pounds); reaching above the shoulder; use of fingers; both hands required; walking (up to 2 hours); standing (up to 2 hours); both legs required; operation of a motor vehicle; the ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; and depth perception.

Environmental Factors: Work may be performed outside and inside and you may be working around moving vehicles or objects.

How you will be evaluated

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

What are KSAs?
In the federal hiring process, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) are a list of special qualifications and personal attributes that you need to have for a particular job/grade level (see Qualifications section of this announcement).

• Knowledge statements refer to an organized body of information usually of a factual or procedural nature which, if applied, makes adequate performance on the job possible. A body of information applied directly to the performance of a function. Skill statements refer to the proficient manual, verbal or mental manipulation of data or things.
• Skills can be readily measured by a performance test where quantity and quality of performance are tested, usually within an established time limit.
• Ability statements refer to the power to perform an observable activity at the present time. This means that abilities have been evidenced through activities or behaviors that are similar to those required on the job. Note that abilities are different from aptitudes. Aptitude is only the potential for performing the activity.

Although not required at the time of application, we highly recommend submitting a supplemental document with your written responses to the KSAs required at each grade level you wish to be considered. If you choose not to submit KSA responses, please ensure your resume includes details of your experience that fully demonstrate the required KSAs as described in the "Qualifications" section of this announcement.

5 Tips for Writing a Federal Resume - FederalPay.org (https://www.federalpay.org/articles/5-tips-for-writing-a-federal-resume)

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.