This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/478688200. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan" by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans.
As a VA professional, your opportunities are endless. With many openings in the multiple functions of VA, you will have a wide range of opportunities and leadership positions at your fingertips. Not only is it the largest, most technologically advanced integrated health care system in the Nation, but we also provide many other services to Veterans through the Benefits Administration and National Cemeteries. VA professionals feel good about their careers and their ability to balance work and home life. VA offers generous paid time off and a variety of predictable and flexible scheduling opportunities. For more information on the Department of Veterans Affairs, go to http://www.vacareers.va.gov. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.
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.
Learn more about this agency09/07/2017 to 09/27/2017
$54,206 - $85,904 per year
GS 07 - 11
1 vacancy in the following location:
75% or less - At least 65% of travel time required to various home based primary care locations throughout the state.
No
Agency Employees Only
Full-time - Full Time
11
No
BH-17-JM-2007566-BU
478688200
The position is located in the Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) Section of Extended Care Services of the VA New Jersey Health Care System. The Occupational Therapist provides evaluation and treatment in Veterans' homes that promotes the prevention, remediation, and rehabilitation of acute and chronic occupational dysfunction based on functional goals formulated during the evaluation process. The duties and responsibilities of this position typically include, but are not limited to:
Evaluates, develops, and implements appropriate occupational therapy treatment to address physical, cognitive, psychosocial, sensory, communication, and other areas of performance in various contexts and environments in everyday life activities that affect health, well-being, and quality of life including activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), home safety and environmental accessibility through the use of activities, exercises and special techniques to achieve functional outcomes.
Establishes intervention priorities, determining specific further assessment needs, the need for continuing, modifying, or discontinuing occupational therapy services, and determining specific assessment tasks that can be delegated to the occupational therapy assistant.
Administers and interprets recognized and standardized tests and measurements to determine baseline level of functioning and treatment applications which will enable patients to achieve valued functional outcomes.
Independently renders occupational therapy treatments and procedures based on the assessed needs of the patient and evidenced-based practice. Adapts treatment procedures and changes or modifies treatment plans.
Determines need for and provides orthotic or assistive/adaptive devices or equipment and training as needed to attain treatment goals. Educates patient and significant other in the proper application/installation/use for a specific device.
Monitors patient's response to program, summarizes and analyzes patient's performance, and modifies program and goals when necessary to meet patient's needs as situations and performance changes in order to attain projected functional outcomes.
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 requently, and/or greater than negligible up to 10 pounds of force constantly to move objects. Physical Demand requirements are in excess of those for Light Work. (more than exerting of up to 20 points of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds frequently, and/or a negligible amount of force constantly to move objects.) Examples ofthe medium strength required by Occupational Therapists are as follows:
Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference on the Occupational Questionnaire in the section provided and provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) and/or documentation related to your active duty service which shows dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), or dates of impending separation.
Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veterans Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. For more information, please review the information for disabled Veterans in the application checklist or visit http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/index.aspx.
BASIC REQUIREMENTS:
Creditable Experience
1. Knowledge of Occupational Therapy Practice: To be creditable, the experience must have required the use of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics associated with current professional occupational therapy practice. Creditable experience can be obtained through employment as an OT. This may be evidenced by one or both of the following:
2. Quality of Experience: Experience is only creditable if it is post-graduate experience as a professional OT directly related to the duties to be performed. Qualifying experience must also be at a level comparable to professional occupational therapy experience at the next lower level. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.
3. Content Specialty: Specialized content areas of occupational therapy practice include, but are not limited to, certified hand specialist, ergonomic specialist, blind/visual rehabilitation assistive technology specialist, functional capacity examination specialist, polytrauma, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, geriatrics, mental health, driver rehabilitation, home based primary care, etc.
4. Part-time Experience: Part-time experience is creditable according to its relationship to a full-time workweek. For example, an OT employed 20 hours per week, or on a half time basis, would receive 1 full-time workweek of credit for each 2 weeks of service.
GRADE DETERMINATIONS:
For GS-9: Experience: At 1 year of post-graduate progressively responsible experience equivalent to the next lower grade level
OR
Education: Two full years of progressively higher level graduate education in a field related to the practice of occupational therapy OR Master's Degree in Occupational Therapy OR a closely related field accredited by ACOTE.
For GS-11: Education and Experience. In addition to meeting the basic requirements, completion of one year of progressively complex experience and a broader scope of experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-9) directly related to the position being filled
OR
Education: 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a degree in occupational therapy or a directly related field.
Demonstrated KSAOs. In addition to the basic requirements, individuals assigned as GS-11 OTs must demonstrate all of the following KSAOs:
References: See VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G14 dated March 28, 2014.
NOTE: The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-9 to GS-11. The Professional Standards Board (a peer-review group) will recommend the grade and salary for new appointments. For internal selectees bring promoted, the board will determine grade and HR will determine step in accordance with policy.
PLEASE NOTE: Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications (particularly positions with a positive education requirement.) Therefore, applicants must report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html All education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency accordingly. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education.
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Your application, résumé and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.
All applicants are required to submit the following supporting document type(s):
Applicants may also submit the following supporting type(s), which may not be required for all applicant:
Faxing Applications or Supporting Documents:
You are encouraged to apply online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application.
NOTE: If you applied online and your application is complete, do not fax the paper application (1203FX) as this will overwrite your prior online responses and may result in you being found ineligible.
If you completed the occupational questionnaire online and are unable to upload supporting document(s):
If you cannot complete the Application Package online, you may fax all of your materials. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on TAG:Closing Date to receive consideration. Keep a copy of your fax confirmation in the event verification is needed.
To complete the occupational questionnaire and submit via fax:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
All applicants are encouraged to apply online.
To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.
The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on Wednesday, September 27, 2017 to receive consideration.
It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.
To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the more information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
VA New Jersey Health Care System Employees Only:
If you cannot submit your application using one of the options listed above, you may personally submit by hand your application package to:
VA New Jersey Health Care System
Human Resources (05LY)
151 Knollcroft Road, Building 1, 3rd Floor
Lyons, NJ 07939
Phone: 908-647-0180 ext. 5040
After we receive your complete application package (including any required documents), your qualifications will be reviewed to decide if you meet the basic requirements. You will be notified when this decision is made.
We will also review your application to make sure that your résumé supports the answers given in the questionnaire. If your résumé does not support your questionnaire answers, we will adjust your rating accordingly. Based on your ranking or numerical score, you may be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration and possible interview. You will be notified when your rating is determined.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/478688200. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
Learn more about
Vacancy Identification Number (VIN) 2007566