NYS SOciety of ORTHOPAEDIC Surgeons

This occupational therapist serves as a subject matter expert, is able to serve as consultant to occupational therapy, PMRS, and the medical center staff in this specialty area, as well as the general current practice of occupational therapy as indicated by service needs across all clinical areas. It also involves higher level responsibilities for program planning, directing, and evaluating as directed by the Occupational Therapy Supervisor. Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. 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. Education [and/or Experience.] The individual must meet at least one of the following requirements below: Master's Degree or higher in occupational therapy. 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 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 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) years of experience as an occupational therapist; 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 subparagraph [3b(2)] if they have a current, full, active and unrestricted license referred to in subparagraph [3e] of this appendix. Certification. Candidates must possess a current NBCOT certification as an OT.] 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. 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: GS-13, Occupational Therapist - Clinical Specialist Education, Experience, and Licensure. Completion of one year of experience equivalent to at least the [GS-12 grade] level and directly related to the position being filled [and one of the following]: A minimum of 2,000 hours of clinical practice directly in the advanced practice area. This time must be within the past five years; Certification in an area recognized by the AOTA; Completion of a fellowship/residency or advanced degree program in the advanced practice area; or An additional advanced degree in a related field.] Demonstrated KSAs. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:] Knowledge of contemporary occupational therapy across multiple areas of practice. Ability to provide clinical guidance in the advanced practice area to other OT practitioners. Knowledge of advanced specialized evaluation, interventions and services to independently develop treatment strategies for area of specialization. Skill in developing protocols and procedures for intervention programs based on current occupational therapy theory, recent research, and practice. Ability to provide consultation to other health care practitioners and outside groups about occupational therapy scope of practice for area of specialization. Ability to implement, revise/update evidence based occupational therapy services and programming in area of specialization.] Preferred Experience: Minimum of 4 years of clinical experience, minimum of 2 years recent experience in wheelchair seating/mobility and with complex assistive technology, ATP or SMS Certifications. References: VA Handbook 5005/127, Part II, Appendix G14 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. Physical Demand requirements are in excess of those for Light Work. (i.e.: more than exerting of 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 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. Specific examples include: Picking up, carrying and placing folders, charts, books and binders. 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. Performing passive range of motion exercises that require the movement of patients' extremities in all planes of motion. Occupational Therapy requires good manual dexterity to manipulate tools and equipment with examples as follows: Operating all aspects of a computer - keyboarding, mouse, and control buttons. Demonstrating the use of all aspects of adaptive equipment for patient teaching. Assembling equipment with the use of hand tools such as screwdrivers and pliers. ["The individual is assigned responsibility for serving as the subject matter expert in the assistive technology and seating and mobility specialty areas 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. The focus of this position is multifaceted and requires a working knowledge of assistive technologies, power and manual seating and mobility, and assessing activities of daily living and home safety and knowledge of durable medical equipment and home modifications, 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 clinic staff and providers within the department and system. Preferred credentialing as an Assistive Technology Practitioner through the Rehabilitation and Engineering Societies of North America (RESNA) and required to have at least 2000 hours in service provision of Assistive Technology and/or Seating and Mobility within the past five years. Incumbent will provide these services in both the outpatient and inpatient settings. Assignment also involves providing general occupational therapy across all service areas in PM&R. The staff occupational therapist demonstrates clinical knowledge of advanced specialized evaluation, interventions, and services to independently develop treatment strategies for specialty populations, possesses skills in developing protocols and procedures for intervention programs based on current occupational therapy theory, recent research, and practice. This position also is assigned program planning, analysis, and professional oversight of the AT and Seating and Mobility programs, as assigned by the Occupational Therapy Supervisor or Service Chief. This OT also serves as a subject matter expert in all aspects of Occupational therapy evaluation, assessment, and treatment. This Occupational Therapist must be comfortable with a wide variety of diagnoses and patient complexity in the realm of chronic and acute pain, geriatric and adult musculoskeletal dysfunction, orthopedic and neurological disorders, functional mobility. Knowledge and skills should include good assessment skills, evaluation of basic activities of daily living and upper extremity function, issuance of durable medical equipment, and home safety. The therapist evaluates and interprets information from a brief screening assessment and information from team members and integrates this into occupational therapy recommendations. This therapist serves in a consultative capacity to the OT department, PMRS, and other health care providers. May serve as coverage of other department therapists in both the inpatient and outpatient areas as indicated by service needs. This position is directly supervised by the Occupational Supervisor. He/she serves as a health care professional for the PMR Service and requires the staff therapist to follow service/section policies when planning, coordinating, and executing a comprehensive and complex occupational therapy program for Veterans referred to AT/Seating and Mobility and Occupational Therapy Services. He/she works closely with medical and other health care providers in providing comprehensive patient care for veterans with rehabilitation and acute care needs. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM -4:30 PM Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 57739-O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]

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