Therapy Assistant

at Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration in North Chicago, Illinois, United States

Job Description

Summary This position is in Community Living Center of the Inpatient Geriatric Services Department of the Nursing Services Directorate, at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center, North Chicago, IL. In cooperation with the assigned Recreation Therapist, plans and implements a variety of Recreation Therapy modalities, making frequent and comprehensive changes in procedures and modalities to assist the patient in overcoming social/emotional and physical disabilities. Responsibilities Major duties and responsibilities include: Planning and coordinating activities and community outings for Veterans. Working with different diagnostic categories to include Dementia, Psychiatric Disorders, Stroke, Amputations, and a wide range of neurological disorders including paralysis. Working with orthopedic patients, cancer patients, Alzheimer patients, general medical and surgical patients, substance abuse patients, and other classes of patients found in the extended care wards. Utilizing a wide range of treatment modalities including music therapy, leisure counseling and education, adapted sports and games, movement therapy, and art therapy. Providing exposure to a variety of cultural, artistic, and educational events, both on and off-station to meet the total needs of the patient. Providing data to the team on the patient’s response and progress in therapeutic recreation programs and completing progress notes and related medical/administrative documentation on the patient as required. Participating in clinical conferences, staff meetings, team meetings, and other multidisciplinary meetings with the goal of assisting the therapist in planning treatment for the patient. Assisting the therapist in providing technical instructions and supervision to students, temporary employees, and volunteers on the proper methods of delivering clinical services to patients. Performing other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Sun-Thurs 9:00am-5:30pm, one shift being10:00am-6:30pm with rotating holidays Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required Requirements 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 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) – See “Additional Information” below for details. Qualifications IN ORDER TO QUALIFY FOR THIS POSITION AT THE GS-6 LEVEL YOU MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING: ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to meet the requirements of this position. _AND SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must possess one year of specialized experience that equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position, and that is typically in or related to the position. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-05 grade level. Specialized experience includes work as an assistant to one of the specialized therapies such as occupational, physical, manual arts, corrective, or educational therapy; or experience gained as an assistant or aid in patient care, social work, or psychology where the duties involved actual participation in physical medicine and activities of a hospital or clinic. _OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE: You must have successfully completed one-half year (9 semester hours) of graduate level education with course work that is directly related to the position of a Therapy Assistant. (Transcripts Required).~OR~COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: You must possess an equivalent combination of directly related graduate level education and specialized experience as described above. (Transcripts Required).You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Learning Patient Care Risk Management IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such 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; religious; 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. Physical Requirements: The work is physically active and requires walking, standing, lifting, pushing, and driving of vehicles. Moderate lifting (15-44 pounds), moderate carrying (15-44 pounds), straight pulling (1.5 hours), pulling handover hand (2.5 hours), pushing (2.5 hours), reaching above shoulder, use of fingers, both hands required, walking (2.5 hours), standing (4 hours), crawling (0.75 hours), kneeling (0.75 hours), repeated bending (3.5 hours), climbing legs only (0.5 hour), both legs required, ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management’s website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. Education IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. NOTE: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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. For further information, visit: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov). Additional Information Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant’s criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information. Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date a