Occupational Therapist (Certified Hand Specialist)

The Occupational Therapist (Certified Hand Therapist) at the William Kling VA Outpatient Rehabilitation Center will be assigned to the specialty program area of hand rehabilitation which are covered by Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and provide professional, independent occupational therapy services in the assigned area. The therapist is responsible for maintaining comprehensive knowledge and skills for his/her specialty area.

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: To qualify for appointment to this position, all applicants must possess the following: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency. RRTs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j, of VA Handbook 5005. Education-Transcripts Submitted and/or Experience. 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 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. 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. Foreign Graduates. Graduates of foreign occupational therapy programs meet the requirements in the education and/or experience paragraph if they have a current, full, active and unrestricted license referred to in the state licensure paragraph. Certification (Submit Documentation). Candidates must possess a current NBCOT certification as an OT. State Licensure (Submit Documentation). 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. Grandfathering Provision. All persons employed in VHA in this occupational series or in another occupational series that are also performing the duties as described in the qualification standard on the effective date (12/13/2019) of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade held including positive education and licensure/certification/registration that are part of the basic requirements of this occupation. Grade Determinations: Occupational Therapist (Clinical Specialist), GS-13 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 (hand therapy). This time must be within the past five years; Certification in an area recognized by the AOTA (hand therapy); Completion of a fellowship/residency or advanced degree program in the advanced practice area (hand therapy); or An additional advanced degree in a related field. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. 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 (hand therapy) area to other OT practitioners. Knowledge of advanced specialized evaluation, interventions and services to independently develop treatment strategies for area of specialization (hand therapy). 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 (hand therapy). Ability to implement, revise/update evidence based occupational therapy services and programming in area of specialization (hand therapy). Assignments. Clinical OT specialists at this grade level serve as subject matter experts and as consultants to occupational therapists and other medical center staff in evaluating and treating patients in the areas of occupational therapy that are beyond the general practice of occupational therapy. This individual must demonstrate skills and techniques for a specific patient population that has highly complex occupational and/or psychosocial impairments. Clinical OT specialist may initiate, lead, and support research projects related to clinical needs. This may include grant writing, guiding others in the process, and direct clinical participation in research. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-13. Physical Requirements: The Clinician must: Be able to function effectively under rapidly changing conditions. Be able to walk/stand for prolonged periods of time while on duty. Be able to use proper body mechanics while moving/lifting patients or objects. Frequently be required to do medium to heavy work consisting of lifting, pulling and/or pushing up to 100 pounds. Be able to safely push wheeled objects weighing in excess of 200 pounds. Be exposed to repetitive activity approximately 40% of time with keyboard and mouse use. Clinician may be exposed to persons with infectious diseases.