JOB SUMMARY: Under medical supervision, the Physical Therapist is responsible for the delivery of services that help restore function, improve mobility, relieve pain, and prevent or limit permanent physical disabilities of patients suffering from injuries or disease.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
Provides and documents assessment of strength, range of motion, balance and coordination, posture, muscle performance, and motor function
Provides and documents various treatments including exercise, electrical stimulation, hot packs or cold compresses, ultrasound to relieve pain or reduce swelling.
Provides and documents patient education regarding treatment plan, activity, exercises, assistive and/or adaptive devices such as crutches, walkers, prostheses, and wheelchairs
Assess wounds, implementing the appropriate skin care protocol
Performs duties and responsibilities with indirect supervision and must frequently make independent decisions
Participates in discharge plan rounds as needed
TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES:
REHABILITATION THERAPIST PATIENT EVALUATION (NOVICE): - Demonstrates proficiency in evaluating patients with physical deficits including impairments, developmental disabilities, functional limitations, disabilities, or changes in physical function by obtaining information pertinent to the assessment and administering and scoring standardized tests and objective measures of deficit areas. Selects appropriate measures and performs a functional assessment to document patient's status requiring skilled therapy. Interprets the results of the assessment and their significance to the patient, family, referring physician and other members of the health care team.
TREATMENT PLANNING & GOAL SETTING (NOVICE): - Demonstrates sufficient proficiency in developing a plan of care that incorporates treatment interventions focused on meeting objective goals. Develops and documents patient focused short and long term goals that are functional and measurable. Identifies the need for and referral to other services, as needed.
TREATMENT IMPLEMENTATION (NOVICE): - Demonstrates proficiency in providing treatment consistent with physician prescription and established plan of care. Able to modify treatment plan as needed to demonstrate provision of skilled therapy services including progression of treatment throughout course of care, and revision of treatment interventions of goals not met. May supervise and direct certified athletic trainers (PT only), physical therapist / occupational therapist assistants, technicians and volunteers and students. Selects and follows correct protocol for care and utilize evidence based treatments. Has completed at least one year of clinical experience in treatment implementation.
REHAB THERAPIST PATIENT DOCUMENTATION (NOVICE): - Demonstrates proficiency in documentation practices. Documents in the appropriate templates and utilizes only approved abbreviations within patient documentation. Meets institutional standards for quality and timeliness of documentation.
PHYSICAL/OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST PATIENT EDUCATION (NOVICE): - Demonstrates proficiency in communicating functional impact of assessment findings, treatment interventions, treatment planning diagnosis, and disease process. Considers the communication needs/level of understanding of audience and may share appropriate information/literature. May supervise, educate and train students from professional programs of physical therapy, occupational therapy and athletic training.
Internal Number: 1912526
About Vanderbilt Health
Vanderbilt University Medical Center is home to Vanderbilt University Hospital, The Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, the Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital and the Vanderbilt Stallworth Rehabilitation Hospital. These hospitals experienced more than 61,000 inpatient admissions during fiscal year 2015. Vanderbilt’s adult and pediatric clinics treated nearly 2 million patients during this same period.Vanderbilt University Hospital and the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt are recognized again this year by U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals as among the nation’s best with 18 nationally ranked specialties. Vanderbilt University Medical Center is world renowned because of the innovation, work ethic and collegiality of its employees. From our health care advances to our compassionate care, Vanderbilt owes its accomplishments and reputation to staff and faculty who bring skill and drive and innovation to the medical center day after day. World-leading academic departments and comprehensive centers of excellence pursue scientific discoveries and transformational educational and clinical advances across the entire spectrum of health and disease.As th...e largest employer in middle Tennessee, we welcome those who are interested in ongoing development in a caring, culturally sensitive and professional atmosphere. Most of us spend so much of our lives at work, we want to be part of maintaining a workplace in which people support one another and encourage reaching for excellence. Many high-achieving employees stay at Vanderbilt because of the professional growth they experience and because of their appreciation of Vanderbilt’s benefits, public events and discussions, athletic opportunities, beautiful setting and, above all, sense of community and purpose.Vanderbilt and its employees share a set of mutual expectations that have been created with productivity, legality, fairness and safety always in mind. We believe that our investment in training and compensating employees multiplies in value when we enable individuals to deliver their best performance for the benefit of us all.
