Occupational Therapist (Clinical Specialist)

The Occupational Therapy Clinical Specialist-Hand Therapy position is located at the East Orange VAMC and serves as the subject matter expert in the upper extremity specialty area 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 Occupational Therapist demonstrates skills and techniques for a specific patient population who have varying degrees of highly complex occupational upper extremity dysfunction. They
provide consultation to physicians and surgeons including Primary Care, Physical
Medicine, Plastics, and Orthopedics, and provide professional oversight for staff therapists
monitoring and evaluating clinically appropriate treatment programs with great autonomy.
Serves as a subject matter expert to physicians, surgeons, residents, and staff, as well as other health care providers concerning occupational therapy management of hand and upper extremity dysfunction. Makes self-available to providers throughout VA New Jersey HealthCare System (VANJHCS) and specifically the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Plastic Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery, and Emergency Department providers. Primary responsibility is to the Occupational Therapy hand program. However, has clinical experience to provide coverage for the general Occupational Therapy population. Hand therapy specialty comprises over 50% of the assignment.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday: 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 15084F
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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:

Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a)).

Education and/or Experience. (1) 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. (2) 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. 4 f. Loss of Credential. An employee in this occupation who fails to maintain [the required state or territorial licensure and the NBCOT certification, both current and in good standing,] must be removed from the occupation, which may result in termination of employment.

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 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. Employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: (1) They may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the full performance level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.

(2) If an OT who was retained under this provision leaves the occupation, the employee 5 will lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.

(3) OTs initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard, must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.

(4) OTs who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.

Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

English Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grade Determinations:

Occupational Therapist Clinical Specialist), GS-13

(1) 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) A minimum of 2,000 hours of clinical practice directly in the advanced practice area. This time must be within the past five years;

(b) Certification in an area recognized by the AOTA;

(c) Completion of a fellowship/residency or advanced degree program in the advanced practice area; or

(d) An additional advanced degree in a related field.

(2) Demonstrated KSAs. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

(a) Knowledge of contemporary occupational therapy across multiple areas of practice.

(b) Ability to provide clinical guidance in the advanced practice area to other OT practitioners.

(c) Knowledge of advanced specialized evaluation, interventions and services to independently develop treatment strategies for area of specialization.

(d) Skill in developing protocols and procedures for intervention programs based on current occupational therapy theory, recent research, and practice.

(e) Ability to provide consultation to other health care practitioners and outside groups about occupational therapy scope of practice for area of specialization.

(f) Ability to implement, revise/update evidence based occupational therapy services and programming in area of specialization.

Assignment. 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 specialists 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.

Preferred Experience: Certified in Hand Therapy.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is at the GS-13 level.

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 Demands 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.

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

And:

A degree program in occupational therapy approved by the ACOTE or predecessor organizations.

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.