Therapy Assistant

Summary

This position is located in Recreation Therapy Service at the Louis Stokes VA Medical Center in Cleveland, OH. This position serves as a Recreation Therapy Assistant (RTA) performing diverse clinical duties supporting the primary recreation therapist or creative arts therapist in carrying out treatment services for Veterans with complex medical, physical, behavioral, and/or mental deficits.

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Duties

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This announcement has been extended to close on 8/12/26. There is no need to re-apply if you have already submitted your application package. However, you may update your application during this time, if needed.

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION***

MAJOR DUTIES:

• Independently plans and implements highly specialized and diversified treatment for patients whose physical and mental condition requires the application of nonstandard and standard treatment procedures and approaches.
• Makes frequent and extensive changes in procedures and approaches if needed to enable the patient to overcome disabilities and continue treatment. Incumbent modifies programs and adjusts schedules based on patient care priorities and specific needs that arise on a daily basis.
• Provides the equipment, materials, instruction, encouragement, or counseling necessary to promote a positive and therapeutic activity.
• Maintains recreation therapy schedules and calendars.
• Independently adapts various treatment activities to meet the specific needs of individual patients.
• Coordinates escort of residents/patients to and from recreation therapy programs.
• Independently conducts recreation therapy programs at bedside, in the facility and in the community.
• Utilizes knowledge of various illnesses and disabilities to provide programming that is appropriate to the needs, interests and abilities of the population served.
• Assists individuals with physical disabilities (ambulatory or non-ambulatory) in getting into and out of the vehicle and around in the community environment.
• Assists the unit recreation therapist as needed.
• Assists recreation therapist in the development of patient assessments and treatment plans.
• Records workload in the Encounters tab in the electronic medical record within 1 business day of treatment.
• Evaluates resident/patient response to treatment and provides verbal reports to recreation therapists and other interdisciplinary treatment team members.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Sunday-Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with one late night shift per week of 11:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and rotating holidays

Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• 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 ( 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) - See "Required Documents" below for details.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary 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 probationary, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

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.

For the GS-6 level Therapy Assistant, you must meet one of the following qualifications:

You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience that is equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-5) in the Federal service. Specialized experience is experience assisting with recreation and/or creative arts therapy services that included employing therapeutic modalities. Note: Your experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hour worked per week. -OR-

Successful completion of a 4-year course of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation (recreation or creative arts therapy). NOTE: If you select this option, you must submit a copy of your transcript with your application. Education cannot be credited without documentation. -OR-

An equivalent combination of specialized experience and post-high school education, as described above, that demonstrates your ability to perform the duties of this position. NOTE: Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours is creditable toward meeting this combination. Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hour worked per week and you must submit a copy of your transcript.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at

Physical Requirements: Here is the text from the image: The position involves moderately heavy lifting of physically impaired patients while assisting with ambulation duties. The work requires regular and recurring physical exertion such as long periods of standing or walking for prolonged periods of time and over rough, uneven, or rocky surfaces; frequent bending, crouching, reaching, stooping, and stretching or similar activities to set up and take apart equipment and apparatus; recurring lifting of moderately heavy items such as bowling and sports equipment and repositioning patients; and pushing or pulling heavy objects. The work may require specific physical characteristics and abilities such as above-average agility and dexterity to perform intricate therapeutic procedures. The incumbent must be able to push wheelchair patients on level and inclined ground.

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: 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:

Additional information

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

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 and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

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. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 80 or more before any Veterans preference points) for this vacancy. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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