Physical Therapist - Acute Care

Discover Vanderbilt University Medical Center : Located in Nashville, Tennessee, and operating at a global crossroads of teaching, discovery, and patient care, VUMC is a community of individuals who come to work each day with the simple aim of changing the world. It is a place where your expertise will be valued, your knowledge expanded, and your abilities challenged. Vanderbilt Health is committed to an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and where your uniqueness is sought and celebrated. It is a place where employees know they are part of something that is bigger than themselves, take exceptional pride in their work and never settle for what was good enough yesterday. Vanderbilt's mission is to advance health and wellness through preeminent programs in patient care, education, and research.

Organization:
Acute Rehab PT/OT 3

Job Summary:
JOB SUMMARY
Provides physical therapy services to patients who have impairments, functional limitations, disabilities, or changes in physical function and health status resulting from injury, disease or other causes under occasional guidance. Actively collaborates with the health care/educational team to meet patient care, outcomes and system improvement objectives.

Physical Therapist - Acute Care

Location: Vanderbilt Health | Nashville, TN

Schedule: Full-Time | Includes 2 weekend days per month

Where Expert Physical Therapists Make Their Greatest Impact

Vanderbilt Health is seeking an experienced Acute Care Physical Therapist to join one of the nation's leading academic health systems.

This is an opportunity to practice alongside nationally recognized physicians, nurses, and rehabilitation professionals while caring for medically complex patients across a Level 1 Trauma Center. If you're looking for an environment that values clinical expertise, collaboration, and evidence-based practice, you'll find it here.

At Vanderbilt Health, physical therapists are trusted clinical partners. They are advocates, educators, problem-solvers, and essential members of the care team who help patients take the first steps toward recovery while influencing outcomes across the continuum of care.

Be part of an organization redefining what's possible in healthcare. Vanderbilt Health is home to the nation's largest transplant center by volume and continues to set records for life-saving care, groundbreaking innovation, and exceptional patient outcomes.

Most importantly, we believe healthcare is personal. Our rehabilitation professionals are empowered to provide individualized, evidence-based care that puts patients before productivity metrics. Here, therapists are trusted to apply their clinical judgment, collaborate as valued members of the interdisciplinary team, and focus on what matters most, helping patients achieve meaningful outcomes.

Why Experienced Therapists Choose Vanderbilt Health

• Practice at the Top of Your License - Clinical expertise is respected and valued throughout the organization.
• Complex and Diverse Patient Populations - Gain experience caring for patients across trauma, transplant, critical care, neuroscience, oncology, cardiology, and specialty medicine services.
• Patient-First Culture - Focus on quality outcomes and individualized care in an environment that prioritizes patients over productivity metrics.
• Collaborative Interdisciplinary Teams - Work alongside some of the region's most respected physicians, nurses, therapists, and healthcare professionals.
• Clinical Growth Without Limits - Advance through a structured Clinical Career Ladder with opportunities for leadership, mentorship, education, and program development.
• Nationally Recognized Excellence - Join a health system known for innovation, research, and world-class patient care.

Your Impact as an Acute Care Physical Therapist

• Perform evidence-based evaluations and treatment interventions for hospitalized patients with complex medical and surgical conditions.
• Provide care across diverse inpatient settings, including intensive care units, step-down units, specialty services, and emergency care environments.
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams to develop individualized plans that optimize mobility, function, safety, and discharge outcomes.
• Apply advanced clinical reasoning to assess patient progress and modify treatment plans accordingly.
• Educate patients and caregivers on mobility strategies, equipment recommendations, fall prevention, and safe discharge planning.
• Document care in accordance with hospital and regulatory standards.
• Contribute to quality improvement initiatives, mentorship activities, and departmental advancement.

Qualifications

• Licensed Physical Therapist (or license-eligible) in the State of Tennessee.
• Minimum of 2 years of acute care or hospital-based physical therapy experience preferred.
• Strong clinical reasoning and decision-making skills.
• Commitment to collaborative, patient-centered care.
• Passion for continuous learning and clinical excellence.

Ready for What's Next?

If you're an experienced acute care therapist looking for greater clinical complexity, stronger interdisciplinary collaboration, and a culture that values both expertise and patient advocacy, Vanderbilt Health offers the opportunity to make your greatest impact.

Apply today and join a team that's helping redefine the future of healthcare.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
• Analyzes comprehensive information from formal and informal assessment that is pertinent to the patient's care and management to determine a rehabilitation treatment diagnosis.
• Collaborates with stakeholders in establishing the plan of care, coordinates and implements care delivery while anticipating patient care needs across the rehabilitation continuum.
• Applies appropriate, evidence-based interventions to ensure effective outcomes and re-evaluates performance to assess patient's progress towards goals.
• Employs strategies to promote successful return to home, community, and school/vocational environments.
• The responsibilities listed are a general overview of the position and additional duties may be assigned.

TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES
• 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.
• 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 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.

Allied health is among the fastest growing occupations in healthcare today. This area can be defined as credentialed professionals who perform supportive, diagnostic, and therapeutic health care services to promote health and prevent disease in a variety of settings.

These areas are crucial to Vanderbilt Health's reputation for excellence in these areas that has made us a major center for patient referrals from throughout the Mid-South.

Each year, people throughout Tennessee and the southeast choose Vanderbilt Health for their health care because of our leadership in medical science and our dedication to treating patients with dignity and compassion.

Core Accountabilities:

Organizational Impact: Delivers job responsibilities that impact own job area/team with some guidance. Problem Solving/ Complexity of work: Uses existing procedures, research and analysis to solve standard job related problems that may require some judgement. Breadth of Knowledge: Requires subject matter knowledge within a professional area to meet job requirements. Team Interaction: Individually contributes to project/ work teams.

Core Capabilities :

Supporting Colleagues: - Develops Self and Others: Continuously improves own skills by identifying development opportunities.- Builds and Maintains Relationships: Seeks to understand colleagues priorities, working styles and develops relationships across areas. - Communicates Effectively: Openly shares information with others and communicates in a clear and courteous manner. Delivering Excellent Services: - Serves Others with Compassion: Invests time to understand the problems, needs of others and how to provide excellent service. - Solves Complex Problems: Seeks to understand issues, solves routine problems, and raises proper concerns to supervisors in a timely manner. - Offers Meaningful Advice and Support: Listens carefully to understand the issues and provides accurate information and support. Ensuring High Quality: - Performs Excellent Work: Checks work quality before delivery and asks relevant questions to meet quality standards.- Ensures Continuous Improvement: Shows eagerness to learn new knowledge, technologies, tools or systems and displays willingness to go above and beyond. - Fulfills Safety and Regulatory Requirements: Demonstrates basic knowledge of conditions that affect safety and reports unsafe conditions to the appropriate person or department. Managing Resources Effectively :- Demonstrates Accountability: Takes responsibility for completing assigned activities and thinks beyond standard approaches to provide high-quality work/service. - Stewards Organizational Resources: Displays understanding of how personal actions will impact departmental resources. - Makes Data Driven Decisions: Uses accurate information and good decision making to consistently achieve results on time and without error. Fostering Innovation: - Generates New Ideas: Willingly proposes/accepts ideas or initiatives that will impact day-to-day operations by offering suggestions to enhance them.- Applies Technology: Absorbs new technology quickly; understands when to utilize the appropriate tools and procedures to ensure proper course of action. - Adapts to Change: Embraces changes by keeping an open mind to changing plans and incorporates change instructions into own area of work.

Position Qualifications:

Responsibilities:

Certifications:
LIC-Physical Therapy License - Tennessee

Work Experience:
Relevant Work Experience

Experience Level :
Less than 1 year

Education:
Doctorate

This role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact within Vanderbilt Health, supported by a comprehensive benefits package which may include health, disability, retirement and/or wellness offerings to enhance your well-being and professional growth.

Vanderbilt Health is committed to fostering an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and is committed to the principles of equal opportunity. EOE/Vets/Disabled.