Physical Therapist (Chronic Pain Clinical Specialist)

Summary

The primary function of this position is direct patient care in conjunction with the Pain Service Program at the American Lake Division - with 25% or greater time specifically dedicated to the specialty area. This individual is responsible for completing complex evaluations - conducting specialized interventions and treatments - and interpreting specialized procedures - theories - and outcomes in the specialty area to a vast array of functional impairments.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

• 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
• Individuals appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C. chapters 73 or 74 - to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA must be proficient in written and spoken English
• See Chapter 2 - section D - paragraph 5a - this part
• Education and experience
• The individual must meet at least one of the requirements below: Bachelor's degree in Physical Therapy AND five (5) years of progressively independent experience as a physical therapist
• Master's degree in Physical Therapy AND two (2) years of progressively independent experience as a physical therapist
• Doctorate degree in physical therapy
• NOTE: Individuals must be a graduate of a Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) accredited college or university
• The CAPTE is the only accreditation agency recognized by the United States Department of Education (USDE) and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) to accredit entry-level physical therapy programs
• Verification of accredited programs may be obtained from the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) at
• Foreign Graduates
• Graduates of foreign physical therapy programs meet the requirements in subparagraph 3b if they have a full unrestricted and current license to practice physical therapy in a State - Territory or Commonwealth of the United States - or in the District of Columbia
• The Foreign Credentialing Commission on Physical Therapy (FCCPT) is a non- 3 profit organization created to assist the United States (U.S.) Citizenship and Immigration Services (formerly INS) and U.S. state licensing authorities by evaluating the credentials of Foreign Educated Physical Therapists (FEPTs) who wish to immigrate and work in the U.S. Although the licensing of physical therapists in the U.S. is a right and responsibility of each jurisdiction - foreign educated individuals must undergo an educational credentials assessment for substantial equivalency to the first professional degree in the US
• The Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT) is committed to protect the public and to provide leadership within the field and practice of physical therapy
• FSBPT's Foreign Educated Standards Committee has developed standards that represent "best practices" in evaluation services
• The Credentials Evaluation Standards were developed with input from the physical therapy credentialing agencies that are licensed to use FSBPT's Coursework Tool
• Licensure
• Individuals hold a full - current - and unrestricted license to practice physical therapy in a State - Territory or Commonwealth of the United States - or in the District of Columbia
• NOTE
• Individuals who have or have had multiple licenses and had any such license revoked for professional misconduct - professional incompetency or substandard care - or who surrendered such license after receiving written notice of potential termination of such license by the state for professional misconduct - professional incompetence - or substandard care - are not eligible for appointment to the position unless such revoked or surrendered license is fully restored (38 U.S.C 7402(f))
• Effective November 30 - 1999 - this is a requirement for employment
• This requirement does not apply to licensed physical therapists on VA rolls as of November 30 - 1999 - provided the individual maintains a continuous appointment and is not disqualified for employment by any subsequent revocations or voluntary surrenders of State license - registration or certification
• Grade Determinations: GS- 13 Physical Therapist (Chronic Pain Clinical Specialist) Experience
• In addition to meeting the basic requirements - one year of progressively complex experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level and one of the following: Evidence of a minimum of 2 -000 hours of clinical practice directly in the specialty area
• This time must be between the past two and five years
• or Board Certification in the specialty area recognized by the ABPTS
• or Completion of a fellowship program
• or An additional advanced degree in a related field
• In addition - the candidate must demonstrate the following Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities (KSAs)
• Advanced knowledge and expert skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in a specialized treatment area of physical therapy
• Ability to serve as a consultant and subject matter expert for health care providers regarding the delivery of care within a specialized content area of physical therapy (Chronic Pain)
• Ability to teach and mentor medical center staff in a specialized content area of physical therapy
• Ability to guide the work of a multi-disciplinary team in a specialized content area of physical therapy
• Advanced knowledge and expert skill to perform and interpret specialized procedures and tests in evaluating the treatment outcomes in the assigned specialty content area (Chronic Pain)
• Assignment
• For all assignments above the full performance level - the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope - complexity (difficulty) - and variety
• Clinical Specialists spend at least 25% or greater of their time working with specialized population(s) within their department
• Physical therapists at this level perform assignments in specialty areas such as geriatrics - neurology - cardiopulmonary - orthopedics - spinal cord injury - amputee - wound care - chronic pain - electromyography - women's health or pelvic health - polytrauma - brain injury - lymphedema - vestibular - assistive technology - seating and mobility
• The individual is assigned responsibility for serving as the subject matter expert in the content specialty area and as a consultant to physical therapy and other medical center staff in evaluating and treating patients in the specialty area
• Clinical Specialists have advanced knowledge and demonstrate expert clinical practice skills in providing assessment and treatment interventions across the continuum of care
• He/she utilizes advanced knowledge and expertise to modify treatment plans and to identify therapeutic activity interventions based on the changing needs - goals and performance of patients
• Clinical Specialists have advanced training in specialized technology related to their area of practice
• He/she establishes and maintains contact with other health care providers involved in patient care via written - telephone - and personal communication on a regular basis
• He/she exercises expert professional judgment to establish appropriate discharge planning recommendations to ensure safe discharge from inpatient or outpatient rehabilitation programs
• If the medical center has a PT residency program - the clinical specialist may be on faculty for the program
• Preferred Experience: TPS certification preferred
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13
• Physical Requirements: There are no physical requirements for this occupation per OCHCO Communications email to VA Handbook 5019 - updated on 4/17/2026.

Duties

• Duties include - but are not limited to: The Physical Therapist - Chronic Pain Clinical Specialist who works at this level provides assessment and treatment intervention on an independent basis across the continuum of care
• Responsible for serving as the subject matter expert for persistent/chronic pain physical therapy and provides consultation to ANE/Rehab staff - physical therapy peers and other medical center staff in evaluating and treating patients with pain conditions seen within the ANE Pain Service
• Collaborates with the pain medicine team and guided by the Pain Management - Opioid Safety - and Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PMOP)
• Has requisite skills and training to provides clinical services within the ANE Pain Service to support FRP and AMP clinical programming
• Provides direct patient clinical care in face-to-face and virtual formats - and in 1:1 and group settings
• Expand development of telehealth services to better target and treat Veterans living remotely with improved access to Veterans and decrease treavel cost to VA
• Incorporates whole health modalities for medically complex Veterans and other clinical programming into practice (ie Yoga - Tai Chi - Aquatics - Clinical Hypnosis)
• Services provided by this position may include providing professional clinical services - carrying out education and training activities - clinical consultation - supervision - and administration
• Provides clinical training and supervision of students on clinical affiliations who have interest in chronic pain
• Will serve as professional role model and develop individualized clinical training experiences
• Serve as a consultant/mentor for departmental and facility level education and acts as point of contact to disseminate information from local - VISN and National Pain PT programs
• Participates in Rehab and ANE quality improvement initiatives - attends and contributes to scheduled meetings - and inservices as appropriate
• This position is managed under Rehab Care Services - but clinical duties primarily embedded within the ANE Pain Service
• As such - this position may also support other Rehab clinical initiatives as necessary
• Work Schedule: 7:30AM - 4PM - Monday - Friday Telework: Available (Ad-hoc only) Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 00000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, providing care at 1,321 health care facilities, including 172 VA Medical Centers and 1,138 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics) to over 9 million Veterans enrolled in the VA health care program. VHA Medical Centers provide a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy. In addition, most of our medical centers offer additional medical and surgical specialty services including audiology & speech pathology, dermatology, dental, geriatrics, neurology, oncology, podiatry, prosthetics, urology, and vision care. Some medical centers also offer advanced services such as organ transplants and plastic surgery.

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