Occupational Therapist-Ambulatory Care Physical Therapy (Full-Time)

Discover Vanderbilt Health : With eight hospitals and over 180 clinics, we are the region's largest comprehensive academic health system. Vanderbilt Health has a long tradition of providing world-class care to the people of the Mid-South, living out our mission of moving medicine forward through preeminent programs in patient care, education and research. Here you'll find a spirit of collaboration and a supportive community where your expertise is valued, your knowledge expanded and your uniqueness celebrated. We are committed to fostering an environment where talented, compassionate people are united in bringing the most advanced care to our neighbors throughout the region.
Acute Rehab PT/OT 3
Provides occupational therapy services to patients who have impairments, developmental disabilities, functional limitations, disabilities, or changes in physical function and health status resulting from injury, disease or other causes with some guidance. Actively collaborates with the health care/educational team to meet patient care, outcomes and system improvement objectives.
Occupational Therapist - Acute Care
Vanderbilt Health | Nashville, TN
Schedule: Full-Time | 4 10-hour shifts Wed - Sat
Where Expert Occupational Therapists Make Their Greatest Impact
Vanderbilt Health is seeking an experienced Acute Care Occupational 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. At Vanderbilt Health, occupational therapists are trusted clinical partners. They help patients reclaim independence, restore meaningful function, and navigate life's daily challenges with confidence and dignity. Through clinical expertise, creativity, and patient advocacy, our OTs play a vital role in helping patients return to the activities that matter most.
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 use their clinical judgment, collaborate as valued members of the interdisciplinary team, and focus on helping patients achieve meaningful outcomes.
Why Experienced Therapists Choose Vanderbilt Health

Complex and Diverse Patient Populations - Work with patients across trauma, transplant, critical care, neuroscience, oncology, cardiology, and specialty medicine services.
Patient-First Culture - Deliver individualized care in an environment focused on quality outcomes rather than productivity metrics.
Interdisciplinary Collaboration - Partner with physicians, nurses, physical therapists, speech-language pathologists, case managers, and social workers to optimize patient outcomes.
Career Growth and Leadership Opportunities - Advance through a structured Clinical Career Ladder while contributing to 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 Occupational Therapist
Perform comprehensive occupational therapy evaluations for patients with complex medical and surgical conditions.
Provide interventions addressing activities of daily living, cognition, upper extremity function, adaptive equipment needs, and discharge readiness.
Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams to support safe and effective transitions of care.
Educate patients and caregivers on adaptive techniques, energy conservation, safety strategies, and equipment recommendations.
Document care in accordance with hospital and regulatory standards.
Contribute to departmental initiatives, quality improvement projects, mentorship activities, and clinical advancement efforts.
Licensed Occupational Therapist (or license-eligible) in the State of Tennessee.
Minimum of 2 years of acute care or hospital-based occupational therapy experience preferred.
Commitment to collaborative, patient-centered care.
If you're an experienced acute care occupational 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.
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.
• 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 (Fundamental Awareness): 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.
• 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. Rehab Therapist Patient Documentation (Novice): 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. 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.
Uses existing procedures, research and analysis to solve standard job related problems that may require some judgement. Individually contributes to project/ work teams.
Delivering Excellent Services: - Serves Others with Compassion: Invests time to understand the problems, needs of others and how to provide excellent service. - Ensuring High Quality: - Performs Excellent Work: Checks work quality before delivery and asks relevant questions to meet quality standards.- Fulfills Safety and Regulatory Requirements: Takes responsibility for completing assigned activities and thinks beyond standard approaches to provide high-quality work/service. - 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.- LIC-Occupational Therapy License - Licensure-Others
Work Experience:
Relevant Work Experience
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.