Manager, Rehabilitation Services

Vanderbilt University Medical Center•Nashville, TN

About The Position

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is seeking an experienced Manager, Rehabilitation Services to provide operational, clinical, and strategic leadership for an interdisciplinary rehabilitation team at the Pi Beta Phi Rehabilitation Institute within the Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center. This role oversees occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech‑language pathologists, assistants, and technicians delivering evidence‑based care to pediatric and adult patients with complex neurologic conditions. This position is approximately 70% management and operations and 30% direct patient care, and oversees a team of 23 clinicians. The Manager, Rehabilitation Services plays a critical role in advancing clinical excellence, team performance, quality improvement initiatives, and patient outcomes while supporting education programs, including physical therapy residencies and student clinical experiences. The Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center serves adults and children diagnosed with central nervous system disorders, including brain injury, stroke, balance disorders, and aphasia. Through interdisciplinary care, innovative programs, and specialized clinics, the team supports patients in achieving maximal independence and improved quality of life. Key programs and clinics include Adult Speech and Language Services, Hearing and Speech Services, the Aphasia Program, Balance Disorders Clinic, Driver Rehabilitation Program, and the Seating and Mobility Clinic.

Requirements

Current licensure as an Occupational Therapist, Physical Therapist, or Speech‑Language Pathologist.
Minimum of five years of progressive leadership experience in a rehabilitation or healthcare setting.
Demonstrated experience in team leadership, operations management, budgeting, productivity monitoring, and conflict resolution.
Strong interdisciplinary collaboration and communication skills.
LIC-Athletic Trainer, Certified - Licensure-Others
Relevant Work Experience
5 years
Bachelor's

Nice To Haves

Leadership experience in an academic medical center or complex rehabilitation environment.
Experience supporting residency programs, student education, or clinical training programs.
Knowledge of quality improvement methodologies and performance metrics.

Responsibilities

Manage day‑to‑day operations of the rehabilitation team, including staffing, scheduling, and coverage to meet patient volume demands.
Measure and monitor staff productivity, patient volumes, referral trends, and access metrics.
Address personnel issues in compliance with VUMC and departmental policies and procedures.
Review clinical documentation to ensure compliance with VUMC, departmental, and regulatory standards.
Troubleshoot and resolve operational issues to ensure efficient and high‑quality service delivery.
Oversee expense and revenue budgets and provide input into the annual budget planning process.
Communicate departmental, organizational, and team policies, procedures, and initiatives.
Facilitate regular forums for staff communication, education, and feedback.
Update team policies and procedures and ensure consistent implementation across the team.
Collect staff feedback and escalate themes and recommendations to department leadership.
Participate actively in leadership meetings, workgroups, and interdisciplinary committees.
Collaborate with other rehabilitation teams and departments to maximize shared resources.
Promote continuous improvement of clinical processes and patient outcomes using quality improvement tools and methodologies.
Monitor trends in referrals, patient populations, and service utilization.
Measure patient and customer satisfaction and develop action plans as appropriate.
Select and lead at least one annual project focused on measuring patient outcomes related to a specific treatment protocol or pathway.
Support ongoing staff development and continuing education opportunities.
Review and approve continuing education requests aligned with clinical practice needs.
Conduct regular performance discussions and annual performance evaluations.
Determine annual staff competencies specific to job function and scope of practice.
Provide onboarding, orientation, and probationary evaluations for new team members.
Review professional portfolios and applicable CAP points.
Support and contribute to physical therapy residency programs and student clinical experiences.
Provide direct patient care to selected populations within licensed scope of practice.
Conduct patient evaluations and develop comprehensive treatment plans.
Implement evidence‑based interventions and assess treatment effectiveness.
Communicate effectively with patients, families, caregivers, and interdisciplinary team members.
Document patient care accurately and in a timely manner.
Meet productivity standards as established by departmental leadership.
Schedule staff's work and time off to assure coverage of patient volume
Address personnel issues to insure compliance with policies and procedures
Measure staff productivity, patient volumes, referrals to insure meeting expectations
Review documentation in patient chart to assure meets VUMC, department and Team standards
Troubleshoot and resolve operational issues as they arise to assure smooth delivery of services
Oversee expense and revenue budget for Team to meet department budgetary goals
Communicate Team expectations and procedures for implementation of department/VUMC policies and initiatives.
Provide a regularly scheduled forum for staff to hear/see/read departmental, VUMC and Team initiatives.
Collect staff feedback and forward it to Director.
Update Team procedures in the policy manual.
Communicate to all staff any changes to insure standardization.
Give staff ongoing feedback on their individual and Team performance to improve their overall functioning and compliance.
Facilitate staff involvement in operational decision making to assist with implementation.
Communicate department and Team objectives/goals annually.
Contract with staff for their role in achieving these stated Team performance objectives.
Advocate for the resources required in the provision of high quality care to patients and families.
Use objective information to evaluate present status and propose needed additional resources.
Provide input to the budget process to insure the budget accurately reflects performance predictions.
Attend and participate actively in management and leadership meetings.
Promote improvement of Team processes and patient care outcomes utilizing QI techniques/tools.
Track referrals and patient populations on an ongoing basis looking for trends, variances or changes.
Measure patient and customer satisfaction annually.
Select at least one project per year to measure patient outcomes from a particular treatment protocol/pathway.
Facilitate staff development and ongoing learning.
Review continuing education requests and counsel staff in selection of events which improve their knowledge base for a particular population they serve.
Meet with staff members at least twice per year to discuss their performance, competence and goal attainment.
Oversee in-services to insure that staff needs are met.
Evaluate each staff member's individual and Team performance annually (by June 30).
Review therapist's professional portfolio and points for CAP.
Use guidelines and scale for measurement of key functions.
Determine annual competence of staff for their specific job function.
Provide new staff orientation to job responsibilities.
Determine end to probationary period.
Coordinate programs with other Teams and the department to maximize use of limited resources.
Actively participate in workgroups and meetings centering on patient population served.
Share resources with other Teams and department.
Provide patient care to selected population
Evaluate patient utilizing current knowledge and skill
Formulate a comprehensive treatment plan and recommendation
Implement treatment to address goals.
Ongoing assessment of treatment effectiveness
Communicate effectively with patients, families, caregivers, other healthcare professionals in the provision of care
Document services appropriately
Meet productivity standard as determined by Directors