Occupational Therapist (OT) - Inpatient Acute

Advocate Health • Libertyville, IL

1d • $38 - $62 • Onsite

About The Position

The Occupational Therapist evaluates patients’ physical, perceptual, cognitive, social, and vocational abilities and how these affect activities of daily living. The clinician develops and delivers individualized treatment plans, monitors outcomes, adjusts care as needed, and communicates patient status with physicians and other care-team members. The role includes providing or fabricating assistive devices and splints, addressing patient comfort and safety, advocating for patients, and planning discharges with patient and family education, home programs, community referrals, care transitions, and equipment recommendations.

The Occupational Therapist completes clinical documentation, billing, scheduling, daily statistics, and authorization-related tasks in accordance with department policies, accreditation standards, and productivity expectations. The position also includes maintaining treatment areas and equipment, performing patient positioning and transfers, and using appropriate modalities and exercise equipment while following safety and infection-control procedures.

The clinician serves as a resource in an area of clinical specialization, collaborates with physicians and program leadership, mentors staff, and may develop clinical guidelines, training, educational activities, and rehabilitation programs. The role participates in performance improvement, caseload coverage, professional development, staff orientation, and coworker evaluations. The Occupational Therapist may supervise occupational therapy assistants and supports student clinical education by supervising at least one student annually when students are available.

This is a full-time position in acute care rehabilitation at Advocate Condell Medical Center, with 40 hours per week and schedules available Sunday through Thursday or Tuesday through Saturday. The listed pay range is $38.20–$61.65 per hour, with a $5,000 sign-on bonus for full-time hires. The role requires a master’s degree in occupational therapy, a state occupational therapist license, BLS certification within 90 days unless exempted by department leadership, and at least five years of occupational therapy experience. The position has substantial mobility, lifting, transferring, pushing/pulling, and hand-use requirements, and may involve travel and exposure to electrical and chemical hazards and blood and body fluids.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in occupational therapy from an accredited school, or educational requirements commensurate with the date of graduation.
• Maintain continuing education requirements mandated by applicable state professional standards.
• Licensed Occupational Therapist in the state where the employee works.
• Basic Life Support (BLS) for Healthcare Providers certification from the American Heart Association, obtained within 90 days unless department leadership determines it is not required.
• At least five years of occupational therapy experience; the posting identifies seven years as preferred.
• Occupational therapy experience in a hospital, outpatient, or other relevant setting.
• Clinical expertise in a specific rehabilitation area, with specialized area or skill noted by advanced certification as determined by Rehab Leadership.
• Senior-level clinicians should obtain certification directly relevant to their scope of practice within 18 months, or demonstrate advanced knowledge as determined through an advancement application approved by Rehab Leadership.
• Certifications must be awarded by an authorized professional association, certifying body, or institution.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills.
• Ability to be flexible, solve problems, and make frequent independent decisions.
• Initiative, versatility, positive interpersonal skills, and dependable work performance.
• Independence in providing advanced clinical skills and expertise.
• Successful completion of competency assessments and requirements for patient care consistent with site standards.
• Maintain annual educational requirements for hospital-based certifications, such as DNV or CARF requirements.
• Knowledge and skills to provide age-appropriate patient care, including understanding growth and development across the lifespan and assessing and interpreting information relevant to age-specific patient needs.
• Ability to sit, stand, walk, lift, and squat throughout the workday.
• Ability to lift up to 50 pounds from floor to waist, lift up to 10 pounds from waist to overhead, and carry up to 40 pounds at waist height a reasonable distance.
• Ability to push or pull with 30 pounds of force and perform a sliding transfer of 150 pounds with a second person present.
• Ability to perform repetitive hand use, including simple grasping, pushing/pulling, and fine hand manipulation during massage and joint mobilization.
• Functional use of senses sufficient for effective communication.
• Ability to wear protective clothing as needed when exposed to electrical and chemical hazards and blood and body fluids.
• Ability to operate all equipment necessary to perform the job.

Nice To Haves

• Seven years of experience in occupational therapy.

Responsibilities

• Interpret physician referrals as appropriate and evaluate patients’ physical, perceptual, cognitive, social, and vocational abilities and their effects on activities of daily living.
• Provide advanced evaluation, assessment, and treatment for complex patients or patients in a specific diagnosis or program area.
• Establish and implement individualized plans of care using evaluation results, functional goals, and appropriate treatment techniques.
• Provide or fabricate assistive devices and splints to enhance patients’ functional independence.
• Monitor treatment outcomes, adjust individualized plans based on patient response, and provide status updates to physicians and teammates.
• Identify factors affecting patients’ physical and psychosocial comfort, attend to those needs, and advocate for patients with physicians and other professionals.
• Plan and complete patient discharges, including home programs, patient and family education, community-service referrals, transition planning, and equipment orders as appropriate.
• Communicate and collaborate with stakeholders to support optimal patient care.
• Complete patient evaluations, progress notes, team conference reports, discharge summaries, and other required documentation in compliance with department policies and accreditation standards.
• Complete daily statistics, billing, and scheduling; apply insurance authorization and visit guidelines; and meet established productivity standards.
• Clean treatment areas, put away equipment, and maintain an orderly work area.
• Perform manual techniques, patient positioning, transfers, and transportation duties using proper techniques.
• Use available modalities, exercise equipment, and other devices appropriately, and follow safety and infection-control measures.
• Act as a clinical resource and liaison to physicians and program leadership in the area of expertise.
• Mentor staff, facilitate clinical problem solving, develop clinical guidelines and training, and support staff orientation, competencies, and education.
• Promote and develop rehabilitation programs, lead program or referral-development projects, and present educational programs to the community.
• Collaborate with leadership to develop and improve programs and services at site or system level.
• Participate in performance-improvement activities to resolve patient-care issues and improve quality.
• Manage the assigned caseload, communicate coverage needs to site leadership, and assist with coverage based on department and regional needs.
• Pursue professional growth through continuing education, department in-services, and professional literature; introduce new ideas for consideration and implementation.
• Orient new staff to clinical and department policies as requested and provide coworker evaluation feedback when requested.
• May supervise occupational therapy assistants, delegate patients to assistive personnel, provide direction and treatment recommendations, and maintain responsibility for patient plans of care and goals.
• Support student clinical education by monitoring, observing, and directing at least one student per year when students are available.

Benefits

• A $5,000 sign-on bonus for full-time hires.
• Paid Time Off programs.
• Medical, dental, vision, life, and short- and long-term disability benefits.
• Flexible Spending Accounts for eligible health care and dependent care expenses.
• Adoption assistance and paid parental leave.
• Defined contribution retirement plans with employer match and other financial wellness programs.
• Educational Assistance Program.
• Competitive compensation, premium pay where applicable, incentive pay for select positions, and potential annual performance-based increases.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior