Occupational Therapist-Inpatient Registry Days
About The Position
The licensed Occupational Therapist (OTR/L) reflects Northwestern Medicine’s mission, vision, and values, follows its Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program, and complies with applicable policies, procedures, regulatory requirements, and accreditation standards. The therapist provides direct patient care, teaching, participates in appropriate committees and departmental process improvement, and serves as a professional, clinical, communication, educational, and leadership role model for therapists and clinical interns. The role manages occupational therapy care from initial contact through discharge, including evaluation, treatment planning, re-evaluation, documentation, patient education, collaboration with COTAs and the broader healthcare team, and attention to functional progress, safety, and outcomes. The therapist also contributes to department education, student programs, committees, projects, and continuous improvement efforts. This registry position is listed for days, with a rotating job shift; the therapist may need to flex schedule or assignment to meet patient-care and department needs, including meetings outside normal work hours.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Occupational Therapy.
- Occupational Therapist license in the State of Illinois.
- American Heart Association BLS certification upon hire.
- Comply with the professional Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice and applicable State of Illinois requirements.
Nice To Haves
- Master’s or doctoral degree in Occupational Therapy.
Responsibilities
- Demonstrate Northwestern Medicine’s values of Patients First, Integrity, Teamwork, and Excellence, and maintain a friendly, professional, approachable demeanor.
- Provide accurate information and timely updates to patients and customers, and use service recovery skills to address problems or service breakdowns.
- Communicate effectively, respect diverse opinions and styles, acknowledge others’ contributions, and build respectful relationships with healthcare team members.
- Use organizational and department resources efficiently, manage schedules and assignments on time, and maintain department productivity standards.
- Facilitate collaborative care with healthcare team members, including physicians, nurses, case managers, and COTAs.
- Select appropriate evaluations, treatment modalities, equipment, and protocols; perform re-evaluations according to department guidelines and adjust treatment plans as needed.
- Manage OT patient care from initial contact through discharge, with responsibility for functional progress, safety, and outcomes; maintain patient plans of care through timely, consistent collaboration with treating COTAs.
- Follow department policies for evaluations, progress notes, and discharge summaries, and enter accurate documentation in the electronic medical record that meets medical necessity and regulatory requirements.
- Document patients’ responses to treatment, performance, status, treatment-plan relevance, and discharge needs in daily notes.
- Provide educational materials and methods suited to each patient’s level of understanding and motivation.
- Participate in committees, department processes, special projects, internal and external marketing, and continuous-improvement and cost-reduction efforts as appropriate.
- Accept constructive feedback and make timely changes.
- Complete non-patient-care responsibilities within established timeframes, such as coverage notes, schedule-change requests, bonus-pay forms, discharge checklists, and follow-up calls.
- Contribute to department education through activities such as in-services, Journal Club, new-hire orientation, and process improvement.
- Participate in student clinical or observation programs as a clinical instructor, mentor, or observation host, as department expectations require.
- Complete required Northwestern Medicine education, competencies, and training on time.
- Accommodate patient-care needs and department meetings as needed, including flexing schedule or assignment for needs outside normal work hours.
Benefits
- Northwestern Medicine describes a wide range of benefits supporting employees’ physical, emotional, and financial well-being, with protection for unexpected life events.
- Tuition reimbursement.
- Loan forgiveness.
- 401(k) matching.
- Lifecycle benefits.
