Physical Therapist, Sr

Health Alliance of Hudson Valley • Poughkeepsie, NY

119d

About The Position

The Senior Physical Therapist is responsible for providing evaluations and treatment, using sound professional practices as defined by the standards of the American Physical Therapy Association, to individuals needing physical therapy services.

Requirements

• Two or more years of experience as a Licensed Physical Therapist and/or certification in a specialty area or technique and at least one year of clinical supervisory experience.
• Graduation from an accredited program with Bachelor's Degree, Master's Degree, and/or Doctor in Physical Therapy as a Physical Therapist.
• New York State registration and license to practice as a Physical Therapist.
• Ability to form effective working relationships with hospital personnel, multidisciplinary team, patients and families.

Responsibilities

• Conducts diagnostic evaluations of patients, sets goals, and re-evaluates the patients at regular intervals over the course of treatment.
• Prioritizes and completes evaluation of patients across service areas. Evaluation procedures are exceptionally comprehensive and/or specialized. Develops proposals for new evaluation procedures in accordance with changes in policy and procedure.
• Reviews relevant background information pertaining to patients' problems and functioning.
• Meets service area productivity standards for number of evaluations completed. Assists co-workers in completion of evaluations as schedule permits. Exceeds service area productivity standards for number of evaluations completed. Pursues/provides new referral sources.
• Interprets evaluation results and makes sound clinical recommendations regarding treatment.
• Formulates realistic functional short- and long-term goals that are objective, patient and/or caregiver-specific and are consistent with results of evaluation.
• Presents results of initial evaluation and follow-up evaluations. Conducts special research pertaining to individual patient diagnosis and treatment and presents new information to patient.
• Conducts re-evaluations when clinically indicated and/or required by external regulatory, professional, and/or reimbursement authorities.
• Provides individualized, evidenced-based treatment that is consistent with the results of the evaluation and the physician prescription and is designed to assist patients to achieve their functional goals.
• Provides safe and effective treatment across service areas in order to achieve identified goals. Treatment is exceptionally comprehensive and/or specialized.
• Meets service area productivity standards for number of treatments provided. Exceeds service-specific productivity standards by at least 5%. Achieves positive treatment outcomes in shorter than average LOS/duration of treatment.
• Observes patients' response to treatment during sessions and modifies methods, techniques, and/or goals as needed.
• Provides patients with individualized home treatment activities and instructions for completing them during their hospital stay.
• Coordinates services with other health care providers. Acts as a liaison between the Therapy Connection and key personnel from other disciplines and/or facilities.
• Adequately plans and prepares for patient discharge.
• Identifies discharge goals and criteria, methods for achieving them, and possible barriers to goal achievement at the time of initial evaluation.
• Modifies criteria as needed as patients achieve progress in treatment.
• Discharges patients from program with appropriate referrals and recommendations when discharge criteria are met and/or they are determined to be unachievable. Discharge planning is exceptionally comprehensive and/or specialized.
• Communicates with patients and, with patient consent, with families and caregivers, in a manner that facilitates their understanding of the treatment being provided and the achievement of positive outcomes.
• Communicates as needed with patients regarding scheduled appointments, identifying changes in medical status, or other issues that may interfere with achievement of goals throughout the episode of care.
• Explains all treatment methods, goals, discharge criteria, and plans beginning at the time of initial evaluation and throughout treatment.
• Provides individualized, detailed instructions for home treatment programs, including the activities to be completed, their duration and frequency.
• Integrates verbal presentations of information with printed material or electronic media, handouts and/or models.
• Provides opportunities for questions and discussion of all clinical information, ascertains patient understanding and assists patients to establish realistic expectations.
• Meets all documentation requirements
• Completes clinical documentation in a timely and accurate manner in accordance with the requirements of the department and with external accrediting and reimbursement authorities.
• Accurately completes and submits required non-clinical documentation, including billing, scheduling, coverage/hand-off information, and letters to patients regarding missed or cancelled visit policy, in a timely manner.
• Utilizes professional and technically correct terminology.
• Consistently utilizes approved abbreviations.
• Performs supervisory tasks and contributes to the professional life of the department.
• Supervises Physical Therapy Assistants or other staff as assigned, including timely completion of their performance appraisals. Provides supervision to more than one Physical Therapy staff member.
• Attends and actively participates in all departmental and service area meetings, training programs, and other professional activities. Initiates and/or participates in departmental events for the hospital or the community. Attends two or more external continuing education courses. Performs special tasks related to departmental performance improvement projects.
• Maintains current licensure in accordance with NYSED continuing education requirements.
• Maintains all Hospital-required certifications in accordance with external accrediting and reimbursement authorities, including Basic Life Support and Stroke Certification via the American Heart Association as well as FIM Certification via UDS-PRO for maintenance of CARF Accreditation.
• Promotes/advocates for the profession. Provides significant input regarding the modification of departmental policies and procedures. Participates in clinical research. Establishes external relationships that support departmental or Hospital initiatives. Maintains Board Certification in one or more specialty areas of practice.
• Presents departmental or service area in-service in area of expertise once yearly to other staff and/or students. Presents additional departmental or service area in-service.
• Participates in ongoing QA or other project/staff development activity. Participates in two or more QA projects or activities. Assumes primary responsibility for one or more QA projects or activities.
• Coordinates effectively with key personnel from other disciplines.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.
• Serves as brand ambassador by upholding the WMCHealth Mission, Vision, and CARE values and promoting excellence in the patient experience, during every encounter.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Industry: Hospitals
• Education Level: Master's degree
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees