Occupational Therapist

JOB DESCRIPTION: Therapist

POSITION: Occupational Therapist

REPORTS TO: ExecutiveDirector of Exceptional Children

SALARY GRADE: 76

NATURE OF WORK:
Occupational therapists lead the process in development implementation and coordination of the occupational therapy program. Screening evaluation educational program and transition planning therapeutic intervention and exit planning is provided for students identified with or suspected of having disabilities that interfere with their ability to perform daily life activities or participate in necessary or desired occupations. Professional judgment and clinical knowledge are used to develop individualized programming based on occupational performance deficits in the areas of personal care student role interaction skills process skills play community integration/work and graphic communication. Occupational therapist regularly collaborates with other disciplines and services at departmental and system levels. Occupational therapist is expected to independently review outcomes and modify intervention programs. Clinical reasoning and professional judgment are essential to ensuring the safety of students and protecting liability of the school system and the therapist. Errors may result in serious harm to students. Direct supervision may be exercised over support personnel such as occupational therapy assistants and clerical staff.

ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES OF WORK: Additional duties may be assigned.

Identification Evaluation and Planning

• Collaborates with other disciplines to ensure team understanding of student occupational performance strengths and needs through evaluation educational program planning and service delivery.
• Evaluates the students ability and formulates the students occupational profile through a variety of functional behavioral and standardized assessments skilled observation checklists histories and interviews.
• Synthesizes evaluation results into a comprehensive written report which reflects strengths and barriers to student participation in the educational environment; directs program development; and guides evidence-based intervention.
• Develops occupationally based intervention plans based on student needs and evaluation results.
• Participates in multidisciplinary meetings to review evaluation results integrate findings with other disciplines offer recommendations and develop individual education plans and intervention plans to achieve IEP goals.

Service Delivery

• Provides targeted evidence-based therapeutic intervention to facilitate student participation and occupational performance within the school environment.
• Consults with the school-based team to achieve student outcomes.
• Adapts and modifies the environment including assistive technology and training instructional staff to meet individual needs and to help students function as independently as possible.
• Educates student educational personnel and family to facilitate skills in areas of occupation as well as health maintenance and safety.
• Monitors and reassess the effects of occupational therapy intervention and the need to continue modify or discontinue intervention.
• Documents occupational therapy services to ensure accountability of service provision and to meet standards for reimbursement of services as appropriate.

Program Administration and Management

• Prioritizes and schedules work tasks independently.
• Manages inventory of therapeutic equipment and assessments and project needs for budget planning.
• Maintains clinical and administrative records in accordance with professional standards state guidelines and school system policy.
• Provides legal and ethical supervision of occupational therapy assistant assuming responsibility for the students served by assistant.
• Supervises non occupational therapy support personnel.
• Adheres to federal and state legislation regulation and policies that affect occupational therapy practice.
• Reviews occupational therapy services for quality improvement and makes changes as needed to ensure quality of services.

Education

• Teaches monitors and collaborates with educational personnel community agencies parents and students to increase understanding of the students occupational performance.
• Provides continuing education and in-services for educational personnel parents and community based service providers.
• Provides fieldwork education and supervision for occupational therapy and occupational therapy assistant students.

Professional Growth and Ethics

• Participates in continuing education for professional development to ensure practice consistent with best practice and to meet N.C. Licensure requirements.
• Uses professional literature evidence based research and continuing education content to make practice decisions.
• Uses professional Code of Ethics and standards of practice to guide ethical decision making in practice.

KNOWLEDGE SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Knowledge of human development throughout the life span and integrates with students unique developmental status.
• Knowledge and appreciation of the influence of disabilities socio-cultural and socioeconomic factors on students ability to participate in occupations.
• Knowledge and use of occupational therapy theories models of practice principles and evidence based practice to guide intervention decisions.
• Knowledge of the federal state local legislation regulations policies and procedures that mandate and guide occupational therapy practice in schools.
• Ability to gather and assess outcomes program evaluation data and to use to modify services at the programmatic level.
• Ability to maintain current reporting documentation scheduling and billing in accordance with professional standards state and local guidelines and reimbursement requirements.
• Ability to determine the need for an occupational therapy evaluation and to select and administer appropriate assessment tools to evaluate the student.
• Ability to interpret the evaluation data and write a comprehensive report that reflects strengths and barriers to students participation and occupational performance.
• Ability to participate collaboratively with multi-disciplinary educational teams to develop Individualized Education Programs to meet student needs.
• Ability to develop occupationally based intervention plans based on evaluation information.
• Ability to provide evidence based occupational therapy intervention to improve students performance skills and participation.
• Ability to adapt and modify environments equipment and materials including assistive technology.
• Ability to plan coordinate and conduct continuing education for educational personnel parents and students.
• Ability to use professional literature evidence based research and continuing education content to make practice decisions.
• Ability to provide legal and ethical supervision of occupational therapy assistants.
• Skill in effective oral and written communication.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

While performing the duties of this job the employee is regularly required to sit and talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to walk and use fingers tools or controls. The employee is occasionally required to stand and reach with hands and arms. Specific visual abilities required by this job include close vision color vision depth perception and ability to adjust focus. Occasionally the employee will lift up to 50 lbs. such as to lift files paper school supplies books etc.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS:

Requires the ability to speak and/or signal people to convey or exchange information. Includes receiving instructions assignments or directions from superiors.

REASONING ABILITY:

Requires the ability to apply principles of logical or scientific thinking to define problems collect data establish facts and draw valid conclusions; to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagrammatic form; and to deal with several abstract and concrete variables.

LANGUAGE ABILITY:

Requires the ability to read a variety of correspondence reports forms articles proposals manuals legislation graphs charts etc. Requires the ability to prepare correspondence reports forms charts graphs statistical analysis etc. using prescribed formats and conforming to all rules of punctuation grammar diction and style. Requires the ability to speak to people with poise voice control and confidence. Requires the ability to record and deliver information to explain procedures to follow oral and written instructions. Must be able to communicate effectively and efficiently through a variety of technical and professional languages including psychometric statistical and educational research terminology.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

The work environment characteristics are representative of those an employee may encounter and include a noise level that is usually moderate to loud. The employee continuously interacts with the public and staff. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

This specification has been designated to represent the general nature and level of work found in positions in this class. As such it is not intended to contain all of the duties and qualifications required of an employee in a single position (job). Consequently it is not to be perceived as a position (job) description or as identification of essential functions as required by ADA.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

• Have successfully completed and graduated from an accredited occupational therapy professional program recognized by NBCOT and have completed all fieldwork requirements.
• Two years of experience as an occupational therapist preferably in school system or other pediatric practice setting.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Initial certification by National Board for Certification of Occupational Therapy.
• Current license by the North Carolina Board of Occupational Therapy.

EVALUATION:
Performance in this position will be evaluated regularly by the supervisor in accordance with Board Policy.