Occupational Therapy Assistant-Elgin, IL

Job Summary :

Responsible for the evaluation, plan of care, treatment, re-evaluation, discharge, and appropriate communications to patients and customers.

Develop treatment plans, supervise assistants and aides, contribute to case management, and provide quality patient care.

Maintain positive level of interaction with facilities and clients. Enhance and expand client relations with facilities and their staff.

Essential Functions :

• Review the facility’s Clinical Operations Policies & Procedures Manual on a yearly basis and adhere to the policies and procedures set forth.
• Complete all Medicare compliance trainings as required by regulations and / or policies.
• Completes sufficient ongoing continuing education coursework to meet state licensure requirements for the defined reporting period
• Evaluate, treat and develop patient plans of care in accordance with the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) standards of care.
• Evaluate and treat patients for whom occupational hand therapy is medically necessary and document this clearly.
• Develop objective patient goals and establish the type, frequency and duration of occupational therapy / hand therapy in collaboration with the referring physician.
• Responsible for the supervision and delegation of the occupational therapy / hand therapy care for each patient within the guideline of state rules and regulations.
• Responsible for the alteration of each patient’s program as changes in the patient’s status occur.
• Responsible for ensuring the timely documentation of each patient’s evaluation and progress notes to physicians and payer sources, case managers, etc. as indicated.
• Demonstrate completion of patient care responsibilities and documentation requirements in an appropriate and timely manner.
• Participate in aspects of education, including but not limited to patient home programs, community talks, site in-services.
• Participate in student clinical internships and affiliation programs in agreement with the AOTA’s clinical education agreements from schools.
• Communicate pertinent patient information to referring physicians, staff, employers, insurance carriers and rehabilitation specialists.
• Participate in the design and implementation of new programs or procedures with the approval of manager and referring physicians.
• Comply with established policies and procedures, safety precautions and professional code of ethics in all daily treatment procedures and interactions with patients, employees, physicians and all other pertinent contacts.
• Ensure that treatment is carried out appropriately by staff members.
• Assist in monthly quality assurance monitoring as requested by manager.
• Assist in the daily, monthly, and quarterly maintenance of the center and equipment.
• Perform task analysis.
• Provide injured worker with guidelines for job modification and energy conservation in accordance with physician.
• May incur some travel time.
• Custom fabricate splints / casts to meet a variety of complex diagnoses.
• Performs other duties or special projects as assigned.

Required Skills & Abilities :

• Ability to work effectively as a team member.
• Knowledge of tool design and experience with work station design parameters.
• Leadership skills sufficient to effectively direct and supervise the activities of assistants and aides in delivering quality care to patients.

Includes coaching and teaching skills.

• Strong organizational, time management and planning skills.
• Effective clinical problem-solving skills (ex. identify and prioritize issues in responsive manner, develop and execute sound, innovative action plans, ensure appropriate results, etc.).
• Strong communication skills for accurate, concise, and organized oral and written presentations of information to patients and staff.
• Computer skills for effective management reporting including billing, payroll, etc.

Physical Requirements :

Ability to lift patients using appropriate biomechanical techniques frequently throughout the course of a work day / shift;

must be capable of easily lifting fifty (50) pounds dead weight alone.

• Ability to walk, bend, stand and reach constantly during a work day / shift.
• Visual acuity (near and distant) sufficient to evaluate, diagnose and monitor patient needs and to maintain accurate records, recognize people and provide directions.
• Ability to speak and hear sufficiently to understand and give directions.
• Ability to push wheeled equipment through the facility.
• Possess fine motor skills for legible and accurate writing of reports, charting, scheduling, daily correspondence and presentations, either manually, via keyboard entry or through use of dictation equipment.
• Possess fine motor skills for effective and efficient handling of diagnostic or therapeutic equipment.

Required Credentials

• Graduate of an educational program for occupational therapists or occupational therapy assistants that is approved by the board and accredited by the American Occupational Therapy Association’s Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE), or accredited or approved by the American Occupational Therapy Association’s (AOTA) predecessor organization, or approved by AOTA’s Career Mobility Program.
• An occupational therapist providing advanced practices (Hand Therapy, The Use of Physical Agent Modalities) shall have the knowledge, skill, and ability to do so and possess documentation demonstrating to the satisfaction of the board that he or she has met educational training and competency requirements.
• Documentation demonstrating to the satisfaction of the board that he or she has completed post professional education and training in all of the following areas :
• Anatomy of the upper extremity and how it is altered by pathology. Histology as it relates to tissue healing and the effects of immobilization and mobilization on connective tissue.

Muscle, sensory, vascular, and connective tissue physiology. Kinesiology of the upper extremity, such as biomechanical principles of pulleys, intrinsic and extrinsic muscle function, internal forces of muscles, and the effects of external forces.

The effects of temperature and electrical currents on nerve and connective tissue. Surgical procedures of the upper extremity and their postoperative course.

• Documentation demonstrating to the satisfaction of the board that he or she has completed post professional education and training in all of the following areas :
• Anatomy and physiology of muscle, sensory, vascular, and connective tissue in response to the application of physical agent modalities.

Principles of chemistry and physics related to the selected modality. Physiological, neurophysiological, and electrophysiological changes that occur as a result of the application of a modality.

Guidelines for the preparation of the patient, including education about the process and possible outcomes of treatment.

Safety rules and precautions related to the selected modality. Methods for documenting immediate and long-term effects of treatment.

Characteristics of the equipment, including safe operation, adjustment, indications of malfunction, and care.

An occupational therapist in the process of achieving the education, training, and competency requirements established by the board for providing hand therapy or using physical agent modalities may practice these techniques under the supervision of an occupational therapist who has already met the requirements established by the board, a physical therapist, or a physician and surgeon.

Benefits

Our hires are treated to competitive pay and an excellent benefits package. To learn more about pay and benefits, please apply today!