Occupational Therapist
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
Provides specialized rehabilitation teaching and orientation and mobility to children and adult consumers enabling them to achieve their highest level of functioning.
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
Requires a high level of professionalism, confidentiality, communication, teamwork, creativity, problem solving, planning and organizational skills. Must have empathy, sensitivity, flexibility and ability to get along well with a wide variety of personalities. Requires excellent teaching skills and overall knowledge of community resources.
KEY JOB ELEMENTS
- Conduct comprehensive occupational therapy evaluations and assessments and provides individualized therapeutic interventions and treatment.
- Provide occupational therapy to adults and children, including personal life management, communication, home management, and leisure activities.
- Instruct consumers in use of low vision aids and adaptive equipment.
- Assist in the development and implementation of occupational therapy services in Adaptive Sports and Recreational Programs for children and adults.
- Complete all required documentation in a timely manner.
- Consult, refer and network with primary care givers, NYSCB/VESID personnel, associated
- professionals and CABVI staff.
- Conduct community presentations and represents CABVI at meetings as assigned. Participates in program outreach and solicitation of program referrals.
- Maintain awareness of current academic material and research. Continues professional development in rehabilitation field.
- Assist department management in development of occupational therapy protocols, procedures, interventions and policies updating, as needed, as the OT program is established.
- Provide diabetic education services to adults and children including fitness and nutrition counseling.
- Meet contractual and grant obligations as well as established occupational therapy clinical productivity goals.
- Provide vision therapy training children identified through screenings and direct referral.
- Adapts to change and completes other duties as assigned.
- Consistently achieves annual performance objectives.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Must have ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from consumers, professionals and the general public. Must be able to write effective plans, reports and correspondence. Must have ability to provide visual cues according to consumer’s visual status. Must have excellent customer service skills.
COMPUTER/TECHNICAL SKILLS
Must possess basic computer skills. Must be knowledgeable and remain current with low vision aids and adaptive equipment. Must be willing to learn new technology.
REASONING ABILITY
Must have ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts and draw valid conclusions. Must be able to recognize consumer’s status in relationship to their level of acceptance and respond accordingly. Must maintain a strict adherence to CABVI’s mission statement and core values.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS
Frequently required to talk, hear, stand, walk, reach with hands and arms, stoop and kneel. Occasionally must lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Position requires stamina for indoor/outdoor training. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the key job elements.
WORK ENVIRONMENT
Extensive travel required. Instruction may occur in a variety of environments including consumer’s home or school, CABVI, or the community.
EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE
Master’s degree in occupational therapy plus one-year experience in the human services field. Bachelor’s degree in related field. Must have active NBCOT certification. Must have active NYS Occupational Therapy license. Specialty low vision OT concentration preferred. Experience with adaptive sports and recreation and children’s recreational programming a plus.