Occupational Therapist

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. The 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. 
 
MINIMUM TRAINING 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.  Initial certification by National Board for Certification of Occupational Therapy.  Current license by the North Carolina Board of Occupational Therapy. 
 
PERFORMANCE RESPONSIBILITIES 


 

1. Collaborates with other disciplines to ensure team understanding of student occupational performance strengths and needs, through evaluation, educational program planning, and service delivery. 
2. Evaluates the student’s ability and formulates the student’s occupational profile through a variety of functional, behavioral, and standardized assessments, skilled observation, checklists, histories, and interviews. 
3. 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. 
4. Develops occupationally based intervention plans based on student needs and evaluation results. 
5. 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.  
6. Provides targeted, evidence-based therapeutic intervention to facilitate student participation and occupational performance within the school environment. 
7. Consults with the school-based team to achieve student outcomes. 
8. 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. 
9. Educates student, educational personnel, and family to facilitate skills in areas of occupation as well as health maintenance and safety. 
10. Monitors and reassess the effects of occupational therapy intervention and the need to continue, modify, or discontinue intervention. 
11. Documents occupational therapy services to ensure accountability of service provision and to meet standards for reimbursement of services as appropriate.
12. Prioritizes and schedules work tasks independently. 
13. Manages inventory of therapeutic equipment and assessments, and project needs for budget planning. 
14. Maintains clinical and administrative records in accordance with professional standards, state guidelines, and school system policy. 
15. Provides legal and ethical supervision of occupational therapy assistant assuming responsibility for the students served by assistant. 
16. Supervises non occupational therapy support personnel. 
17. Adheres to federal and state legislation, regulation, and policies that affect occupational therapy practice. 
18. Reviews occupational therapy services for quality improvement and makes changes as needed to ensure quality of services. 
19. Teaches, monitors, and collaborates with educational personnel, community agencies, parents, and students to increase understanding of the student’s occupational performance. 
20. Provides continuing education and in-services for educational personnel, parents, and community based service providers. 
21. Provides fieldwork education and supervision for occupational therapy and occupational therapy assistant students. 
22. Participates in continuing education for professional development to ensure practice consistent with best practice and to meet N.C. Licensure requirements. 
23. Uses professional literature, evidence based research, and continuing education content to make practice decisions. 
24. Uses professional Code of Ethics and standards of practice to guide ethical decision making in practice. 

 
MINIMUM STANDARDS REQUIRED TO PERFORM RESPONSIBILITIES
 
Physical Requirements: Must be physically able to operate a variety of automated office machines including computers, typewriters, copiers, facsimile machines, etc. Must be able to exert a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects. Light Work usually requires walking or standing to a significant degree.
Data Conception: Requires the ability to compare and/or judge the readily observable, functional, structural or composite characteristics (whether similar or divergent from obvious standards) of data, people or things.
Interpersonal Communication: Requires the ability to speak and/or signal people to convey or exchange information. Includes giving instructions, assignments or directions to subordinates or assistants.
Language Ability: Requires the ability to read a variety of correspondence, reports, forms, articles, manuals, etc. Requires the ability to prepare correspondence, reports, forms, meeting minutes, speeches, etc., using prescribed formats and conforming to all rules of punctuation, grammar, diction, and style. Requires the ability to speak before groups of people with poise, voice control and confidence.
Intelligence: 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.
Verbal Aptitude: 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 in standard English.
Numerical Aptitude: Requires the ability to utilize mathematical formulas; to add and subtract; multiply and divide; utilize decimals and percentages; and to understand and apply the principles of descriptive statistics and statistical inference.
Form/Spatial Aptitude: Requires the ability to inspect items for proper length, width and shape.
Motor Coordination: Requires the ability to coordinate hands and eyes rapidly and accurately in using automated office equipment.
Manual Dexterity: Requires the ability to handle a variety of items such as office equipment. Must have minimal levels of eye/hand/foot coordination.
Color Discrimination: Requires the ability to differentiate between colors and shades of color.
Interpersonal Temperament: Requires the ability to deal with people beyond giving and receiving instructions. Must be adaptable to performing under stress and when confronted with persons acting under stress.
Physical Communication: Requires the ability to talk and hear: (Talking: expressing or exchanging ideas by means of spoken words. Hearing: perceiving nature of sounds by ear.) Must be able to communicate via telephone.
 
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES


 

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

 
TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT
 
Full-time for eleven months
Salary based on state and local salary schedules
 
DISCLAIMER                     

The preceding job description was designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification.  It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required of employees to this job.