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Occupational Therapist – Pediatric Cardiac Acute Care

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Nashville, TN

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JOB DETAILS
SKILLS
Acute Care, Advanced Practice Nurse (APN), Analysis Skills, Basic Life Support (BLS), Best Practices, Cardiac Surgery, Cardiology, Cardiovascular Disease, Case Management, Chronic Disease, Clinical Competency, Coaching, Communication Skills, Concrete, Congestive Heart Failure, Consulting, Contact Management, Continuous Improvement, Correctional Health, Developmental Disabilities, Discharge Plans, Disease Prevention and Control, Functional Analysis, Health Education, Health Plan, Healthcare, Hospital, Identify Issues, Intensive Care, Leadership, Medical Conditions, Medical Diagnosis, Medical Treatment, Mentoring, Needs Assessment, Neurology, Neurotrauma (Traumatic Brain Injury), Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Orthopedics, Patient Assessment, Patient Care, Patient Education, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), Pediatrics, Performance Analysis, Performance Management, Physical Therapy, Prescription Drugs, Problem Solving Skills, Procedure Implementation, Process Improvement, Productivity Management, Regulations, Regulatory Requirements, Resource Management, Respiratory Therapy, Safety Training, Safety/Work Safety, Sales Prospecting, Service Delivery, Set Goals, Social Work, Speech and Language Pathology, Team Player, Testing, Training/Teaching, Treatment Plan
LOCATION
Nashville, TN
POSTED
10 days ago
Discover Vanderbilt University Medical Center : Located in Nashville, Tennessee, and operating at a global crossroads of teaching, discovery, and patient care, VUMC is a community of individuals who come to work each day with the simple aim of changing the world. It is a place where your expertise will be valued, your knowledge expanded, and your abilities challenged. Vanderbilt Health is committed to an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and where your uniqueness is sought and celebrated. It is a place where employees know they are part of something that is bigger than themselves, take exceptional pride in their work and never settle for what was good enough yesterday. Vanderbilt’s mission is to advance health and wellness through preeminent programs in patient care, education, and research.


Organization:


MCJCHV Peds Rehab


Job Summary:


JOB SUMMARY

Provides occupational therapy services to patients who have impairments, developmental disabilities, functional limitations, disabilities, or changes in physical function and health status resulting from injury, disease or other causes under occasional guidance. Actively collaborates with the health care/educational team to meet patient care, outcomes and system improvement objectives.


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Occupational Therapist - Pediatric Cardiac Acute Care


Location: Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Nashville, TN


Schedule: Full Time: 40 Hours per week, Tuesday through Saturday


Job Summary


Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt is seeking a Pediatric Occupational Therapist to join the Acute Care Rehabilitation Team. This role focuses on delivering high-quality inpatient occupational therapy services to infants, children, and adolescents with complex medical and cardiac conditions.


This position offers the opportunity to specialize in pediatric cardiac acute care within a nationally recognized children’s hospital and academic medical center.


The Occupational Therapist will play a key role in supporting functional recovery, promoting development, and guiding patients and families safely through hospitalization.


About the Pediatric Cardiac Units


The 10th-floor cardiac service line provides a full continuum of care across two integrated units: the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit and the Pediatric Cardiology inpatient unit.


Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit PCICU


The PCICU is a 23-bed specialized cardiac intensive care unit within the Pediatric Heart Institute. This high acuity environment cares for newborns through adolescents with congenital and acquired heart disease, including patients recovering from complex cardiac surgery and heart transplant. The unit supports advanced therapies such as ECMO and serves as a regional referral center for complex pediatric cardiac cases.


The care team includes cardiac intensivists, pediatric cardiologists and surgeons, advanced practice providers, nurses, respiratory therapists, social workers, case managers, and child life specialists. The environment is fast-paced, collaborative, and focused on safety, quality, and innovation.


Pediatric Cardiology Inpatient Unit PCARD


The Pediatric Cardiology unit provides step-down and acute care for patients transitioning from the ICU through discharge. Patients range from birth through adolescence and often require ongoing management of congenital or acquired cardiac conditions.


Care includes pre- and post-procedural management, monitoring, rehabilitation, education, and discharge planning. The unit emphasizes multidisciplinary collaboration, family-centered care, and coordinated management of complex, lifelong conditions.


About the Pediatric Heart Institute


The Pediatric Heart Institute at Vanderbilt is one of the largest and most comprehensive programs in the country. It offers advanced cardiac services, including imaging, interventional cardiology, electrophysiology, heart failure management, and heart transplantation. The program is nationally recognized and provides care for high-volume and highly complex pediatric cardiac cases.


About the Acute Care Rehabilitation Team


The Acute Care Rehabilitation Team provides inpatient physical and occupational therapy services across the hospital using a multidisciplinary model. Occupational Therapists collaborate closely with physicians, nurses, physical therapists, speech language pathologists, child life specialists, social workers, and case management.


Therapists evaluate and treat children with complex medical conditions, post-surgical needs, neurological diagnoses, trauma, and chronic illness. The team focuses on individualized care plans that support functional outcomes, developmental progress, caregiver education, and safe discharge planning.


Key Responsibilities


+ Evaluate and treat pediatric patients with developmental, neurological, orthopedic, cardiac, post-surgical, and medically complex conditions

+ Develop and implement individualized, evidence-based treatment plans that support functional independence and development

+ Provide inpatient occupational therapy services in a pediatric acute care environment

+ Educate and support patients and caregivers to promote carryover and long-term outcomes

+ Collaborate effectively with an interdisciplinary healthcare team

+ Document evaluations, treatments, and outcomes in accordance with hospital and regulatory standards

+ Contribute to discharge planning and continuity of care


What Sets This Role Apart


+ Specialized focus in pediatric cardiac acute care, including ICU and step-down populations

+ Exposure to high acuity and complex patient populations

+ Strong interdisciplinary collaboration across multiple specialties

+ Practice within a nationally recognized children’s hospital and academic medical center

+ Emphasis on evidence-based care, developmental support, and family-centered practice

+ Opportunities for professional growth, specialty training, and clinical advancement


Required Qualifications


+ Graduate of an accredited Occupational Therapy program

+ Current Tennessee Occupational Therapy license or eligibility to obtain

+ Basic Life Support certification

+ Pediatric acute care or inpatient pediatric experience preferred


Preferred Qualifications


+ Experience in pediatric cardiac care or an acute care hospital setting

+ Experience working with medically complex or ICU patient populations


Why Join Vanderbilt Health


+ Practice within a nationally recognized healthcare system

+ Work in a collaborative, mission-driven pediatric environment

+ Access ongoing professional development and continuing education opportunities

+ Be part of a team dedicated to clinical excellence, innovation, and compassionate care


KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Analyzes comprehensive information from formal and informal assessment that is pertinent to the patient's care and management to determine a rehabilitation treatment diagnosis.

• Collaborates with stakeholders in establishing the plan of care, coordinates and implements care delivery while anticipating patient care needs across the rehabilitation continuum.

• Applies appropriate, evidence-based interventions to ensure effective outcomes and re-evaluates performance to assess patient's progress towards goals.

• Employs strategies to promote successful return to home, community, and school/vocational environments.

• The responsibilities listed are a general overview of the position and additional duties may be assigned.


TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES

• Rehab Therapist Patient Documentation (Intermediate): Demonstrates proficiency in documentation practices. Documents in the appropriate templates and utilizes only approved abbreviations within patient documentation. Meets institutional standards for quality and timeliness of documentation. May complete accurate chart audits of co-workers in the same classification category

• Treatment Planning & Goal Setting (Intermediate): Demonstrates mastery in developing a plan of care that incorporates treatment interventions focused on meeting objective goals. Develops and documents patient focused short and long term goals that are functional and measurable. Identifies the need for and referral to other services, as needed. May serve as a mentor for other clinical staff to develop their skills in treatment planning. May consult with team members or implement new procedures.

• Rehabilitation Therapist Patient Evaluation (Intermediate): Demonstrates mastery in evaluating patients with physical deficits including impairments, developmental disabilities, functional limitations, disabilities, or changes in physical function by obtaining information pertinent to the assessment and administering and scoring standardized tests and objective measures of deficit areas. Selects appropriate measures and performs a functional assessment to document patient's status requiring skilled therapy. Interprets the results of the assessment and their significance to the patient, family, referring physician and other members of the health care team. Demonstrates experience in clinical evaluation skills and may serve as a mentor for other clinical staff to develop their skills in evaluation techniques. Contributes to the development of best practices for the organization. May consult with team members to implement new procedures.

• Treatment Implementation (Intermediate): Demonstrates mastery in providing treatment consistent with physician prescription and established plan of care. Able to modify treatment plan as needed to demonstrate provision of skilled therapy services including progression of treatment throughout course of care, and revision of treatment interventions of goals not met. Supervises and directs certified athletic trainers (PT only), physical therapist / occupational therapist assistants, technicians and volunteers and students. Selects and follows correct protocol for care, as established, and actively seek out, utilize and mentor/teach others on current evidence based treatment strategies. May consult with team members to offer suggestions for treatment strategies. May serve as a clinical content expert for practice area, initiates consultation with team members for advanced treatment of patients, develop forum for staff members to utilize clinical expertise.

• Physical/Occupational Therapist Patient Education (Intermediate): Demonstrates mastery in communicating functional impact of assessment findings, treatment interventions, treatment planning diagnosis, and disease process. Able to adapt communication to needs/level of understanding of audience and share appropriate information/literature. May supervise, educate and train students from professional programs of physical therapy, occupational therapy, and athletic training and/or students and staff from other departments. Contributes in the development of patient education best practices for the organization.


Allied health is among the fastest growing occupations in healthcare today. This area can be defined as credentialed professionals who perform supportive, diagnostic, and therapeutic health care services to promote health and prevent disease in a variety of settings.


These areas are crucial to Vanderbilt Health’s reputation for excellence in these areas that has made us a major center for patient referrals from throughout the Mid-South.


Each year, people throughout Tennessee and the southeast choose Vanderbilt Health for their health care because of our leadership in medical science and our dedication to treating patients with dignity and compassion.


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Core Accountabilities:


Organizational Impact: Executes job responsibilities with the understanding of how output would affect and impact other areas related to own job area/team with occasional guidance. Problem Solving/ Complexity of work: Analyzes moderately complex problems using technical experience and judgment. Breadth of Knowledge: Has expanded knowledge gained through experience within a professional area. Team Interaction: Provides informal guidance and support to team members.


Core Capabilities:


Supporting Colleagues:- Develops Self and Others: Invests time, energy, and enthusiasm in developing self/others to help improve performance e and gain knowledge in new areas.- Builds and Maintains Relationships: Maintains regular contact with key colleagues and stakeholders using formal and informal opportunities to expand and strengthen relationships.- Communicates Effectively: Recognizes group interactions and modifies one's own communication style to suit different situations and audiences. Delivering Excellent Services:- Serves Others with Compassion: Seeks to understand current and future needs of relevant stakeholders and customizes services to better address them.- Solves Complex Problems: Approaches problems from different angles; Identifies new possibilities to interpret opportunities and develop concrete solutions.- Offers Meaningful Advice and Support: Provides ongoing support and coaching in a constructive manner to increase employees' effectiveness. Ensuring High Quality: - Performs Excellent Work: Engages regularly in formal and informal dialogue about quality; directly addresses quality issues promptly.- Ensures Continuous Improvement: Applies various learning experiences by looking beyond symptoms to uncover underlying causes of problems and identifies ways to resolve them. - Fulfills Safety and Regulatory Requirements: Understands all aspects of providing a safe environment and performs routine safety checks to prevent safety hazards from occurring. Managing Resources Effectively: - Demonstrates Accountability: Demonstrates a sense of ownership, focusing on and driving critical issues to closure.- Stewards Organizational Resources: Applies understanding of the departmental work to effectively manage resources for a department/area.- Makes Data Driven Decisions: Demonstrates strong understanding of the information or data to identify and elevate opportunities. Fostering Innovation:- Generates New Ideas: Proactively identifies new ideas/opportunities from multiple sources or methods to improve processes beyond conventional approaches.- Applies Technology: Demonstrates an enthusiasm for learning new technologies, tools, and procedures to address short-term challenges.- Adapts to Change: Views difficult situations and/or problems as opportunities for improvement; actively embraces change instead of emphasizing negative elements.


Position Qualifications:


Responsibilities:


Certifications:


LIC-Occupational Therapy License - Licensure-Others


Work Experience:


Relevant Work Experience


Experience Level :


1 year


Education:


Bachelor's


_This role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact within Vanderbilt Health, supported by a comprehensive benefits package which may include health, disability, retirement and/or wellness offerings to enhance your well-being and professional growth._


_Vanderbilt Health is committed to fostering an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and is committed to the principles of equal opportunity. EOE/Vets/Disabled._

About the Company

V

Vanderbilt University Medical Center