Senior Psychosocial Occupational Therapist

Description

Under general supervision from the Medical Director of Acute Psychiatric Services, to coordinate the Occupational Therapy program of a hospital inpatient psychiatric unit or mental health program and to provide lead supervision to Occupational Therapists and other unit staff.

Typical Tasks

The following are the duties performed by employees in this classification. However, employees may perform other related duties at an equivalent level. Each individual in the classification does not necessarily perform all duties listed.

• Provides lead supervision of Psychosocial Occupational Therapists and other related staff in the activities of the Acute Psychiatric Services Unit or mental health program;

• Interviews and recommends hiring of occupational therapy staff;

• Develops and directs the orientation of all newly hired occupational therapy staff;

• Promotes and coordinates clinical development of staff;

• Assists Occupational Therapy staff with morning rounds, charting, treatment planning, and reviews;

• Schedules employees and coordinates unit coverage for sick calls, days off, vacations, and holidays;

• Uses computerized hospital time-keeping system for staff scheduling;

• Assists with providing budgetary recommendations for equipment, space, and personnel actions;

• Conducts monthly Occupational Therapy department meetings;

• Assists with developing departmental policies and procedures;

• Plans, coordinates, and supervises student program for Occupational Therapy interns and students;

• Coordinates student fieldwork with colleges and universities;

• Provides occupational therapy assessment upon physician order;

• Trains and supervises occupational therapy students and interns;

• Ensures occupational therapy activities address the needs of the individual patient;

• Acts as clinical resource to nursing personnel and other departments;

• Recruits donations for patient-related activities and maintains donations log;

• Participates in family education and family groups;

• Assists with developing cultural sensitivity programs for effective occupational therapy services to multicultural patients;

• Provides individual therapy sessions for patients, as needed;

• Serves on the Acute Psychiatric Services Multidisciplinary Quality Improvement Committee, Policy and Procedures Committee, and Utilization Review;

• Acts as the APS unit representative for JCAHO review and evaluation;

• May be assigned a Disaster Service Worker (DSW), as required*;

• Perform related duties, as required.

Employment Standards

Sufficient education, training, and experience to demonstrate the ability to perform the above tasks, plus the possession and direct application of the following knowledge and abilities:

Training and Experience Note:The required knowledge and abilities are attained through three (3) years of full-time clinical occupational therapy experience in a mental health setting working with the seriously mentally ill.One (1) year of lead experience is desirable.The clinical occupational therapy experience may be inclusive of the lead experience.

Special Requirements

• Possess and maintain, in good standing, a valid license to practice as an Occupational Therapist in the State of California, without restrictions, for the duration of employment in this classification.

• Possess and maintain, in good standing, a current registration with the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT).

• Ability to travel to alternate locations in the course of work.If driving, possession of a valid California drivers license prior to appointment and the ability to qualify for and maintain a County driver authorization.

• *As a condition of employment, pursuant to California Government Code Sections 3100-3109 and Local Ordinance, all County of Santa Clara employees are designated Disaster Service Workers (DSWs), including extra help.A DSW is required to complete all assigned DSW-related training, and in the event of an emergency, return to work as ordered.

Knowledge of:

• Principles, methods, and theory of the practice of occupational therapy;

• Pathologies and injuries that result in psychiatric impairment;

• Basic principles of psychology and abnormal psychology;

• Treatment methodologies as applied to complex patients;

• Business aspects of therapy services, such as utilization management, charging practices, and regulatory compliance;

• Principles of quality improvement and program development as applied to an inpatient psychiatric service;

• Principles of clinical supervision;

• Computerized time keeping systems;

• English usage, style, grammar, punctuation, and spelling;

• Common computer systems and applications.

Ability to:

• Evaluate psychiatric patients abilities and deficits in keeping with department standards;

• Develop, implement, and adapt treatment programs;

• Administer service area(s);

• Clinically supervise, train, and evaluate staff;

• Evaluate patients, interpret clinical data, and make clinical judgments;

• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work, at all levels, including colleagues, the public, patients, representatives of other agencies, and others;

• Explain Occupational Therapy techniques to staff and trainees;

• Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with people of diverse backgrounds and cultures, including patients, staff, and other health professionals;

• Write clearly and concisely;

• Demonstrate appropriate patient handling skills.