Sr Occupational Therapist

Company Overview

Shriners Children’s is an organization that respects, supports, and values each other. Named as the 2025 best mid-sized employer by Forbes, we are engaged in providing excellence in patient care, embracing multi-disciplinary education, and research with global impact. We foster a learning environment that values evidenced based practice, experience, innovation, and critical thinking. Our compassion, integrity, accountability, and resilience define us as leaders in pediatric specialty care for our children and their families.

With 20+ hospitals, outpatient clinics, ambulatory care centers and outreach locations across the globe, we provide excellent care to children up to age 18 regardless of their family’s ability to pay or insurance status. Please click here to learn more about our locations.

CURRENT EMPLOYEES: Please log into Workday Click Here to apply internally through the "Jobs Hub"

Job Description

The Senior Occupational Therapist Position is responsible for leading and mentoring staff in the provision of compliant and current evidence-based practice while supporting the local manager or director of rehabilitation and therapy services. Their outcomes demonstrate excellence in provision of therapy services and critical thinking, as they function as the subject matter expert within their team. . They provide patient-centered, comprehensive clinical care in an efficient, age-appropriate, and culturally sensitive manner. They demonstrate excellent communication skills while providing opportunities of growth and development of all department staff including students. They work cooperatively in team settings and can facilitate program development and improvement at the patient, department, and facility level. In cooperation with other local leaders, offers exceptional care following the Shriners Children's FOCUSED©™ Program, a system-wide model for professional practice that stresses and emphasizes patient-centered care, or always putting the needs of the patients (and their families first).

Key Responsibilities:

• Upon receiving a licensed independent practitioner referral, implements a systematic patient examination and evaluation utilizing a comprehensive, patient and family-centered approach to decision making incorporating the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) model and the AMA CPT Codes. Demonstrates competency in the examination of the patient to include history and systems review, selection and administration of specific tests and measures to obtain clinical data. Performs an evaluation of patient by making clinical judgments based on data gathered during the examination. Synthesizes the information gathered to categorize in defined clusters, syndromes or categories to identify the therapy diagnosis and determine the most appropriate intervention strategies. Formulates a prognosis for patient to determine optimal level of improvement, likely outcomes of intervention and amount of time required to reach that level as well as quantifiable and reachable goals. Involves the patient and family in formulating a culturally appropriate individualized plan of care.
• Demonstrates the knowledge and advanced skills to design and implement a comprehensive treatment plan, utilizing evidence base practice, for patients of diverse ages and diagnoses based on their assessment. Provides timely monitoring of the response to intervention and makes necessary modifications. Designs and implements a home program for infant, toddler, school-age, adolescent, and young adult patients to maximize the potential for accomplishment of goals as established in the initial assessment/plan of care. Evaluates patient’s needs, and collaborates with the patient/family, multi-disciplinary team, vendors and third party payers, when necessary, to provide appropriate orthotic device, adaptive equipment, pressure garments, assistive technology, prosthetics and durable medical equipment. Demonstrates and maintains current knowledge /skills necessary to fabricate orthotic devices as indicated by the treatment plan. Assists in the identification and development of clinical programs and clinical practice guidelines to meet departmental and patient needs. Ensures that intervention is compliant with department policy, professional standards of practice and the regulatory guidelines of the state which service is provided.
• Makes appropriate discharge plans by collaborating with patients, their families, care management and community resources such as schools/outside therapy clinics, and actively participating in multidisciplinary meetings. Assesses patient and caregiver educational needs and makes evident effective teaching skills for discharge instructions and home programs. Utilizes language appropriate to patient/family level of understanding, and written or demonstrated methods for exercises/activities, splints and equipment use. Provides discharge referrals through clear communication with medical vendors and outside therapeutic services as needed.
• Supports risk management and compliance initiatives through accurate, thorough documentation, which meets minimal payer requirement, regulatory and professional standards. In addition, provides assistance with documentation audit activity as requested. Clinical documentation supports evidence-based practice, provides sufficient evidence of medical necessity and skilled interventions and demonstrates progress by means of the goals and treatment plan. Records clinical activity as close as possible to the time care was delivered, only uses abbreviations approved by the facility, is objective and factual, and is HIPAA compliant. Ensures that all revenue cycle requirements are completed in an accurate and timely manner adhering to differences in type of therapy setting where care is offered and payor specific guidelines. Completes necessary paperwork for scheduling, adaptive equipment, and patient care statistics.
• Demonstrates mentorship behaviors in practice settings, in the community and within the profession. Functions as a subject matter expert and role model within the team, promoting a positive, organized compliant and safe work environment based on open communication. Models critical thinking and fosters the use of evidenced based practice for decision making in response to patient/family needs. Competence to plan, implement, evaluate and modify clinical programs and interventions to ensure evidence-based practice within the discipline. Identifies and implements organizational improvement activities using data/information to assess the level of improvement. Identifies recurring clinical practice issues and develops plans to address identified issues. Serves as a peer mentor through collaboration and recommendations to enhance treatment decisions as appropriate. Participates in the orientation and education of new employees as appropriate. Ensures that competencies are completed appropriately across discipline. Works within and accordance with the State Practice Act and advancing the profession through supervision of the clinical education for students and the training and oversight of the non-professional staff members as appropriate. Facilitates positive effective relationships and serves as a resource for other healthcare team members. Participates in program development and departmental responsibilities as assigned with adherence to deadlines. Incorporates standards of practice, clinical practice guidelines, and clinical protocols to optimize clinical effectiveness. Identifies opportunities to integrate new equipment and/or technology to advance practice and support patient care. Identifies staff concerns and shares with director as needed. Facilitates participation of therapists in committees when representation of the department is requested.
• Performs self-reflection of personal practice and professional work activities to direct goals for professional growth and development. Actively seeks clinical education opportunities to expand knowledge base for the advancement of clinical skills and development of evidence-based best practice procedures. Participates in departmental education through staff in-services and competencies, and assisting with identification of educational needs. Reviews federal, state, and payor regulations with AMA CPT coding as well as State Practice Act to ensure current knowledge of regulatory standards and assists peers in meeting these requirements. Maintains expectations of self and others to use best evidence procedures in practice and support/advance best evidence practice through involvement in research. Provides support in philosophy and action the perspective that patient care is the core of the organizations work. Holds self and others accountable for maintaining high ethical, professional, and technical standards and core values and integrating those standards into everyday activities.

Required Qualifications:

• 5 Years Pediatric Rehabilitation
• Licensed in state of practice
• Specialty certification is required
  *The certification must contain the following to meet this requirement.
  1) prerequisite requirement to apply for the certification, 2) exam or review process, 3) recertification or maintenance
  requirement, 4) evidence-based and relevant to practice, 5) recognized externally and seen as supplemental to the field of
  practice.
• Basic Life Support (BLS)

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor Related Field
• Master's Related Field
• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited program (minimal requirement)

Graduate degree

• AOTA fieldwork educator certificate, APTA credentialed clinical instructor, or ASHA clinical fellowship mentor