Physical Therapist Assistant

Responsibilities

• Assists the Physical Therapist by accepting patient(s) from his/her schedule
• Executes the established treatment plan developed by Physical Therapist
• Documents the actual treatment provided following process management guidelines
• Contacts the supervising Physical Therapist by telephone should the need arise and clearly documents in the specific patient’s chart the name of the Physical Therapist that authorizes any treatment changes
• Contacts the center’s Physician or Physician’s Assistant immediately, should an emergency or critical event arise
• Ensures that other treating medical professionals have the necessary information to appropriately assess the patient’s functional ability
• Documents treatment plans according to guidelines
• Aids the Physical Therapist in providing the referring physician with written objective progress reports for each patient prior to physician recheck dates
• Communicates with all medical providers regarding patients and diagnoses
• Documents the functional activities that each patient performs during treatment sessions so that the Physical Therapist may fully evaluate and provide to the referring physician the functional ability and progress of the patient
• Communicates verbally with the Physical Therapist, who will then communicate verbally with the medical providers, regarding challenging patients
• Communicates with all therapy patients s/he is personally treating, setting expectations for return-to-work and emphasizing education and motivation
• Aids the Physical Therapist in training other Physical Therapist Assistants, Athletic Trainers, and/or Physical Therapy Technicians as requested
• Aids the Physical Therapist in evaluating the performance of all therapy support staff based at the center
• Aids the Physical Therapist in determining whether a disciplined therapy support staff member has successfully corrected the action of focus
• Communicates with the Outcome Assurance Injury Coordinator or the Case Manager for each patient
• Participates in clinical instruction of college or university Physical Therapist Assistant students
• Participates with the Physical Therapists in the evaluation of the effectiveness of the rehabilitation quality management process
• Aids the Physical Therapists in the development and implementation of new and improved rehabilitation quality management processes
• Aids the Physical Therapists in monitoring and ensuring compliance with the rules and regulations
• Develops a working knowledge of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), their State Workers’ Compensation law
• Aids the Physical Therapist in promotions, support, and conducting of projects and activities that will develop or improve occupational medicine services and overall teamwork within the centers
• Mets with the Physical Therapist or Director of Therapy or the designee on a regular basis to discuss quality of patient care, procedures, records, review of new policies and other issues as indicated
• Participates regularly in professional continuing education

Qualifications

• Minimum travel (may include overnight) up to 10%
• Work is performed in a clinical office environment
• Involves occasional to frequent exposure to communicable disease, toxic substances, ionizing radiation, medicinal preparations and other conditions common to a clinic environment
• Involves frequent telephone and in-person contact with clients, staff, vendors, consultants, and Management
• Requires the ability to work in a demanding environment, to work a flexible schedule and to effectively resolve conflicts as they arise
• Work continually requires full range of body motion including maneuvering patients, manual and finger dexterity to perform specific tasks, operate various clinical and office equipment, and eye-hand coordination
• Standing and walking for prolonged periods of time
• Frequent to continuous reaching
• Occasional lifting up to 50 pounds
• Corrected or normal vision is required in the performance of tasks inherent to office work
• Requires moderate typing skills and manual dexterity to operate a keyboard, calculator, telephone, copier, and such other office equipment as necessary
• It is necessary to view and type on computer screens for variable periods of time