Occupational Therapist III

About the Department

Under general supervision, coordinates and directs the day-to-day operations of a designated service area(s), evaluates the occupational therapy needs and develops, implements, and documents treatment plans and goals to meet these needs for patients in a hospital inpatient and outpatient hospital setting.

When assigned to the California Children's Services (CCS) Program, under direction, plans, coordinates, and implements staff training and therapy student education; provides clinical consultation to therapy staff; evaluates occupational therapy needs, and develops, implements and documents treatment plans and goals to meet those need for patients.

The Power of WE:  Together, we can make a greater impact. Bringing better care and expanding healthcare services across the community.

Santa Clara Valley Healthcare (SCVH) is the second largest public health care system in California and includes four acute care hospitals, 14 clinics and 60+ specialty and sub-specialty services. Our mission is to provide high-quality, accessible healthcare and excellent service to everyone in Santa Clara County.  

Santa Clara Valley Medical Center - SCVMC is a full-service tertiary acute care teaching hospital with 699 licensed beds providing a wide range of specialized services, including Rehabilitation, Burn, Trauma, and NICU. SCVMC was ranked by U.S. News and World Report as #6 Rehabilitation Hospital in the nation and #1 in the West and designated as a 2024 High Performing hospital for Maternity Care, Heart Failure, Stroke, Hip Fracture, and Pneumonia.

O'Connor Hospital- O'Connor Hospital (OCH) is a 358 licensed bed acute care facility offering a full range of inpatient and outpatient medical, surgical and specialty programs to residents of Santa Clara County. It was founded in 1889 as one of the first hospitals in the county. OCH has grown significantly over the past five years in both its inpatient volume and its Emergency Department visits. Along with these volume increases other ancillary and clinical departments like imaging, lab, pharmacy, and respiratory have seen growth as well.

St. Louise Regional Hospital- Since 1989, St. Louise Regional Hospital (SLRH) has been caring for the residents in Santa Clara and San Benito Counties, offering a wide range of inpatient and outpatient medical specialties. SLRH has 93 beds, is a Designated Primary Stroke Center, and is the only acute care hospital in the area. Located in Gilroy, SLRH maintains a CALSTAR 2 emergency helicopter base on the premises

Regional Medical Center– Regional Medical Center (RMC) is a 258-bed hospital that is the main emergency healthcare provider for East San José, treating a wide range of critical and life-threatening conditions for more than 60 years. Since the SCVH integration of RMC effective 4/1/25, RMC has expanded the critical services including Level II trauma, Thrombectomy capable Stroke Center and STEMI care, and has been seeing an increased number of emergency visits and inpatient volume.  

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Position Duties

Clinical Supervisory Responsibilities

• Provides clinical supervision for Occupational Therapist Is, Occupational Therapist IIs, assistants, interns, Therapy Technicians, students and volunteers;
• Ensures that clinical performance evaluations are completed for all personnel on assigned service;
• Initiates and provides clinical consultation to individual staff members;
• May administratively supervise interdisciplinary staff;
• Provides necessary orientation and training;
• Ensures staff competency;
• Ensures staff compliance with department, hospital and County policies and procedures.
   

Administrative Tasks 

• Manages day to day operations of assigned service;
• Assigns patients to staff, and prioritizes and schedules patients;
• Participates in employment interviews;
• Leads the development and implementation of service policies, procedures, goals and objectives;
• Conducts service meetings;
• Acts as the principle liaison with other medical professionals and medical personnel, for the assigned service;
• Determines equipment, supply and space needs;
• Ensures maintenance of service records;
• Ensures adequate documentation for patient treatment and for charging purposes;
• May serve on department or hospital committees;
• Participates in quality improvement activities and utilization review;
• Educates staff on third party payor requirements;
• Acts as a liaison between patients, therapists and support staff;
• Assumes selected responsibilities of other staff during temporary absences;
• Provides orientation and training to other departments as requested.
   

Professional Development 

• Directs the clinical program development for assigned service area;
• Identifies educational needs and plans, develops, coordinates and presents training and in-service programs for therapy staff on assigned service;
• Participates in internal and external professional and educational activities to enhance personal and professional growth;
• Participates in research as appropriate.
   

Patient Care 

• Evaluates patients, including occupational history and experiences, patterns of daily living, interests, values and needs, identifying patient's problems and concerns about performing daily life activities and other areas of occupation;
• Observes actual performance of activities and tasks to identify specifically what supports or hinders performance including motor skills (e.g. mobility, posture, coordination, strength) and process skills (e.g., attention, pace, organization and sequencing);
• Integrates patient's needs, problems and concerns with an analysis of patient performance, specifically focusing on issues that support or hinder performance;
• Analyzes findings to determine therapy diagnosis and prognosis, and designs a program to maximize outcomes and alleviate impairment and functional limitations; identifies the frequency and duration required to meet goals;
• Using advanced skills in clinical reasoning and problem-solving, performs complex patient care in the areas of physical function, self-care (e.g. dressing, hygiene, eating), functional mobility (e.g., bed and wheelchair mobility, transfers), homemaking, and community re-integration;
• Uses treatment skills and modalities, including: perceptual motor skills, cognitive skills and sensory integration;
• Evaluates the need for, recommends, and trains in use of complex durable medical equipment, adaptive devices, orthotics and prosthetics;
• Fabricates orthotic and adaptive devices;
• Charges for patient care and prepares medical record documentation in compliance with professional and regulatory guidelines;
• Provides patient and family/caregiver education and training;
• Conducts home, school, and worksite evaluations, and makes recommendations;
• Reports at interdisciplinary conferences and rounds;
• Coordinates with other disciplines on patient's progress and discharge planning;
• Manages assigned caseload of patients, which includes scheduling and prioritizing patient care, and being responsible for patient care delegated to Occupational Therapy Assistants and Therapy Technicians;
• Makes recommendations, including home programs and referrals to others as needed;
• Acts as a clinical resource to staff;
• Acts as a clinical liaison in specialty clinics; 
• May be assigned as a Disaster Service Worker, as required; 
• Other related duties as assigned.

 
When assigned to CCS Program
Training and Administration

• Participates in therapy administration staff meetings; 
• Coordinates therapy student training programs; 
• Supervises therapy staff for short periods in the absence of the supervisor.

Minimum Qualifications

Sufficient education, training, and experience to demonstrate the possession and direct application of the following knowledge and abilities:

Training and Experience Note: The required knowledge and abilities are acquired through three (3) years of clinical experience as an occupational therapist in two or more specialty areas relevant to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and/or in pediatric therapy.

Special Requirements
A valid license to practice as an Occupational Therapist in the State of California.

Knowledge of:

• Principles, methods and theory of the practice of Occupational Therapy;
• Pathologies and injuries that result in physical impairment;
• Basic principles of psychology and abnormal psychology;
• Evaluation and treatment methodologies as applied to complex patients;
• Business aspects of therapy services, such as utilization management, charging practices and regulatory compliance;
• Principles of clinical supervision and clinical instruction;
• Third party payor requirements; 
• When assigned to the CCS Program, principles and methods of developing and conducting training of professional staff and students.
   

Ability to: 

• Administer service area(s);
• Supervise, train and evaluate staff;
• Evaluate quality of client care delivered by therapy staff;
• Develop staff competencies;
• Develop, implement and adapt treatment programs;
• Evaluate patients and interpret clinical data and make clinical judgments;
• Write clearly and concisely;
• Communicate effectively with patients, staff, and other health professionals;
• Interpret physician prescriptions;
• Establish and maintain effective relationships with others;
• Efficiently manage time and priorities;
• Demonstrate appropriate patient handling skills;
• Problem-solve and implement effective action plans;
• Reach, grasp manipulate and carry a variety of objects;
• Assist, support, lift and transfer patients; 
• When assigned to the CCS Program, plan and develop curricula and coordinate and present educational, in-service, and student training programs.

Provides public services and healthcare to Santa Clara County residents.