Job Description

Discover Vanderbilt Health: With eight hospitals and over 180 clinics, we are the region’s largest comprehensive academic health system. Vanderbilt Health has a long tradition of providing world-class care to the people of the Mid-South, living out our mission of moving medicine forward through preeminent programs in patient care, education and research. Here you’ll find a spirit of collaboration and a supportive community where your expertise is valued, your knowledge expanded and your uniqueness celebrated. We are committed to fostering an environment where talented, compassionate people are united in bringing the most advanced care to our neighbors throughout the region.

Organization:

Rehab CHT/OT

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.

Occupational Therapist (OT) - Certified Hand Therapist (CHT)

Hand Therapy | Outpatient Orthopedics | Post-Surgical Rehabilitation

Location: Vanderbilt Orthopaedics Lebanon, 1405 W. Baddour Parkway, Suite 102, Lebanon, TN 37087

Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30 AM-4:30 PM

Department: Outpatient Hand Therapy & Upper Extremity Rehabilitation

Certified Hand Therapist (CHT) Opportunity | Vanderbilt Health

Are you a Certified Hand Therapist (CHT) looking to collaborate with fellowship-trained hand surgeons and treat complex upper extremity conditions in a supportive outpatient setting?

Due to continued growth, Vanderbilt Health is seeking an experienced Occupational Therapist - Certified Hand Therapist (OTR/L, CHT) to join our hand therapy program at Vanderbilt Orthopaedics Lebanon.

This is an opportunity to practice at the top of your license while providing specialized care for patients recovering from hand, wrist, and elbow injuries, surgeries, and other upper extremity conditions. You'll work alongside a highly collaborative physician team that values therapist input and partnership in patient care.

Why Hand Therapists Love This Role

• Dedicated hand therapy and upper extremity caseload
• Close collaboration with hand surgeons and orthopedic specialists
• One-on-one patient care model
• 60-minute evaluations and 30-minute treatment sessions
• Typical daily volume of 10-14 patients
• Diverse post-surgical and complex upper extremity diagnoses
• Day-one benefits and professional development support
• No evenings, weekends, or holidays

About Vanderbilt Orthopaedics Lebanon

Vanderbilt Orthopaedics Lebanon provides comprehensive care for hand, wrist, elbow, and upper extremity conditions. Our team combines conservative and post-surgical treatment to help patients restore function and return to the activities that matter most.

Common diagnoses include:

• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Cubital Tunnel Syndrome
• Tendon Injuries and Repairs
• Hand, Wrist, and Elbow Fractures
• Arthritis and Degenerative Conditions
• Brachial Plexus Injuries
• Congenital Hand Differences
• Burns and Scar Management
• Nerve Compression Syndromes
• Ligament Injuries
• Work-Related and Sports Injuries

Learn more about the clinic:

https://www.vanderbilthealth.com/locations/vanderbilt-orthopaedics-lebanon

What You'll Do

As a Certified Hand Therapist, you will provide advanced occupational therapy services focused on restoring upper extremity function and maximizing patient outcomes.

• Perform comprehensive hand and upper extremity evaluations
• Develop individualized, evidence-based treatment plans
• Design and progress therapeutic exercise programs
• Fabricate and modify custom orthoses and splints
• Deliver post-surgical rehabilitation following tendon repairs, fractures, nerve procedures, and ligament reconstructions
• Utilize advanced manual therapy and therapeutic interventions
• Educate patients on injury management, home programs, and return-to-work strategies
• Collaborate closely with hand surgeons, orthopedic providers, and rehabilitation colleagues
• Maintain accurate documentation in Epic EMR

Ideal Candidate

We're seeking a clinician who is passionate about hand therapy and enjoys solving complex rehabilitation challenges.

Successful candidates will demonstrate:

• Expertise in hand and upper extremity rehabilitation
• Strong clinical reasoning and problem-solving skills
• Patient-centered communication
• Commitment to evidence-based practice
• Collaborative approach to interdisciplinary care

Qualifications

Required

• Graduate of an accredited Occupational Therapy program
• Current Tennessee Occupational Therapist license (or license eligible)
• Certified Hand Therapist (CHT) credential
• Current OTR/L designation

Preferred

• Outpatient orthopedic occupational therapy experience
• Post-surgical upper extremity rehabilitation experience
• Custom splint fabrication and orthotic management experience
• Epic EMR experience

Why Vanderbilt Health?

Join one of the nation's leading academic health systems while enjoying the culture and relationships of a community-based orthopedic practice.

Benefits Include

• Benefits begin Day One
• Competitive compensation
• Generous paid time off
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Retirement savings programs
• Continuing education and professional development support
• Career advancement opportunities within Vanderbilt Health
• Mission-driven culture focused on excellence, innovation, and patient-centered care

Bring Your Hand Therapy Expertise to Vanderbilt Health

If you're a Certified Hand Therapist (CHT) seeking a collaborative orthopedic practice, strong physician partnership, manageable productivity expectations, and the opportunity to make a lasting impact on patients recovering from upper extremity injuries and surgery, we'd love to connect with you.

Apply today and help patients regain the function that matters most.

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.