Discover Vanderbilt University Medical Center : Located in Nashville, Tennessee, and operating at a global crossroads of teaching, discovery, and patient care, VUMC is a community of individuals who come to work each day with the simple aim of changing the world. It is a place where your expertise will be valued, your knowledge expanded, and your abilities challenged. Vanderbilt Health is committed to an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and where your uniqueness is sought and celebrated. It is a place where employees know they are part of something that is bigger than themselves, take exceptional pride in their work and never settle for what was good enough yesterday. Vanderbilt's mission is to advance health and wellness through preeminent programs in patient care, education, and research.
Organization:
Job Summary:
JOB SUMMARY
Provides physical therapy services to patients who have impairments, 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.
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Physical Therapist - Acute Care Inpatient
Location: Vanderbilt Health, Nashville, TN
Job Type: Full-Time
Join Vanderbilt Health - Where Your Career Thrives from Day One!
Are you a compassionate and driven Physical Therapist looking to make a meaningful impact in an inpatient acute care setting? Vanderbilt Health is seeking a dedicated PT to join our collaborative team. This role offers the opportunity to work across a wide variety of hospital units, providing diverse clinical exposure and professional growth.
Vanderbilt Health set a world record by performing the most heart transplants in 2024, and as middle Tennessee's largest level 1 trauma center, working at Vanderbilt Health will provide you with unique opportunities to learn and grow as a Physical Therapist. Whether you are a new graduate or an experienced clinician, every day presents new challenges and unique opportunities.
How You Will Make a Difference :
As a Physical Therapist in our acute care team, you will:
Deliver evidence-based physical therapy evaluations and treatments to patients across multiple inpatient units, including all ICUs and the emergency department.
Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams to develop and implement individualized care plans
Educate patients and families on mobility, safety, and rehabilitation goals
Document patient progress and outcomes in accordance with hospital and regulatory standards
Participate in departmental initiatives, mentorship, and quality improvement projects
Support and mentor students or new staff as part of our collaborative learning culture
Why Vanderbilt Health?
Day One Benefits - Medical, dental, vision, and retirement benefits start on your first day
Career Advancement Ladder - Structured growth from PT Level 1 to Level 4
Free Continuing Education - Department-hosted CE courses available to all staff
Extensive Orientation Program - 10-12 weeks of onboarding to help you succeed in all hospital areas
Formal Mentorship Program - Led by our Mentorship Committee, supporting new grads and new hires
Collaborative Culture - Join departmental and hospital-wide committees to shape care and innovation
Nationally Recognized Employer - Be part of a health system known for excellence, innovation, and patient-centered care
Schedule
All therapists with a Monday-Friday schedule work the equivalent of 1 weekend per month
What We're Looking For:
Licensed Physical Therapist (or eligible for licensure in Tennessee)
Strong interest in acute care and interdisciplinary collaboration
New graduates welcome - mentorship and training provided!
Ready to Make a Difference?
Join a nationally recognized health system where your skills are valued, your growth is supported, and your work truly matters. Apply today and take the next step in your physical therapy career with Vanderbilt Health.
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
Treatment Planning & Goal Setting (Novice): Demonstrates sufficient proficiency 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.
Rehabilitation Therapist Patient Evaluation (Novice): Demonstrates proficiency 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.
Treatment Implementation (Novice): Demonstrates proficiency 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. May supervise and direct certified athletic trainers (PT only), physical therapist / occupational therapist assistants, technicians and volunteers and students. Selects and follows correct protocol for care and utilize evidence based treatments. Has completed at least one year of clinical experience in treatment implementation.
Rehab Therapist Patient Documentation (Novice): 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.
Physical/Occupational Therapist Patient Education (Novice): Demonstrates proficiency in communicating functional impact of assessment findings, treatment interventions, treatment planning diagnosis, and disease process. Considers the communication needs/level of understanding of audience and may share appropriate information/literature. May supervise, educate and train students from professional programs of physical therapy, occupational therapy and athletic training.
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-Physical Therapy License - Tennessee
Work Experience:
Relevant Work Experience
Experience Level :
1 year
Education:
Bachelor's
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.
