Physical Therapist - Pediatric Cardiac Acute Care

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:

MCJCHV Peds Rehab

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 - Pediatric Cardiac Acute Care

Location: Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, Nashville, TN
Schedule: Full Time | 40 Hours per Week | Sunday through Thursday

 

Pediatric Physical Therapist - Acute Care Cardiology

Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt is seeking a Pediatric Physical Therapist to join our Acute Care Rehabilitation Team. This role provides inpatient physical therapy services to infants, children, and adolescents with complex medical and cardiac conditions within one of the nation's leading pediatric heart programs.

 

As a member of the multidisciplinary care team, you will help patients maximize mobility, functional independence, developmental progress, and recovery throughout hospitalization while supporting families and caregivers every step of the way.

 

Why Join This Team?

• Specialized practice in pediatric cardiac acute care

• Work across both the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (PCICU) and Pediatric Cardiology inpatient unit

• Care for medically complex patients, including post-operative cardiac surgery and transplant populations

• Collaborate with nationally recognized pediatric cardiac and rehabilitation specialists

• Access ongoing professional development, mentorship, and clinical advancement opportunities

• Practice within a leading academic medical center and children's hospital

 

About the Pediatric Heart Institute

The Vanderbilt Pediatric Heart Institute is one of the largest and most comprehensive pediatric cardiac programs in the country. The program provides advanced care for congenital and acquired heart disease, including cardiac surgery, interventional cardiology, electrophysiology, heart failure management, ECMO, and heart transplantation.

The cardiac service line includes:

 

Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (PCICU)

A 23-bed intensive care unit caring for newborns through adolescents with congenital and acquired heart disease. Patients include those recovering from complex cardiac surgery, heart transplantation, and other advanced cardiac interventions.

 

Pediatric Cardiology Inpatient Unit

A step-down and acute care unit supporting patients from ICU transition through discharge, with a focus on rehabilitation, education, care coordination, and family-centered recovery.

 

Key Responsibilities

• Evaluate and treat pediatric patients with cardiac, developmental, neurological, orthopedic, post-surgical, and medically complex diagnoses

• Develop individualized, evidence-based treatment plans to improve mobility, function, and developmental outcomes

• Provide acute care physical therapy interventions that support recovery and safe progression of activity

• Educate patients, families, and caregivers to promote successful transitions of care

• Collaborate with physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, speech-language pathologists, child life specialists, social workers, and care managers

• Contribute to discharge planning and continuity of care

• Maintain timely and accurate documentation in accordance with hospital and regulatory standards

 

Required Qualifications

• Graduate of an accredited Physical Therapy program

• Current Tennessee Physical Therapist license or eligibility to obtain licensure

• Basic Life Support (BLS) certification

• Acute care experience required

• Pediatric rehabilitation or pediatric acute care experience required

 

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in pediatric cardiac care

• Experience working in a pediatric ICU, cardiac ICU, or acute care hospital setting

• Experience treating medically complex pediatric populations

 

Why Vanderbilt Health?

At Vanderbilt Health, you'll join a mission-driven organization committed to clinical excellence, innovation, and compassionate care. Our therapists are valued members of the care team and enjoy opportunities to grow professionally while making a lasting impact on the lives of children and families across the region

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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

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.