Position Overview
As a Senior Occupational Therapist at North Canberra Hospital, you’ll provide expert clinical care to patients in acute wards while leading and supervising a small team, including an Allied Health Assistant. Around 75% of your time will be dedicated to managing a complex clinical caseload, with the remainder focused on team leadership, student supervision, and service development.
Working within a multidisciplinary environment, you’ll deliver high-quality, evidence-based care, support professional growth through education and supervision, and contribute to quality improvement and clinical governance initiatives. This role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on patient outcomes while shaping the future of occupational therapy services at NCH
Key responsibilities
Under limited direction of the Director of Occupational Therapy you will perform Occupational Therapy assessment and treatments. You will:
- Work within a multi-disciplinary team environment in a manner that is consistent with contemporary best practice standards to provide specialist Occupational Therapy assessment and treatment for a high acuity inpatient acute caseload.
- Actively participate in the Occupational Therapy department’s annual student fieldwork placement program, with this position personally supervising at least 2 student placements per year in entirety, and role modelling high quality student supervision to the other staff that this position clinically supervises. Also includes championing and supporting future student placements accepted by any of the 3-4 supervisees of this position.
- Provide education and support to clinical staff from all disciplines in relation to best practice Occupational Therapy Standards.
- Actively participate in quality improvement projects and management activities that align with the North Canberra Hospital (NCH) Occupational Therapy & Allied Health Division Business Plans.
- Contribute to clinical governance processes across the organisation as appropriate. E.g. Management of clinical issues via participation/communication within preventable harm committees and NHQHS framework.
- Identify and address opportunities for professional development - at both department and individual clinician level - that are required to advance the quality of the clinical care provided by the Occupational Therapy department at North Canberra Hospital (NCH).
- Engage collaboratively with key stakeholders both in and outside NCH to improve Occupational Therapy service delivery at NCH.
- Be accountable for ensuring risks are managed appropriately through action plans and incident reporting systems. Assist with the establishment & maintenance of the Occupational Therapy Department’s risk profile; developing risk management action plans; monitoring; evaluation and reporting of outcomes.
- Perform any other reasonable direction provided by the Departmental Manager.
- Adhere to safety and quality standards, work, health and safety (WH&S) and the positive patient experience. Displays behaviour consistent with CHS’s values of being reliable, progressive, respectful and kind.
About you
CHS is committed to workforce diversity and to creating an inclusive workplace. As part of this commitment, we welcome applications from all diversity groups. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people with disability and people who identify as LGBTQIA+ are particularly encouraged to apply.
Position Requirements / Qualifications
Mandatory
- Current registration with the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia via AHPRA.
- Full unconditional Australian Driver’s licence, or recognised international equivalent.
- CHS is leading the drive to digitally transform health service delivery in Australia through the implementation of a territory wide Digital Health Record. Computer literacy skills are required which are relevant to this role as you will be responsible for completing required documentation and becoming a proficient user of the Digital Health Record and/or other Information Technology systems; once proficient, you will need to remain current with changes, updates and contingencies.
Desirable
- Have an understanding of how the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) indicators align with this role.
- Fulfil the responsibilities of this role in alignment to the CHS Exceptional Care Framework and all other related frameworks.
Please note prior to commencement successful candidates will be required to:.
- Undergo a pre-employment National Police Check.
- Comply with Canberra Health Services Occupational Assessment, Screening and Vaccination policy.
- Comply with CHS Credentialing and scope of clinical practice requirements for allied health professionals.
What you Require (Key Selection Criteria)
These are the key selection criteria for how you will be assessed in conjunction with your resumé and experience.
- Demonstrated best practice clinical Occupational Therapy assessment and treatment skills when working with an acute caseload of high acuity.
- Demonstrated ability to research clinical issues, analyse data and evaluate outcomes in order to formulate innovative recommendations that continually improve the quality of Occupational Therapy service delivery at an operational level.
- Highly developed operational management skills, including proven team building capability and effective stewardship of clinical resources.
- Demonstrated effective clinical supervision skills when working with the following cohorts:
- Junior or new graduate Occupational Therapists
- Allied Health Assistants
- Occupational Therapy Students
- Demonstrates understanding of, and adherence to, safety and quality standards, Work Health and Safety and the positive patient experience. Displays behaviour consistent with CHS’s values of reliable, progressive, respectful, and kind.
- Proven, effective participation in peer reviewed & published Occupational Therapy clinical research (advantageous)
Work Environment Description
The following work environment description outlines the inherent requirements of the role and indicates how frequently each of these requirements would need to be performed. Please note that the ACT Public Service is committed to providing reasonable adjustments and ensuring all individuals have equal opportunities in the workplace.
| Administrative | Frequency |
|---|---|
| Telephone use | Occasionally |
| General computer use | Frequently |
| Extensive keying/data entry | Occasionally |
| Graphical/analytical based | Frequently |
| Sitting at a desk | Occasionally |
| Standing for long periods | Frequently |
| Psychosocial demands | Frequency |
|---|---|
| Distressed People e.g. Emergency or grief situations | Frequently |
| Aggressive & Uncooperative People e.g. drug / alcohol, dementia, mental illness | Occasionally |
| Unpredictable People e.g. Dementia, mental illness, head injuries | Occasionally |
| Restraining e.g. involvement in physical containment of clients/consumers | Never |
| Exposure to Distressing Situations e.g. Child abuse, viewing dead / mutilated bodies; verbal abuse; domestic violence; suicide | Occasionally |
| Physical demands | Frequency |
|---|---|
| Distance walking (large buildings or inter-building transit) | Occasionally |
| Working outdoors | Occasionally |
| Manual handling | Frequency |
|---|---|
| Lifting 0 - 9kg | Occasionally |
| Lifting 10 - 15kg | Occasionally |
| Lifting 16kg+ | Never |
| Climbing | Never |
| Running | Never |
| Reaching | Occasionally |
| Kneeling | Occasionally |
| Foot and leg movement | Occasionally |
| Hand, arm and grasping movements | Occasionally |
| Bending/squatting | Occasionally |
| Bend/Lean Forward from Waist/Trunk twisting | Occasionally |
| Push/pull | Occasionally |
| Sequential repetitive movements in a short amount of time | Never |
| Travel | Frequency |
|---|---|
| Frequent travel – multiple work sites | Never |
| Frequent travel – driving | Occasionally |
| Specific hazards | Frequency |
|---|---|
| Working at heights | Never |
| Exposure to extreme temperatures | Never |
| Operation of heavy machinery e.g. forklift | Never |
| Confined spaces | Never |
| Excessive noise | Occasionally |
| Low lighting | Never |
| Handling of dangerous goods/equipment e.g. gases; liquids; biological. | Occasionally |
| Slippery or uneven surfaces | Occasionally |
Directorate: Canberra Health Services
Division: North Canberra Hospital
Business Unit: Allied Health & Palliative Care
Position number: 600730
Position title: Senior Occupational Therapist
Classification: Health Professional Level 3
Location: North Canberra Hospital, Bruce Canberra
Reporting relationships: Direct Manager: Director Occupational Therapy +1: Executive Director Allied Health, Palliative Care and Ambulatory Care