Provide evidence-based physical therapy evaluations and treatments for hospitalized patients across diverse settings, including the ICU and emergency department. Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams to develop patient-centered care plans and educate families on mobility and safety.
Requirements summary
Must be a licensed Physical Therapist in the state of Tennessee with a Doctorate degree. While acute care or hospital experience is preferred, the role is open to those with less than one year of experience.
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
Acute
Rehab
PT/OT 3
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. . Physical Therapist –
Acute
Care
Location: Vanderbilt Health |
Nashville,
TN
Schedule: Full-Time | Includes 2 weekend days per month Advance Your Acute Care Physical Therapy Career at Vanderbilt Health! Are you a Physical Therapist passionate about acute care and ready to grow your skills in a dynamic hospital setting? Vanderbilt Health is seeking a Full-Time Physical Therapist – Acute Care to join our highly respected rehabilitation team in Nashville, Tennessee. Whether you’re an experienced clinician or a newer graduate eager to build your foundation, this is an opportunity to practice at a Level 1 Trauma Center known for clinical excellence, collaboration, and innovation. Why Choose Vanderbilt Health?
Day-One
Benefits:
Medical, dental, vision,
PTO, and retirement
Clinical
Career
Ladder: Structured growth from PT Level 1–4
Free
Continuing
Education:
Department-hosted
CE opportunities
Comprehensive
Onboarding: 10–12 week orientation across hospital units
Benefits
Dental Insurance
Paid Time Off
Vision Insurance
Medical Insurance
Retirement Plan
Continuing Education
Mentorship Program
Onboarding Orientation
Formal
Mentorship
Program:
Supported by a dedicated committee
Team-Based
Culture: Collaborate across disciplines and lead initiatives
Nationally
Recognized
Health
System: Excellence in care, research, and innovation Your Impact as an Acute Care Physical Therapist Provide evidence-based evaluations and treatment for hospitalized patients Deliver care across diverse settings, including ICU and emergency department Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams to develop patient-centered care plans Educate patients and families on mobility, safety, and discharge planning Document care in accordance with hospital and regulatory standards Contribute to mentorship, quality improvement, and departmental initiatives Qualifications Licensed Physical Therapist (or eligible) in the state of Tennessee Acute care or hospital experience preferred, but not required Strong communication skills and commitment to team-based, patient-centered care Ready to Make a Difference? Join a team where you’ll gain unmatched clinical experience, grow your career, and make a meaningful impact every day. Apply today to become a Physical Therapist – Acute Care at 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.
Core
Accountabilities:
Organizational
Impact: Delivers job responsibilities that impact own job area/team with some guidance.
Problem
Solving/
Complexity of work: Uses existing procedures, research and analysis to solve standard job related problems that may require some judgement.
Breadth of
Knowledge: Requires subject matter knowledge within a professional area to meet job requirements.
Team
Interaction: Individually contributes to project/ work teams.
Core
Capabilities :
Supporting
Colleagues: -
Develops
Self and
Others: Continuously improves own skills by identifying development opportunities.-
Builds and
Maintains
Relationships: Seeks to understand colleagues priorities, working styles and develops relationships across areas. -
Communicates
Effectively: Openly shares information with others and communicates in a clear and courteous manner.
Delivering
Excellent
Services: -
Serves
Others with
Compassion: Invests time to understand the problems, needs of others and how to provide excellent service. -
Solves
Complex
Problems: Seeks to understand issues, solves routine problems, and raises proper concerns to supervisors in a timely manner. -
Offers
Meaningful
Advice and
Support: Listens carefully to understand the issues and provides accurate information and support.
Ensuring
High
Quality: -
Performs
Excellent
Work: Checks work quality before delivery and asks relevant questions to meet quality standards.-
Ensures
Continuous
Improvement: Shows eagerness to learn new knowledge, technologies, tools or systems and displays willingness to go above and beyond. -
Fulfills
Safety and
Regulatory
Requirements: Demonstrates basic knowledge of conditions that affect safety and reports unsafe conditions to the appropriate person or department.
Managing
Resources
Effectively :-
Demonstrates
Accountability: Takes responsibility for completing assigned activities and thinks beyond standard approaches to provide high-quality work/service. -
Stewards
Organizational
Resources: Displays understanding of how personal actions will impact departmental resources. -
Makes
Data
Driven
Decisions: Uses accurate information and good decision making to consistently achieve results on time and without error.
Fostering
Innovation: -
Generates
New
Ideas: Willingly proposes/accepts ideas or initiatives that will impact day-to-day operations by offering suggestions to enhance them.-
Applies
Technology: Absorbs new technology quickly; understands when to utilize the appropriate tools and procedures to ensure proper course of action. -
Adapts to
Change: Embraces changes by keeping an open mind to changing plans and incorporates change instructions into own area of work.
Position
Qualifications:
Responsibilities:
Certifications:
LIC-Physical
Therapy
License -
Tennessee
Work
Experience:
Relevant
Work
Experience
Experience
Level :
Less than 1 year
Education: Doctorate 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. PEOPLE ARE AT THE HEART OF ALL WE DO.
Our vision: The world leader in advancing personalized health.
Our mission: personalizing the patient experience through our caring spirit and distinctive capabilities. Making Health Care Personal. We’re looking for like-minded individuals driven to make a difference. We invite you to explore careers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. At VUMC, we place a priority on designing with and for our patients and families. We value collaboration, embrace continuous learning and discovery, and seek to be a place where everyone has the chance to thrive. We’re the largest private employer in Middle Tennessee, with a growing team and expanding footprint in towns and communities across the region. We employ more than 28,000 people who work in inpatient and outpatient clinical care, research, and graduate medical education as well as critical supporting roles in administration, information technology and informatics, finance, legal and community affairs, communications and marketing, fund-raising, groundskeeping and facilities, and many more.
Our growing health system has more than 1,700 licensed hospital beds at: Vanderbilt University Hospital Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital Vanderbilt Stallworth Rehabilitation Hospital Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital Vanderbilt Bedford Hospital Vanderbilt Tullahoma-Harton Hospital It’s also home to hundreds of outpatient clinic and surgical locations throughout the region. We serve our community with many unique and specialized services including the Level 1 Trauma Center, a highly experienced Transplant Center that does the most heart transplants in the world, a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, Lung Institute, Burn Center and many more. World-leading academic departments and centers make scientific discoveries, advance clinical care and train the next generation of health care professionals. Our robust research enterprise consistently ranks among the highest in the country as measured by peer-reviewed grant funding from the National Institutes of Health. We’re honored to be consistently considered among the nation’s best hospitals, including being nationally ranked in multiple medical specialties for treating the most complex conditions in adults and children by US News and World Report. Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt ranked as the No. 1 children’s hospital in the southeast in 2024. We support each other and encourage excellence among all who are part of our workforce. High-achieving employees stay at VUMC for professional growth, appreciation of benefits, and a sense of community and purpose. Join us in Making Health Care Personal.
