Physical Therapist (PT) – Pediatric Outpatient Rehabilitation

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:

Physical Therapy Out

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.

Pediatric Physical Therapist (PT) – Outpatient Rehabilitation

Location: Vanderbilt Health at One Hundred Oaks, Nashville, TN

Schedule: Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM–6:00 PM | No Weekends

Job Type: Full-Time

Make a Lasting Impact in Pediatric Physical Therapy

Vanderbilt Health is seeking a dedicated Pediatric Physical Therapist (PT) to join our outpatient pediatric rehabilitation team at One Hundred Oaks in Nashville, Tennessee. In this role, you'll provide evidence-based physical therapy services to infants, children, adolescents, and young adults from birth through age 21 with a wide variety of developmental, neurological, orthopedic, and sports-related diagnoses.

If you are passionate about helping children achieve their highest level of function while working within a collaborative, multidisciplinary healthcare system, we invite you to explore this exciting opportunity.

About the Clinic

Vanderbilt Health's Pediatric Outpatient Rehabilitation Program provides specialized therapy services to approximately 150–180 patients daily across multiple disciplines. Therapists benefit from a spacious gym environment, advanced equipment, direct collaboration with Vanderbilt pediatric specialists, and a fully integrated medical record system.

The clinic offers exposure to a diverse mix of developmental, neurological, orthopedic, and sports-related diagnoses across all pediatric age groups, creating exceptional opportunities for clinical growth and specialization while delivering meaningful outcomes for children and families.

Practice Environment

• Monday–Friday schedule, 9:00 AM–6:00 PM

• No weekends

• One-hour treatment sessions

• Typical caseload of 7–8 patients per day

• Approximately 20% cancellation rate typical of pediatric outpatient practice, requiring flexibility and adaptability

• Dedicated documentation time each week

• Dedicated team meeting and collaboration time each week

• Strong interdisciplinary support and partnership with Vanderbilt providers

Key Responsibilities

As a Pediatric Physical Therapist, you will:

• Evaluate, develop, and implement individualized treatment plans for pediatric patients

• Provide evidence-based physical therapy services for orthopedic, developmental, neurological, and sports-related conditions

• Collaborate with physicians, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, and other healthcare professionals

• Educate patients and families regarding treatment goals, home exercise programs, and long-term functional outcomes

• Document evaluations, treatments, progress notes, and discharge plans in accordance with organizational and regulatory standards

• Utilize My Health at Vanderbilt/MyChart to facilitate communication and coordinated care

• Participate in departmental initiatives, quality improvement projects, and ongoing professional development

• Support clinical education programs by mentoring students and onboarding new team members

Ideal Candidate Profile

We are seeking a therapist who:

• Thrives in a dynamic pediatric outpatient setting where schedules may change throughout the day

• Enjoys treating a wide variety of patients, diagnoses, and age groups

• Adapts quickly to changing patient needs and scheduling fluctuations

• Builds meaningful relationships with children and families while maintaining efficiency

• Demonstrates strong communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills

• Embraces teamwork, continuous learning, and professional growth

• Is committed to providing exceptional care across all pediatric populations rather than focusing on a narrow specialty area

Qualifications

Required:

• Graduate of an accredited Physical Therapy program

• Licensed or license-eligible Physical Therapist in Tennessee

• Minimum of one (1) year of pediatric physical therapy experience

• Strong interpersonal, communication, and teamwork skills

Preferred:

• Experience treating pediatric orthopedic and sports rehabilitation patients

• Experience treating developmental delay and neurodevelopmental conditions

• Experience with Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) rehabilitation

• Experience working with diverse pediatric age groups from infancy through young adulthood

Areas of Clinical Focus

• Pediatric Physical Therapy

• Developmental Delay

• Gross Motor Development

• Orthopedic Rehabilitation

• Sports Rehabilitation

• Neurologic Rehabilitation

• Cerebral Palsy

• Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR)

• Balance and Gait Disorders

• Functional Mobility Training

• Family Education and Care Coordination

Why Join Vanderbilt Health?

Grow Your Pediatric Therapy Career

• Structured clinical advancement program (Level I–IV)

• Annual continuing education funding ($600 per year)

• Professional development days

• Comprehensive in-house training and mentorship opportunities

• Exposure to complex and diverse pediatric diagnoses

• Opportunities to participate in quality improvement and clinical initiatives

Comprehensive Benefits Starting Day One

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance

• Retirement savings plans

• Paid time off and holiday benefits

• Tuition assistance and professional development support

Collaborative Pediatric Environment

• Direct partnership with Vanderbilt pediatric physicians and specialists

• Shared electronic medical record through My Health at Vanderbilt/MyChart

• Access to advanced rehabilitation equipment and resources

• Supportive interdisciplinary team focused on exceptional patient outcomes

About Vanderbilt Health

Vanderbilt Health is one of the nation's leading academic health systems, recognized for excellence in patient care, education, and research. Our rehabilitation teams are committed to delivering compassionate, innovative care while supporting the professional growth and well-being of every team member.

Ready to Make a Difference?

Join Vanderbilt Health and help children and families achieve their goals through expert pediatric physical therapy care.

Apply today to become part of our Pediatric Outpatient Rehabilitation team in Nashville, Tennessee.

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: 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.