Summary

The primary purpose of the position is delivery of care to Veterans for a Home-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation program, modeled after traditional outpatient cardiac rehabilitation services. The Physiologists is responsible for the assessment, development and implementaion of an exercise treatment plan in a telephone-based cardiac rehabilitation program.

Duties

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***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION***

Duties include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Provides education to maximize the patient's awareness of the importance of regular exercise, stress management, nutritional counseling, smoking cessation counseling and overall guidance in terms of adapting a heart healthy lifestyle
• Develops specific and individualized exercise programs and educates participants regarding exercise tolerance, indications/contraindications, safety and limits as well as monitors the patient's response to exercise
• Screens and enrolls patients into the program, conducts medical history assessment, and arranges initial and follow-up appointments
• Interprets physician treatment plans and evaluates patients using standard and nonstandard procedures and techniques appropriate for diagnosis to establish a baseline funciton
• Monitors patient use of home equipment and their physical response to exercise, including documentation of adverse events
• Develops and implements ongoing, individualized therapy treatment programs that includes measurable or time specific goals
• Evaluates daily activity and symptom log maintained by patient to modify and optimize exercise plan
• Performs administrative duties in support of Cardiac Rehabilitation program
• Compiles and submits progress, participation and status reports
• Performs other duties as assigned

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm

Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Required Documents" below for details.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT (Transcript Required) - Applicants must possess a Bachelor's (or higher level) degree in one of the basic animal sciences or physiology; or a related discipline or field of science that included at least 24 semester hours in the basic animal sciences, of which 10 semester hours were in animal physiology.

Evaluation of Education: Courses such as anatomy; cytology; invertebrate and vertebrate zoology; embryology; entomology; animal, dairy, and poultry husbandry; nutrition; genetics; and physiology may be used to meet the 24-semester-hour requirement in the basic animal sciences.

Courses in physiology, animal or human physiology, cellular physiology, or courses that were well oriented toward animal or human physiology, e.g., some advanced courses in biochemistry, are qualifying as animal physiology courses. Courses in related fields such as cytology and microbiology (including microbial physiology) may also be qualifying, provided the course work dealt directly with the application of scientific principles underlying animal physiology, or with the methodology and techniques applied in animal physiology work.

English Language Proficiency: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to meet the requirements of this position.

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS - In addition to meeting the above requirements, you must also meet one of the additional requirements as described below to qualify for this position.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience that equipped them with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position. To be creditable, this experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-9 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience includes developing, implementing, and coordinating prescribed exercise programs for patients; administering and interpreting physical performance tests and recording responses to treatment; providing health education to patients; collecting and managing data; and preparing reports. A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. OR

SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE (Transcript Required) - Successful completion of three (3) years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree as described above which provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent one (1) year of full-time study. If that number cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours will be considered an academic year of graduate study. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. OR

COMBINING EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE (Transcript Required)- Combinations of education and specialized experience (as described above) to meet the requirements

Certification as a Clinical Exercise Physiologist by the American College of Sports Medicine is preferred.

Position requires maintaining Basic Life Support certification.

Physical Requirements: The work involves a wide range of physical demands from sedentary work, sitting in a standard office setting, to moderate and heavy physical demands which include the ability to lead exercise demonstrations and transfer patients in an emergency setting when necessary with the facility (i.e., cardiac arrest during the cardiopulmonary exercise test or six-minute walk). The work will require short periods of standing, walking, bending, crouching, reaching and leading exercise demonstrations. On occasion, employee can assist with transferring patients that may weigh over three hundred pounds.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

IMPORTANT: Due to the Basic Education Requirement, a transcript must be submitted with your application.

NOTE: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Benefits

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.