Acute Care Physical Therapist
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Forrest General Hospital

Physical Therapist

Location: Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Employment Type: Clinical-Allied
Contract Length: 13 weeks

Job Description

The Physical Therapist is responsible for implementing physician orders for physical therapy services within an interdisciplinary environment. The goal is to help patients return to as independent and safe a lifestyle as possible. Care is provided across the lifespan, including pediatric, adolescent, adult, and geriatric patients. The therapist must demonstrate knowledge of growth and development principles and assess patient data to identify age-specific needs and provide appropriate care.

Required Qualifications

• Valid Physical Therapist license in Mississippi
• Minimum of 2 years of Physical Therapist experience, including experience within the last year
• Basic Life Support (BLS) certification
• Experience in an Acute Care setting
• Experience in a Rehabilitation setting

Skills & Abilities

• Ability to perform patient evaluations using appropriate functional tests and measures.
• Ability to assimilate objective measures with social factors, medical stability, activity restrictions, and comorbidities to determine functional deficits and develop short- and long-term goals.
• Critical thinking skills for patient evaluation and treatment planning.
• Knowledge of moist heat and other physical agent modalities relevant to practice areas.
• Understanding of musculoskeletal, nervous, and integumentary systems with age-specific patient care indicators.
• Ability to identify learning needs of patients and family members.
• Ability to work as part of a team to assist patients and families throughout the acute therapy care system and continuum of care.
• Ability to tolerate physically demanding tasks including moving equipment and patients safely.
• Ability to lift, handle, push, and pull up to 50 pounds.
• Competence in operating equipment such as blood pressure machines, pulse oximetry, wheelchairs, walkers, and other assistive devices.
• Proper and secure documentation in the Electronic Medical Record (EMR).

Additional Information

• This position requires providing care appropriate to the age of patients served, including pediatric, adolescent, adult, and geriatric populations.
• The role involves physically demanding tasks and requires adherence to safety measures for both patient and therapist.
• The job description is not all-inclusive; additional related duties may be assigned.

Prior Travel Experience

• Not specified or required.