Clinical Team Lead, Home Health (PTA/COTA)

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:

VHCS Clinical - Therapy

Job Summary:

JOB SUMMARY
The Clinical Team Leader leads assigned staff members specific to others in assistant roles such as PTA and COTA and actively participates in overall management of the department, development of clinical practice, and provision of patient care with accountabilities for implementation and outcomes for people, leadership, quality, service, compliance, finance, and scheduling. The Clinical Team Leader should ensure the department’s optimal performance by engaging in effective problem solving with staff, patients, and caregivers and to develop/lead the assigned cohort. The Clinical Team Leader provides feedback and coaching to staff members, recognizing them for their contributions while fostering a high-performance culture, under the guidance and direction of the department manager.

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Clinical Team Lead – Home Health (PTA / COTA)

Nashville, TN | 2120 Belcourt Ave
Full-Time | Monday–Friday | 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM (flexibility available)
Department: Rehab | Home Health

Why This Role Matters

We are seeking a Clinical Team Lead – Home Health to support and guide all home care clinicians, including Skilled Nursing and Licensed Practical Nursing, PT/OT, MSW, SLP, and assistant-level clinicians (PTAs and OTAs), within our growing Home Health Rehab program. This role is ideal for an experienced clinician who enjoys mentoring, coaching, and clinical problem-solving, and is ready to step into a system-wide clinical leadership role without carrying a personal patient caseload.

As a Clinical Team Lead, you will serve as a trusted clinical resource for field staff, helping ensure high-quality, compliant, and patient-centered care while fostering a collaborative, supportive, and growth-focused team culture.

What You’ll Do

The Clinical Team Lead plays a key role in supporting team performance, clinical quality, and staff development across the Home Health continuum.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day clinical leadership and oversight for home care clinicians, including nursing (SN/LPN), therapy (PT/OT), MSW, SLP, and assistant-level clinicians (PTAs and OTAs)

• Serve as the primary point of contact for clinical questions, documentation support, and practice standards across disciplines

• Mentor and coach clinicians through onboarding, professional development, and performance improvement

• Conduct formal performance evaluations and provide ongoing feedback, coaching, and recognition

• Support adherence to agency policies, regulatory requirements, and evidence-based best practices

• Collaborate closely with Rehab leadership, Nursing leadership, and Quality teams to identify trends, address concerns, and improve patient and clinician outcomes

• Promote a positive, accountable, and high-performing interdisciplinary team environment

What a Typical Week Looks Like (Approximate)

While no two weeks are the same, candidates often ask what a “typical” week might involve. Below is a realistic snapshot of how time is generally spent in this role:

• About 40% clinical field support and oversight, including ride-alongs, real-time clinical guidance, and hands-on problem-solving with clinicians

• Roughly 25% mentoring and coaching, supporting new hires during onboarding and engaging in ongoing professional development and performance conversations

• Approximately 20% administrative and leadership work, such as documentation review, performance evaluations, follow-up on action items, and regulatory support

• Around 15% collaboration and communication, including coordination with Quality teams, participation in leadership meetings, and managing escalations or complex concerns

This balance allows the role to stay closely connected to frontline care while also driving consistency, quality, and clinician growth across the program.

Who You’ll Work With

• Home Health field clinicians across multiple disciplines, including nursing, therapy, social work, speech, and assistant-level staff

• Rehab leadership, Nursing leadership, and Quality teams

• A large, geographically centered Home Health department supporting up to approximately 900 patients at peak census

What We’re Looking For

Required Qualifications

• Current licensure as a Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) or Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA)

• Three to five years of clinical experience, with some formal or informal leadership exposure

• Demonstrated ability to coach, teach, and positively influence peers

• Strong communication, time management, and conflict resolution skills

• Working knowledge of OASIS documentation

• Professionalism, reliability, and a consistent work history

Preferred Qualifications

• Home Health experience strongly preferred; background in acute care, inpatient rehab, skilled nursing, or outpatient rehab also valued

• Prior experience in a lead, mentor, or project-based role

• Familiarity with Epic electronic medical records

Schedule, Flexibility, and Support

This is a full-time, Monday-through-Friday role during standard business hours. The position requires responsiveness to occasional urgent after-hours clinical needs.

Weekend and holiday expectations are minimal and include rotated weekend Clinical Team Lead coverage and a holiday on-call rotation of approximately two holidays per year.

Why Join Us

• Clear pathway into clinical leadership for experienced assistant-level clinicians

• No individual productivity requirements: success is measured by team outcomes and quality

• Supportive, collaborative leadership culture

• Stable and growing Home Health program with long-term opportunity

Ready to Grow Your Impact?

If you are a PTA or COTA who enjoys developing others, strengthening clinical practice, and leading through influence, this role offers a meaningful next step in your career.

Apply today to expand your impact through clinical leadership in Home Health.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Supervises day to day performance of staff through ongoing assessment and coaching to achieve goals.

• Completes formal evaluation of direct reports.

• Supports leadership team in development of staff members by providing substantive feedback.

• Demonstrates clinical/technical knowledge needed to coach staff on day-to-day activities.

• Implements specific policies and practice guidelines in accordance with VUMC policy and regulatory standards using standardized tools and instruments.

• The responsibilities listed are a general overview of the position and additional duties may be assigned.

TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES

• CLINICAL EXPERTISE (Intermediate): Demonstrates the competency in patient care including patient assessment and treatment, care planning, patient education, and evidence-based practice. Possesses sufficient knowledge, training and expertise to role model and coach less experienced PTAs and COTAs.

• QUALITY MANAGEMENT (Novice): Has provided continuous analysis and evaluation of assignment work processes, constantly striving for improvement in the way tasks and activities are accomplished by questioning their value to the process and contributing creative solutions. Has participated in the process of establishing, communicating, and monitoring standards for quality and excellence. Demonstrates the ability to work on and improve a current business process, product, or service.

• BUSINESS RESULTS (Fundamental Awareness): Implements appropriate measures for attaining business results and tracks progress in meeting goals and objectives. Demonstrates the ability to deliver products and services on time, within budget, and in accordance with organizational standards and goals. Continuously demonstrates a strong focus on quality. Responds effectively to customer or client needs. Recognizes incipient problems and communicates them to management.

• OPERATIONS PLANNING (Novice): Demonstrates ability to realistically anticipate resource needs, identify discrete tasks, set priorities, define dependencies, schedule activities, meet deadlines, and organize work within areas of direct responsibility. Appropriately matches equipment and capital resources to task demands. Achieves results within budget. Competently handles multiple assignments simultaneously. Reshapes project during life-cycle evolution, if needed. Demonstrates ability to break down work into manageable and measurable units. Accepts changes to assignments with minimal disruption and loss of productivity. Able to absorb changes to major assignments while maintaining a high level of performance. Uses available time efficiently. Follows up to assure problems and issues are resolved.

• PEOPLE MANAGEMENT (Novice): Oversees assistants such as PTAs and COTAs. Conducts performance reviews. Effectively delegates tasks to others. Coaches subordinates on technical and interpersonal topics, as well as professional development. Demonstrates team building techniques and provides leadership through personal example of good work habits, open communication, and effective people relationships. Involves subordinates in decisions which affect them. Demonstrates self-reliance and resourcefulness as an example to others.

• LEADERSHIP (Novice): Sets the example in challenging and difficult situations. Can demonstrate different leadership styles, such as supportive and authoritative, as individuals and situations require it. Communicates team and unit goals clearly and effectively. Is receptive to ideas and suggestions from team members. Shows leadership and initiative in situations where supervision is not present or required.

• COMPLIANCE (Novice): Can explain and apply basic statutory instructions in normal situations on the job. Understands the principles upon which the rules and regulations are based. Appropriately escalates problems relating to rules and regulations in timely and effective manner.

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.

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Core Accountabilities:

* Organizational Impact: Independently performs non-routine tasks that significantly impact team and other related teams.* Problem Solving/ Complexity of work: Gathers and analyzes data to solve problems that arise with little or no precendent.* Breadth of Knowledge: Applies advanced job knowledge and has developed a breadth of skills in other areas. * Team Interaction: Serves as a lead for the team by providing expertise and guidance 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-Occupational Therapy Assistant - Licensure-Others, LIC-Physical Therapy Assistant - Tennessee

Work Experience:

Relevant Work Experience

Experience Level :

5 years

Education:

Associate's (Required)

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.