Covenant Health

Cardio Rehab Exercise Physiologist, Critical Care

Full Time, 72 Hours Per Pay Period, Day shift

12hr shifts; 3 shifts per week; up to 3 week ends per 6 week schedule; some major and minor holidays

Fort Sanders Regional Overview:

Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center is an award-winning, certified, and accredited facility with 468 beds. As a Joint Commission Comprehensive Stroke Center, Fort Sanders offers state-of-the art care that maximizes recovery from stroke.  We are also the region’s leader in technology in areas such as bariatric surgery, robotic surgery and minimally invasive spine surgery. Our door-to-balloon times for heart attack patients are below the national average, and our hip fracture center offers advanced diagnosis, surgery and recovery procedures for hip patients.

Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center is a member of Covenant Health, a locally-owned, non-profit health system based in Knoxville, TN, with a “patient-focused” culture. It has been recognized by Forbes Magazine as its 2020 “Best-in-State-Employer” for Tennessee. The CEO of our company, Jim VanderSteeg, attends every new employee orientation and will ask you to sign our pledge of excellence to always put patients first, strive for excellence in everything we do, and make Covenant Health the first and best choice for patients in our region. As you’d expect, we offer our employees a robust benefits package, including: offering unmatched medical insurance, tuition reimbursement; student loan repayment assistance, certification bonuses; leadership and professional development programs; an employer-matched 401(k); and a generous Combined Time Off (CTO) program.

Department Description:

At Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center, we understand that patients in our critical care area need specialized care – not only because they are very sick, but because their medical needs are unique.

In our critical care department, we have opened separate intensive care units – each designed to provide experienced nursing and support staff for each patient’s needs. (MSICU) is located on the fifth floor in the Center for Advance Medicine (CAM) building adjacent to the Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center main hospital.

We are a 25-bed department comprised of a wide variety of complex medically unstable patients between Med-Surg ICU and Med-Surg Stepdown within the locked unit for the safety and privacy of our critically ill patients. We specialize and treat a wide range of severe respiratory illness (BiPAP, High-Flow, ventilator), GI Bleed (Blakemore), post-operative, general medical ICU, proning/Roto prone and renal CRRT cases etc. 

We follow a 12- hour shift, weekends/holidays on a six-week schedule. Team members utilize a self-scheduling software. In addition to having excellent critical thinking skills, our ideal candidate will also possess outstanding communication and interpersonal skills. We pride ourselves in fostering a culture of positivity and teamwork. Our team has a passion for patient care and each other.

If you are passionate about putting patients first and want to work alongside the best of the best, apply for our Medical Intensive Care Unit today!

Position Summary: 

Implement and supervise individualized exercise reconditioning programs for adults with chronic medical conditions.

Recruiter: Jennifer Gordon || jgordon2@covhlth.com || 865-374-8107

• Initially assess patient and develop plan of exercise prescription with input from the multidiscipline team.
• Prepare and adjust exercise prescriptions in accordance with rate of perceived exertion, heart rate response, and physician recommendations on a regular basis.
• Review exercise intensity and duration in order to update patients and physicians on progress toward goals.
• Assist with pre and post exercise blood glucose testing in order to evaluate glycemic response to exercise in diabetic population.
• Demonstrate exercise equipment to patients including correct body position, safe use of equipment, and setting intensity.
• Observe patients closely during exercise and report any inappropriate responses to exercise. Terminate exercise as needed.
• Demonstrate self-pulse technique, rate of perceived exertion, talk test and target heart rate information for patients’ use with all exercise.
• Document initial and daily assessment information into patient record.
• Review patients’ progress with staff during staff meetings.
• Present group and individual education sessions on home exercise, benefits of exercise, stretching, nutrition, and related topics.
• Maintain exercise equipment by calibrating and cleaning on a regular basis. Orders and schedules repair of equipment.
• Follows policies, procedures, and safety standards. Completes required education assignments annually. Works toward achieving goals and objectives and participates in quality improvement initiatives as requested.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Education: 

None specified; however, must be sufficient to meet the standards for achievement of the below indicated license and/or certification as required by the issuing authority.

Minimum Experience:

None. 

Licensure Requirement: 

Must have and maintain ACSM certification as an exercise physiologist (EP-C) within 6 months of hire, or exercise physiologist certificate will be accepted.  AACVPR certified cardiac rehab professional (CCRP), or AACVPR certified pulmonary rehab professional (PRC) within 6 months of hire. CPR required.