Dream Job: This is a job working in a unique setting. Could it be yours?
The Job: Physical therapist in one of 10 Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facilities that provide rehabilitation services to inmate patients. Current openings are in Butner, N.C., Devens, Mass., Lexington, Ky., Terminal Island, Calif., and Terre Haute, Ind.
Why this is a dream job: It's an opportunity to help an underserved population receive medical care. Some BOP PTs work at medical referral centers (MRCs) - prisons with a medical mission - where they evaluate and treat inmates who need to regain function before returning to the inmates' own prisons. Others work at non-MRC facilities, where many inmates need ongoing therapy for chronic medical needs. PTs interact with a multidisciplinary team of healthcare providers while also working independently in state-of-the-art clinics. All current BOP PTs are commissioned officers of the U.S. Public Health Service; employment as a Federal Civil Servant is also possible.
Types of patients and injuries you
would work with: BOP therapists see male and female inmates with a wide range of musculoskeletal, neuromuscular, integumentary, and cardiopulmonary diseases and diagnoses. Each facility has a unique medical mission such as orthopedics, long-term care, chronic care, wound care, assisted living, cardiopulmonary rehab, or women's health care.
Word on the street - what your colleague has to say about this employer: "Every day brings something different. We are able to work autonomously to evaluate and treat patients with an interesting variety of pathologies. Many therapists are working in specialty areas and being reimbursed with specialty pay. The BOP and Public Health Service also provide many opportunities for advanced training and therapist deployment in times of national need," says Commander Jean Bradley, PT, MSPT, GCS, BOP chief therapist.
What you could do for fun if you lived here: Most BOP medical referral centers or chronic care facilities are located in or near metropolitan areas that abound in culture, cuisine, and recreation. Butner is near the Research Triangle Area (Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill); Devens is a short drive from historic Boston; Lexington is more pastoral, in the heart of horse country; Terminal Island is near eclectic, fun Long Beach; and Terre Haute is just 75 miles from bustling Indianapolis.
What you would be paid: Salary is determined either via the U.S. military pay scale for commissioned officers in the U.S. Public Health Service, or via the Federal General Schedule for civil service therapists. Benefits for the former include full health insurance, tax-free housing and meal allowances, a benefited retirement plan after 20 years of service, malpractice insurance coverage, and 30 paid days of vacation time starting the first year.
Interested? Contact:
Commander Jean Bradley, PT, MSPT, GCS
Tel: 817-782-4572 or e-mail: jebradley@bop.gov
