Comprehensive Care Team

Rehabilitation nursing offers a unique opportunity to help restore patients’ lives after injury while working as part of an interdisciplinary care team. Our nursing team of RNs, LPNs, and patient care technicians (PCTs) serve as collaborators, educators, care coordinators, and advocates. Our team is committed to progress – in the life-changing care we provide, the communities we serve, the way we think, and the research we lead.

UAB Medicine nurses have unmatched benefits. Our rehabilitation units offer self-scheduling and a variety of shifts and schedules to support work life balance. UAB Medicine supports certification by covering the costs to obtain certain professional certifications and provides an annual certification recognition payment. Whether you stay at the bedside or move up the clinical ladder, we have programs in place to support your career growth and encourage you to function at the highest level of professionalism. Our Professional Nursing Development Program is a three-level program, designed and led by nurses, that rewards staff as they pursue achievements in leadership, education, research, and clinical care. Learn more about being a part of our six-time Magnet-designated nursing team at UAB Medicine.

Our rehab nurses:

• Provide comprehensive and complex care to deliver optimum outcomes for the patients we serve
• Pride ourselves in providing patient-centric care and developing lifelong connections with our patients and their families
• Receive unparalleled satisfaction and gratification from witnessing and supporting our patients and their families in their journey to recovery

“The first priority is to save a patient’s life. Afterward, a rehab nurse can restore their living.”

• Physical therapy is used to strengthen and restore functional movements, such as standing, walking, and moving different body parts. It is also helpful in pain management.
• Develop strong relationships with physicians, other team members, patients, and their families
• Provide one-on-one treatments to high-acuity patients

“I love being a physical therapist at UAB Medicine. The wide variety of conditions I get to see not only improves my skills as a therapist, it better equips me to improve the lives of my patients.”

• Work primarily in inpatient rehabilitation, alongside experts from different rehabilitation disciplines
• Play a key role in improving patients’ quality of life by assisting them with adapting to former leisure interests or in identifying new leisure interests after disability
• Skill restoration and community re-entry

“UAB Medicine trusts me to do what I think is best for my patients. That responsibility and trust empowers me to consistently seek new challenges in my career – challenges that are met with ample rewards.”

Internship Program
The UAB Medicine Therapeutic Recreation Internship Program includes comprehensive training and hands-on experience under the supervision of a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) in the inpatient physical rehabilitation setting. Learn more about this internship opportunity.

Completed applications and questions can be sent to srcrecreationaltherapy@uabmc.edu.

• Music therapy interventions can address a variety of healthcare goals:
  • Promote wellness
  • Manage stress
  • Alleviate pain
  • Express feelings
  • Enhance memory
  • Improve communication
  • Promote physical rehabilitation
• Have autonomy and responsibility to determine the frequency and type of treatments used
• Consulted by our physicians as indicated

“Working at UAB Medicine as a music therapist gives me the opportunity on a daily basis to better the lives of my patients by combining my two passions: art and science.”

Internship Program
The UAB Medicine Music Therapy Internship Program includes comprehensive training under the supervision of several MT-BCs in every area of medical concentration.

• Create components of the assessment and plan of care for a wide range of functional activities, such as neuromuscular re-education and activities of daily living (ADL) training
• Use multiple evidence- and research-based therapies to help patients achieve individualized and life-changing goals

“I work with some of the most acute patients – patients and cases that I wouldn’t see anywhere else. I can’t imagine a more rewarding career than being an OT at UAB Medicine.”

• Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) work to prevent, assess, diagnose, and treat speech, language, social communication, cognitive-communication, and swallowing disorders in children and adults.
• Collaborate daily with physicians and team members across many rehabilitation disciplines to develop individualized treatment plans
• Are presented with multiple opportunities to both teach and learn from others in their field, including continuing education programs and participating in nationally recognized UAB conferences

“Growing up with deaf parents, I always knew that I wanted to be a speech therapist. I just didn’t know where. I ultimately chose UAB Medicine because of the diversity of the patients and, quite frankly, its reputation.”

Internship Program
The UAB Medicine Speech-Language Pathologist Internship Program includes comprehensive training and hands-on experience. The application periods are listed below.

• Spring semester: Applications accepted in April for selection in August
• Summer semester: Applications accepted in February for interviews and selection in March
• Fall semester: Applications accepted in March for interviews and selection in April

• Serve as patient advocates in the coordination of care, to help ensure that patient and family goals are integrated and implemented in the plan of care
• Identify barriers to discharge and work with the interdisciplinary team to remove barriers to facilitate a safe and efficient discharge
• Perform utilization review and provide justification to payors for ongoing stay

“The new case management model has been a wonderful addition to our patient care, and I have thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with the case management team and other disciplines in preparing for patients’ discharges.”

• Work with the interdisciplinary teams to compile all necessary benefits and determine if Spain Rehabilitation Center is within payor network
• Request authorization and facilitate timely communication with the Rehab Admissions team, to help ensure an expedient admissions process

The role of the pre-admission case manager is integral to the admissions process. They ensure the patient’s benefits cover inpatient rehabilitation, submit for authorizations to insurers/payers, and assist with identifying alternate resources, when indicated, so that the patient receives the care they require.

• Plan, develop, and coordinate activities that support the Prospective Payment System (PPS) for Spain Rehabilitation Center
• Complete and submit the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Patient Assessment Instrument (IRF-PAI) for each inpatient with Medicare as a funding source
• Ensure accurate patient functional status scores; educate and train staff when needed
• Ensure compliance with all state and federal requirements regarding the transmission of information

PPS Coordinators are experienced rehabilitation professionals from various clinical backgrounds. They are highly skilled in attention to detail and CMS documentation requirements to ensure the patient outcomes are accurately captured and the organization is accurately reimbursed for services provided.

• Educate patients and medical teams on services provided at Spain Rehabilitation Center
• Collaborate with acute care interdisciplinary teams to assist with the final decision to admit patients to inpatient rehab based on guidelines from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

“I enjoy being a rehab liaison because I am able to continually use my clinical knowledge from all my years as an OT to provide education and options for rehab to patients and their families. It is a great feeling to be an integral part of a person’s road to independence.”

“I enjoy being a part of the pull-through process at Spain Rehabilitation Center, helping ensure that patients are able to begin their recovery following a devastating life event. It is rewarding knowing I can still work with patients as I have progressed through my career, starting out as a bedside therapist.”

UAB Medicine offers numerous professional growth opportunities through the Clinical Advancement Program, which is available to all disciplines. The program grows therapists into professional clinicians, who incorporate evidence-based practices and patient- and family-centered care to achieve positive patient outcomes. The program promotes the development of clinical excellence, clinical competence, and leadership skills among staff.

UAB Medicine encourages and rewards continuing education and offers many ways to expand your skills and knowledge, thanks to an active Clinical Advancement Program and ongoing activities such as grand rounds. Research opportunities exist across the continuum of rehabilitation care and in conjunction with the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the UAB School of Health Professions.

Collaboration is a central part of working at UAB Medicine, and that collaboration begins with a comprehensive orientation and training program for new staff members. Our therapists also rely on guidance from colleagues, support staff, and management, and they are encouraged to pursue continuing education opportunities. In addition to highly skilled, specialty trained colleagues in the rehabilitation field, patients have access to 600-plus specialists across more than 30 clinical areas. Depending on the diagnosis of each patient, therapists serve in key roles alongside physicians, psychologists, rehabilitation case managers and nurses, as well as specialized therapists in other fields. Because UAB Medicine is one of the best places to come for clinical training, there are endless opportunities for experienced therapists to work with students.