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Children's National Hospital
Washington, District of Columbia

Physical Therapist II - NICU

Physical TherapistIncludes callNo weekendsFull-Time

Listed compensation

$82k-$137k

The week · per this posting · Monday – Friday

Ask the employer about the work setting, nights and shift pattern and time off.

Posted 1mo ago

Job Description

111 Michigan Avenue Northwest Washington, DC 20010

Kids Are Our Everything.

Department: 10485 Physical Therapy

Pay Range

$82,222.40 - $137,051.20

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8am-430pm

Unit: Inpatient NICU

Who We Are

Children's National Hospital Level IV NICU Physical Therapist provides specialized care for the most critically ill and medically complex newborns. Our multidisciplinary team is committed to delivering exceptional, family-centered care while supporting the growth and development of infants through innovative therapies and compassionate expertise. Here, you'll have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact alongside some of the nation's leading pediatric specialists.

About the Role

The Physical Therapist II will be responsible to provide advanced skill level physical therapy service to a wide spectrum of pediatric disabilities/diseases. Must be knowledgeable in therapeutic exercise, abnormal and normal development, and modalities such as hydrotherapy and electric therapy.

Work collaboratively with leadership, and program manager to provide updates for clinical and administrative operations of Rehabilitation Program and specifically with Physical Therapy Department.

What You'll Bring

Minimum Work Experience

  • At least 3 years of physical therapy experience with 3-4 years of pediatric experience preferred. (Required)
  • Physical Therapy in NICU setting (Preferred)
  • Required Licenses and Certifications
  • Physical Therapist
  • Must have DC licensure or licensure in treating jurisdiction, upon hire (Required)

Functional Accountabilities

Clinical Skills and Expertise

  • Evaluate and treat patients using appropriate frames of reference pursuant to practice acts.
  • Select reliable and valid assessment tools relevant to diagnosis, functional limitation and patient history.
  • Synthesize findings of evaluation to formulate valid and appropriate treatment plan and functional goal outcome.
  • Has evidence of advanced knowledge in a minimum of 3 core competency areas in physical therapy.
  • Recognize advanced competency in 1-2 pediatric physical therapy clinical areas
  • Present one case study and one evidence-based practice in-service to department staff (internal professional ladder only).

Documentation

Comply with departmental policies and procedures for inpatient and outpatient documentation.

Ensure documentation of aides and students are reviewed and co-signed.

Leadership

  • Act as an ongoing mentor to Level I staff, students and other health care professionals.
  • Assume primary or back up clinical instructor role for students.
  • Assist team to prioritize and plan daily treatment schedules and manage patient load.
  • Participate and enhance role of physical therapy in multidisciplinary clinics, programs and research.

Administrative

  • Complete all administrative assignments to include billing, UKG and requested operations input on time.
  • Participate in data collection on research projects and PI initiatives.
  • Identify need for change in current policies and procedures to reflect update in care and best practice.

Benefits That Support You

  • Comprehensive health coverage, including medical, prescription, infertility, and transgender health services.
  • Generous paid time off, including vacation accrual from day one, sick leave, holidays, and a personal day.
  • Financial wellness support, including a 401(k) plan and healthcare and dependent care spending accounts.
  • Employer-paid life, AD&D, and long-term disability coverage, with optional supplemental plans.

Additional perks, including tuition assistance, fitness resources, employee assistance, commuter benefits, and more.

Why Join Us

Nationally Recognized Excellence – Consistently ranked among the Top 10 Children’s Hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.

Leading Pediatric Care – One of the largest and most comprehensive children’s hospitals in the country, offering nationally ranked specialties and cutting-edge treatments.

Innovation & Research – A premier academic medical center with a strong commitment to pediatric research, education, and advancing the future of child health.

Mission-Driven Culture – Dedicated to providing family-centered care while fostering a collaborative, supportive environment for clinical teams.

The disclosed salary range includes the minimum and maximum rates within which Children’s National believes an individual’s base pay rate will fall for this position. It is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the maximum of the pay range.

The exact pay rate for this position will be based on a variety of factors in alignment with the Children’s National compensation philosophy.

These factors are legitimate and non-discriminatory including, but not limited to, the current market conditions; organizational needs; the individual’s combination of prior work experience, level of education, knowledge, skills, and other qualifications.

Children’s National is committed to providing a fair and competitive total rewards package to each of our employees. This base salary range does not include our comprehensive benefits package or any additional compensation for which this position may be eligible.

Childrens National Hospital is an equal opportunity employer that evaluates qualified applicants without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, identity, or other characteristics protected by law. The “Know Your Rights” poster is available here: and the pay transparency policy is available here: Know Your RightsPay Transparency Nondiscrimination Poster.

Please note that it is the policy of Children's National Hospital to ensure a “drug-free” work environment: a workplace free from the illegal use, possession or distribution of controlled substances (as defined in the Controlled Substances Act), or the misuse of legal substances, by all staff (management, employees and contractors). Though recreational and medical marijuana are now legal in the District of Columbia, Children's National and its affiliates maintain the right, in accordance with our policy, to enforce a drug-free workplace, including prohibiting recreational or prescribed marijuana.

Key Responsibilities

The Physical Therapist II provides specialized, advanced-level physical therapy services to critically ill newborns in the NICU. They also collaborate with leadership to manage clinical operations, mentor staff, and participate in research and multidisciplinary clinics.

Requirements

Candidates must have at least 3 years of physical therapy experience, with 3-4 years of pediatric experience preferred. A valid DC physical therapy license or licensure in the treating jurisdiction is required upon hire.

Qualifications

Education
Professional certificate or licensure
Experience
2+ years of experience

Key Skills

NICU careClinical evaluationTreatment planningPatient assessmentMentoringClinical instructionMultidisciplinary collaboration

Physical Therapist Career Context

Of the 40 active Physical Therapy listings this role was benchmarked against, 50% have no call, 70% require no weekends.

The cost-of-living index for District of Columbia is 109.9 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$110k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $100k in an average-cost state. 64.3% of District of Columbia clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Work-Life Balance Analysis

WeekdayDoc's proprietary algorithm rates Physical Therapist II - NICU at Children's National Hospital a 6.4 out of 10 for work-life balance — classified as good. This places the position in the Above average in Physical Therapy — ranked against 22,195 active Physical Therapy listings on WeekdayDoc. Contributing factors include no weekend requirements.

Top Physical Therapist Jobs

29 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution29 jobs · 22 employers

10
<$105k
10
$105k-120k
2
$120k-135k
6
$135k-150k
1
$160k

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks27 jobs · 22 employers

401k / retirement match
89% this job
CME allowance
78%
Sign-on bonus
74%
Loan repayment
30%
Relocation assistance
15%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Physical Therapist (PT) Home Health | $150,000 Annual Salary (Redding)

Home Care Providers Group · Yuba City, California

$150k-$160k
#2

Acute Care Physical Therapist

Sentara Health · Hampton, Virginia

$103k-$149k
#3

Physical Therapist - Studio City

$90k-$140k
#4

Physical Therapist - West Hollywood

$90k-$140k
+ 27 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 4.8this job 6.4
Better work-life than 70% of Physical Therapy listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 22,195 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • No weekends
  • On-site
  • Includes call

Living in Washington

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$642k≈ 7.8× annual pay
Typical market rent
$2,517/mo≈ 37% of gross pay
Residents’ average commute
30 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
108.9
State income tax
Up to 10.8%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Aug 2026), Zillow market rents (Aug 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

BEA 2024 · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

Ratios use this listing’s gross annual pay. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.

Children's National Hospital logo

About Children's National Hospital

Hospitals and Health Care
Washington, DC
5,001-10,000 employees

Benefits & Perks

Comprehensive health coverage
Generous paid time off
401(k) plan
Healthcare and dependent care spending accounts
Employer-paid life, AD&D, and long-term disability coverage
Tuition assistance
Fitness resources
Employee assistance