This position, located at the Oklahoma City VA Health Care System, serves as a Lead Patient Representative for the entire Medical Center, and all CBOC's assigned to the Oklahoma City VAHCS, throughout the state of Oklahoma catchment area.

Duties

Major duties of this position include but are not limited to... Serves as a change agent and serves on Medical Center and VISN committees along with completing routine daily duties to ensure that quality customer service is provided to veterans, their families, and other internal and external customers Leads the Patient Advocates and Program Support Assistant and must be able to perform all the duties of each of these employees within the Office of Patient Advocacy and Veterans Experience Assist Patient Representatives in resolving issues that occur at the point of service and address complaints that were not able to be resolved at the point of service Works directly with Service Chiefs and Service management to facilitate resolution to problems beyond the scope of front-line staff and participate in resolution of system problems by presenting the patient's perspective of the problem and desired resolution Communicates facility complaints, satisfaction data, and program outcomes that may include identification of system approaches and Veteran experience trends across the facility, to facility leadership, including but not limited to the Supervisor/Chief, PENTAD and Quality Manager; ensures timely resolution of Veteran complaints Serves on appropriate local, VISN-level and national committees that are focused on enhancing the Veteran experience Ensures consultation is provided with Facility Patient Representatives, to include, addressing concerns not resolved at the facility level; works with the Facility Patient Advocate to resolve the complaint Ensures that patient complaint data are collected, analyzed and trended along with other quality improvement data and can be utilized within areas such as strategic planning, committees, team meetings and risk management Serves as the facility PATS User Coordinator; monitors the Patient Advocate Tracking System (PATS) to ensure that Veteran Feedback, such as complaints, compliments and requests for information are entered in PATS to enable a comprehensive understanding of Veteran issues and concerns and provide data to drive change Responsible for facility-wide staff education and training on customer service issues; provides patient experience data deep dive on facility and clinic-level experience scores, patient experience consultation and coaching, and patient experience strategic planning with the prioritization of goals and objectives for patient experience improvement Supports the Service Chief in Strategic Improvement Board initiatives and will be responsible for scheduling and coordinating the Veteran & Family Advisory Council meetings; actively involved with the Customer Service Committee Meetings and supports the Service Chief with information that will allow for the strategic alignment of the OKC VAHCS with the overall VHA Strategic Plan Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. An ADHOC telework agreement may be authorized as prescribed by management. Position Description/PD#: Patient Representative/PD99734S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/14/2023. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11 level. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to...thorough knowledge of Federal Laws, VA regulations and directives governing medical benefits for veterans; facility policies, procedures and organizational structure; medical terminology; services available; capabilities of clinics; and must be aware of changes which affect veteran's benefits; knowledge of complex policies of various agencies and organizations; Knowledge of the policies, patterns, and practices of regulated entities as they relate to the compliance programs of the various internal and external regulatory bodies; possess knowledge of the duties, priorities, commitments and program goals of both administration and clinical services in order to respond to concerns expressed by patients and their families relative to the healthcare services; knowledgeable about the patient's rights, the patient's wishes and the administrative process involved in addressing patient concerns and must have the knowledge and skills to discuss and negotiate with families and help determine what is in the best interest of the patient; must possess a a high degree of skill in oral and written communication as well as interpersonal relations; must possess skill in interviewing and knowledge of the process of inquiry, knowledge of counseling principles and record keeping techniques; utilization of analytical ability is required in reviewing policies, identifying existing problems and potential problem areas and suggesting solutions or alternatives to existing procedures which may contribute to those problems; knowledgeable about the current requirements of the Joint Commission which relate to patient rights, advance directives, living wills and other issues relating to patient rights and medical ethics; must possess tact, good judgment, empathy, flexibility, and a good sense of humor to work with the diversity of patients, family and staff and the complexity and sensitivity of issues which have the potential of controversy or legal action; able to comprehend and explain numerous government laws, directives and policies is required in order to provide information to individuals representing a myriad of educational and cultural backgrounds; must understand the extensive and complicated operations of the medical center and the specific treatment teams to recognize any discrepancies or inconsistencies which exist in the information provided by staff, patients or patients' families; and knowledge and ability are necessary to conduct reviews and inquiries in the routine daily encounters with patients, family members, staff members and external organizations who intercede on behalf of patients Preferred Experience: at least 52 weeks as a Patient Representative at the GS-11 level; Lean Six Sigma training You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Analysis and Problem SolvingCustomer ServiceData ManagementInfluencing/NegotiatingInterpersonal SkillsLeadershipManages Human Resources Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: This includes walking, standing, bending, carrying of light items such as medical records and occasionally assisting with a wheelchair. The incumbent will be required to use a computer, copier, fax, etc. In some instances, relationships with patients can become intense and the employee is constantly placed in a position of stress. This position demands extreme emotional stability as the Patient Representative is sometimes deeply involved with many seriously ill, dying patients and their families. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Contacts

• Address Oklahoma City VA Health Care System 921 Northeast 13th Street Oklahoma City, OK 73104 US
• Name: Etola Nesbitt
• Phone: 843-789-6036
• Email: [email protected]