This position is located at the John J. Pershing VAMC serving as a Facility Patient Advocate responsible for coordinating complaint resolution by working with facility staff to help resolve issues and concerns and ensuring communication with patients about their experiences of care occurs. Due to the diversity of patients, family and staff; use of tact, diplomacy, sound judgment, compassion, flexibility, and a good sense of humor are extremely important.

Duties

Patient Advocacy within VA exists to ensure patient concerns are heard and addressed to improve the overall experience and quality of care for patients. Effective, high-functioning Patient Advocacy is integral to fulfilling the goal of providing Veterans with world-class health care. Major duties and responsibilities include: Complaint Resolution Patient Advocates assist Service Level Advocates (SLAs) and front-line staff in resolving issues that occur at the point of service, while also addressing more complex complaints that were not able to be resolved at the point of service. When a complaint is identified, the incumbent explores all avenues, crossing all lines of authority and responsibility within the medical facility, in order to properly identify the nature and scope of the problem and to initiate appropriate action to expedite a resolution. Proactively identifies existing or potential problem areas and suggests solutions or alternatives to existing procedures which contribute to these problems. Due to circumstances or sensitivity, may be asked to independently resolve the most difficult and complex complaints, expedite services, and implement necessary corrective measures within established facility policies. Reviews appropriate documentation and records, and discusses with personnel or witnesses regarding any practice that appears to violate the patient's rights or which cause unnecessary discomfort or embarrassment to patients, their family, or the health care facility and reports such findings with recommendations for improvement to department chief, the Facility Director and/or the Facility Quad/Pentad. Patient Representation Serves as the liaison between the Facility, patients, staff, and the community, ensuring Patient Rights and Responsibilities, advocacy, and services are available. Assists patients in understanding their rights, in addition to, their responsibilities. Provides a channel through which patients can seek solutions to problems, concerns, and unmet needs, recognizing that complaints are a gap between service expectations and the actual experience of the patient. Patient Advocates work directly with health care teams, Service Chiefs, and management to facilitate resolution to problems beyond the capability of front-line staff and participate in resolution of system problems by presenting the patient's perspective of the problem and the desired resolution. Interprets the Facility's mission, policies, procedures, and available resources/services to the patient and presents the patient's concern, opinions, and needs to appropriate staff and management. Represents the Facility Director in safeguarding and ensuring ethical, statutory, and constitutional rights of patients are met. Data Analysis/System Improvement Serves as a staff member directly supporting facility Executive Leadership responsible for planning, organization, development, direction and evaluation of VA Medical Facility administration. Ensures VHA Patient Advocacy goals, policy and requirements are met by collecting, analyzing, and evaluating relevant data, and preparing meaningful reports based on that data. The Patient Advocate works to identify the elements of clinical or administrative practices which contribute to or create an atmosphere for patient dissatisfaction and recommends appropriating official changes which will reduce or eliminate substantiated complaints. The Patient Advocate serves on committees whereby patient complaints are identified, resolved, classified, and the data is utilized to improve overall services to patients. The incumbent presents patient issues and data at various facility meetings and committees. Incumbent provides trends of patient inquiries at service and facility levels. Relationship Management The Patient Advocate maintains a strong and consistent focus on Complaint Resolution which must always be accompanied by attempts at Service Recovery. Service Recovery focuses on extending efforts to make up for a situation or experience that did not meet the expectations of the patient. It is an expectation that rounds throughout the facility are conducted on a routine basis to solicit patient feedback and build strong relationships with SLAs and service leadership. Rounding also increases the visibility of the Patient Advocate role and promotes the availability of service which it can provide. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: ADHOC Virtual: This is NOT a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Patient Representative/PD99864S 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, 09/01/2023. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: GS-09: You must possess one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal Service, which equipped you with the competencies required to successfully perform the duties of the position which include but are not limited to; Comprehensive knowledge of the principles and practices, federal laws, regulations, policies and procedures governing eligibility, benefits, care, access, services, clinical appeals, and privacy and skill in applying this extensive knowledge to the most difficult and complex problems which patients; Knowledge of medical terminology and VA nomenclature used with a variety of administrative, diagnostic, and treatment procedures provided to all categories of patients; skill in oral and written communication as well as interpersonal relations, Knowledge and skill to conduct interviews in the routine daily encounters with patients, family members, staff members, and external organizations that intercede on behalf of patients, Analytical and evaluative skills and techniques to plan and conduct comprehensive studies and evaluations. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a master's or equivalent graduate degree providing you with the ability to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position? (Transcripts Required). OR, Do you possess 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree. (Transcripts Required) Specialized Experience: GS-11: You must possess one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal Service, which equipped you with the competencies required to successfully perform the duties of the position which include but are not limited to; Comprehensive knowledge of the principles and practices, federal laws, regulations, policies and procedures governing eligibility, benefits, care, access, services, clinical appeals, and privacy and skill in applying this extensive knowledge to the most difficult and complex problems which patients; Thorough knowledge of various Public Laws as well as the Privacy Act, Freedom of Information Act, Advance Directives Act, and others are required; Knowledge of medical terminology and VA nomenclature used with a variety of administrative, diagnostic, and treatment procedures provided to all categories of patients; Comprehensive knowledge of major issues, program goals and objectives, work processes, and administrative operations of the medical facility to evaluate and recommend solutions to measure, evaluate, and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of key medical center operations that have (or may have) a significant impact of the patient experience; skill in oral and written communication as well as interpersonal relations, Knowledge and skill to conduct interviews in the routine daily encounters with patients, family members, staff members, and external organizations that intercede on behalf of patients, Analytical and evaluative skills and techniques to plan and conduct comprehensive studies and evaluations. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree providing you with the ability to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position? (Transcripts Required). OR, Do you possess 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree. (Transcripts Required) You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Customer Service Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Oral Communication Problem Solving 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 Demands:The work includes walking, standing, bending, carrying of light items, and occasionally assisting with a wheelchair. In some instances, relationships with patients and caregivers can become intense and the incumbent is constantly exposed to high levels of stress and anxiety. This position demands emotional stability, as the incumbent is deeply involved with many challenging, seriously ill, and/or dying patients and their caregivers.Work Environment:The work environment involves the normal risks typical of an office with the additional risk of dealing with patients who may be hostile and/or are not in touch with reality. Visits are routine to the units/clinics, as well as, administrative offices in the Facility. The incumbent may encounter patients with medically emergent needs/situations and illnesses/conditions that are considered infectious.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

Physical Requirements: Regular and recurring work is mostly sedentary involving sitting at a desk, although the position requires the ability to move from one geographic location of the facility to another. The incumbent works with a computer screen and keyboard. Some physical effort such as standing, walking, bending or prolonged sitting may be required. The incumbent may be exposed to walking to outlying areas. The work places no special physical demands on the employee.

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/.


A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address John J Pershing VA Medical Center 1500 North Westwood Boulevard Poplar Bluff, MO 63901 US
• Name: Jerome Edmonds
• Phone: (573)712-3971
• Email: [email protected]