This position is located at the VA Maine Medical Center serving under the Community Care Department 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. This position is full-time 40hrs per week.

Duties

Major Duties and Responsibilities: 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. Serve as a liaison between the facility, patients, their families, representatives, and facility staff members in recognizing and removing barriers to the provision of optimum health care to veterans. Work directly with the health care teams, Service Chiefs, and management to facilitate resolutions to problems. Responsible for resolutions beyond the capability of front-line staff while participating in system problems resolves by presenting the patient's perspective of the problem and desired outcome Ensure patient advocacy goals, policies, and requirements are met; timely entry of patient/family issues or concerns, collection, analysis, and evaluation of relevant data. Prepare reports based on the findings and report to Services and Leadership,. Monitor evaluation data, analyzes data, identifies discrepancies, makes corrections, and recommends a course of action to assure accuracy and timeliness of patient data. Identify existing or potential problem areas; suggest solutions or alternative methods to existing procedures which contribute to these problems. Follow up on all issues and complaints. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: M-F 0800a-1630p 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. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Position Description/PD#: Patient Representative/PD03173A and PD03679 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Notifications: This position is in the Competitive Service. This position is a Bargaining Unit position. Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees. Travel and relocation expenses are not authorized. Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50 (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure, and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. Interchange Agreements with Other Merit System: Employees who occupy medical or medical-related positions and were appointed under 38 U.S.C. 4701(1) or (3) [formerly 38 U.S.C. 4104 (1) and (3)] must be serving in a full-time position without time limit and have served continuously for at least one year in this other merit system to be eligible to convert to the Title 5 System. Some exceptions to this rule may apply if you have previously acquired tenure under a Title 5 appointment.

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/13/2023. 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 07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS 05. For a GS 09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS 07. 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 and/or education as described below: GS-07 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: understanding hospital systems; knowledge of Federal Laws, VA eligibility regulations and directives governing medical benefits for Veterans; Understanding of medical terminology; Suggesting solutions or alternatives to existing procedures; knowledge of various Public Laws as well as the Privacy Act, Freedom of Information Act, Advance Directives Act; Tracking, trending, and analyzing of data and Reviewing policies, identifying existing problems and potential problem areas. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 1 year of graduate-level education.Superior Academic Achievement at the GS-7 level: (SAA) at the baccalaureate level in the coursework detailed above is fully qualifying. Applicants who wish to apply under this provision must submit proof from their educational institution that they meet one of the criteria listed below. To qualify for SAA, applicants must have completed all the requirements for a bachelor's degree in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled and meet one of the following: Rank in the upper one-third of your class in the college, university or major subdivision. A grade-point average of "B" (a GPA of 2.95 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all completed undergraduate courses, or those completed in the last two years of undergraduate study. A grade point average of "B+" (a GPA of 3.45 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all courses in your major field of study, or those courses in your major completed in the last two years of undergraduate study. Membership in a national honor society (other than freshman honor societies) recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies. For a list of recognized honor societies please visit http://www.achsnatl.org/quick_link.asp. For more information regarding SAA please visit http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/SEC-II/s2-e5.asp#e4f. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education to meet the total experience requirements. The education portion must include graduate courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do to the work of this position. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. Experience must be clearly indicated in your resume. GS-09 Specialized Experience: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-7) in the Federal Service, that is directly related to the work of the position and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties as a Patient Representative/Advocate. Qualifying specialized experience includes providing customer service to patients; assisting patients and staff with resolving problems or complaints; assisting with identifying problem areas and suggesting solutions or alternatives; explaining policies and procedures; keeping accurate records and preparing reports and/or written correspondence. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. OR, Education: Successfully completed two (2) years of progressively higher-level graduate education or masters or equivalent graduate degree or LL.B. or J.D., in a related field of the position to be filled. Education at the graduate level must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. OR, Combination: Combinations of successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience as described above, to meet the total experience requirements. The education portion must include graduate courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do to the work of this position. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. Experience must be clearly indicated in your resume. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Customer ServiceEducation and TrainingProblem 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 Requirements: The regular and recurring work of the position involves sitting at a desk ,conferences, meetings, etc., and occasional visit to facility work sites. Occasional use of automobile and public conveyances may be required . No special physical exertion is required. 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.

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 Togus VA Medical Center 1 VA Center Augusta, ME 04330 US
• Name: BRANDY SMITH
• Phone: 410-585-5823
• Email: [email protected]