The Patient Representative's primary mission is to close the gap between the service the Veteran and/or their family members received and what they expected; and serves in integral role in fulfilling the goal of providing patients with world-class health care. The incumbent serves as a Patient Advocate at the Fort Wayne, Indiana campus. The position covers a variety of difficult and/or complex patient concerns, issues, and contacts for the Facility with the goal of providing resolutions

Duties

Responsible for complaint resolution with service recovery, receiving compliments, working to help resolve issues and concerns and communicating with patients about their experiences of care. The duties include, but are not limited to: Advocating on behalf of the Veteran and/or the family, to investigate a variety of complex issues to remove barriers and solve problems. Using a Patient Advocate Tracking System to capture complaints/compliments, send investigative requests to service chiefs, tracks closure and trend data to be used in performance improvement initiatives. Generating reports on the status and effectiveness of Medical Center program of Patient Advocacy. Acting as a liaison between Veterans, their representatives and other health care system staff members when working through issues. Acting on behalf of the facility Director to resolve problems and/or expedite services, within established facility policies and where appropriate, through committee participation. Assisting in conducting agency surveys of operating programs. Obtaining, organizing, filing, and retrieving reports, correspondence, and numerical data for use in preparing status reports, briefings, and presentations. Analyzing workflow to determine potential problem areas and makes recommendations to correct these areas and to improve coordination between the various units and/or offices. Playing a critical support role in developing and coordinating internal review systems to assure that both clinical and administrative activities are in compliance with agency and accrediting and regulatory requirements especially as they pertain to Patient Rights and Responsibilities. Assisting patients and health care system staff members in understanding patient rights, responsibilities and entitlements. Preferred Experience: Survey of Health Care Experiences of Patients. The survey of Health Care Experiences of Patients (SHEP) measures the Veterans experience across care settings, utilizing CMS Hospital Consumer Assessment of Health Care Providers & Systems (HCAHPS) surveys, standardized instruments with methodologically rigorous sampling and validated measures. SHEP measures should be the starting point of all patient experience improvement initiatives and efforts. SHEP measures should be utilized to formulate relevant indicators and used in conjunction with PATS and Veterans Signals (V-Signals) data to effectively identify opportunities and clearly develop action plans. Patient Advocate Tracking System. PATS is a computer application that tracks patient compliments, complaints, and other key data that captures the full scope of the Veteran Patient Experience. The application helps identify trends and emerging issues to inform performance and process improvement opportunities. PATS should be utilized to formulate relevant indicators and used in conjunction with SHEP and Veteran Signals (V-Signals) data to effectively identify opportunities and clearly develop action plans. Veteran Signals. The V-Signals platform is used to collect and analyze insights from Veterans, family members, caregivers, and survivors. V-Signals helps to identify and inform opportunities for immediate and short-term Service Recovery and long-term program and systems improvement. V-Signals measures the Veteran experience through multiple layers, including: (1) the VA-Wide Trust Survey measures trust at the aggregate level, (2) Service-Level Measurement Surveys (e.g., Outpatient Services) measure trust at the micro level (service level), (3) the Digital Comment Card allows Veterans to submit feedback at any time, and (4) social media scraping listens to activity on VA social media accounts. V-Signals should be utilized in conjunction with SHEP and PATS data to effectively identify opportunities for improvement in Patient Experience. VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: HR Specialist Total Rewards Work Schedule: Monday - Friday. 8:00am to 4:30pm. (Subject to change depending on the needs of the agency). 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. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Patient Representative/PD99864S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): 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, 09/26/2023. 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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. 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: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Providing customer service to patients and staff with resolving problems or complaints; identifying problem areas and suggesting solutions or alternatives; explaining policies and procedures; keeping accurate records and preparing reports and/or written correspondence; collaborating with facility staff to improve the patient experience. 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: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed three (3) years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree, LL.M., or equivalent doctoral degree in the related field of the position to be filled. The education portion must include courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. 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. . OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education such as an equivalent combination of successfully completed graduate level education (beyond the first 2 years) and specialized experience as described above to meet 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. 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: Analysis and Problem SolvingCommunicationConflict ManagementCritical ThinkingCustomer ServiceManages and Organizes Information 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 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. 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

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 Northern Indiana HCS 1700 East 38th Street Marion, IN 46953 US
• Name: Jessica Creal
• Phone: 8325160096
• Email: [email protected]