This position is located at the San Juan VA Medical Center serving as a Patient Representative 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 Manages the facility Veteran Centered Complaint Resolution (VCCR) process, including complaint resolution, data capture and analysis of issues/complaints to make system improvements Assists Service-Level Advocates (SLAs) and front-line staff in resolving issues and addressing more complex complaints Explores all avenues 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 Patient Representation and Relationship Management Serves as the liaison between the facility, patients, staff, and the community, ensuring Patients understand their rights, in addition to, their responsibilities Works 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 Maintains a strong relationship with Veterans Service Organizations and others whose interests are in helping and protecting Veterans, their families, and their representatives Serves as liaison with congressional offices, responding directly to their staff assistants on matters involving patient concerns or dissatisfaction Data Analysis/System Improvement Ensures VHA Patient Advocacy goals, policy and requirements are met by collecting, analyzing, and evaluating relevant data, and preparing reports based on that data Works to identify the elements of clinical or administrative practices contribute to or create an atmosphere for patient dissatisfaction and recommends changes Presents patient issues and data at various facility meetings and committees Works closely with Facility Management to discuss trending concerns that may indicate the need for system improvements Work Schedule: TBD Telework: Not Eligible Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Patient Representative/PD99864A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

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)

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/11/2023 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-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: Specialized Experience GS-9: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience that equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of a Patient Representative at the full performance level (GS-9), and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-7) in the Federal service. Specialized experience is experience such as complaint resolution with service recovery, receiving compliments, working with SLAs to help resolve issues and concerns and communicating with patients about their experiences of care; collaborate with other facility staff in the creation, development, and implementation of initiatives and actions that improve patient experience throughout the organization; manage the comprehensive Veteran Centered Complaint Resolution (VCCR) and service recovery processes, including final resolutions, data capture, trend analysis of issues and complaints, and communication of trends to facility leadership to help drive system improvements. Note: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hour worked per week. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. You must have at least one a master's degree or (2) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B or J.D in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of this position. Note: Transcripts must be submitted to receive credit for education. OR Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond a master's degree may be used to qualify applicants for the GS-09 level. Note: If using education combined with specialized experience to qualify, transcripts must be submitted You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:CommunicationComplianceComputer SkillsCustomer ServiceInformation AssuranceTechnical Competence 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 area is usually an adequately lighted, heated and ventilated office of a medical facility setting. The work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts that require normal safety precautions. The work is sedentary and may require some walking, standing, bending, occasionally assisting with a wheelchair, and carrying and/or lifting of light items like reports and small equipment. Must be able to walk about the office and medical center. 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 San Juan VA Medical Center 10 Calle Casia San Juan, PR 00921 US
• Name: Shannon Goodwin
• Phone: 912-933-0622
• Email: [email protected]