The Program Specialist is located in the Specialty and Hospital Medicine Service Line of the Nebraska Western Iowa Health Care System. The incumbent reports to the Administrative Officer in the Specialty and Hospital Medicine Service Line.

Duties

Duties include but are not limited to the following: Provides advice to management on the distribution of clinical work among positions in the Specialty Medicine service. Advises the Service Chief and clinical staff on efficient utilization of positions and employees in clinical areas staffed by physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician-assistants Assists and advises management on decisions involving workload book-ability management, taking into consideration the number of clinicians, time frame etc. Monitors setups and identifies when adjustments are in order and makes recommendations for adjustments to clinic managers and chiefs. Lead staff both administrative and clinical concerning clinic scheduling, patient inquiry, clinic note closures, workload validation, etc. using various computer software. i.e. VISTA, CPRS, Microsoft Work, Excel and Outlook. Works directly with the clinic manager, Clinical Section Chief, and Service Chief to assign staff to various activities to ensure that productivity and access to care are maximized. Assists with orientation of new staff into standard operating procedures of the clinics. Reviews, evaluates, and interprets regulatory guidance, policies, and procedures applicable to the health services programs. Provides guidance to senior Specialty Medicine clinical staff through the development of policies, procedures, standard operating procedures (SOPs), electronic tracking systems, and dissemination of information related to the health services programs. Publishes guidance to enhance and simplify completion and submission of health service-related actions. Evaluates assigned processes to determine areas of effectiveness, efficiency, and improvement. Recommends areas of improvement to the Administrative Officer and Service Chief. Incorporates best practices to help improve patient access to care and those standards are met within assigned services. Analyzes Care in the Community and healthcare access trends and CBOC utilization in order to adjust program to changing needs of the rural Veterans. Coordinates with Care in the Community team and the CBOC senior clinical staff to assess and adjust services available at CBOCs. Facilitates multi-site coordination and problem resolution. Incumbent serves as a Medicine Department ADPAC with the following responsibilities: - Requests new, updates or terminates user accounts - Monitors and validates computer access for the users in their service - Manages Mail Groups - Troubleshoots basic IT issues such as Active Directory account issues, CPRS account issues, and management of Active Directory account updates. Completes other duties as directed by the Specialty Medicine Service Chief and Administrative Officer. 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: Monday - Friday tour between 6:00 am and 6:00 pm. To be discussed during interview. Telework Eligibility is ad hoc and not a full time telework position. 3+ days per pay period. 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#: Program Specialist/PD707120 and PD707110 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved 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, 01/02/2024. GS-09 level: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Supervised or entry level Collecting Analyzing and interpreting data to developing reports and maintain records; Utilization of various software applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint to prepare presentations and reports; Communicating with internal and external customers; providing administrative support in an office or health care setting; managing spreadsheets to track various items such as budget, productivity, waitlist, or other data; identifying and analyzing issues, and developing recommendations to resolve problems . OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree if related that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position.. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond the first year (18 semester hours) may be used to qualify applicants for the GS-09 level. GS-11 level: 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: Managed or unsupervised Collecting Analyzing and interpreting data to developing reports and maintain records; Utilization of various software applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint to prepare presentations and reports; Communicating with internal and external customers; providing administrative support in an office or health care setting; managing spreadsheets to track various items such as budget, productivity, waitlist, or other data; identifying and analyzing issues, and developing recommendations to resolve problems NOTE: 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. OR Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, or an LL.M. if related 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 GS09 and for the 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: Transcripts must be submitted with application. 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 beyond the first year (18 semester hours) may be used to qualify applicants for the GS-11 level.. Capacity ManagementCustomer ServiceData ManagementOrganizational AwarenessProject Management 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 is primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required. The work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts that require normal safety precautions typical of such places as offices, clinical areas, meeting and training rooms, or libraries. The work area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. 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 VA Nebraska-Western Iowa HCS - Omaha 4101 Woolworth Avenue Omaha, NE 68105 US
• Name: Timothy Ries
• Phone: 605-336-3230 X7700
• Email: [email protected]