This position is for a Details Clerk located within the Health Benefits unit at the Wilkes Barre VA Medical Center. The incumbent serves as a key contact for Veterans and their families regarding decedent affairs and for the coordination of telephonic consents for medical procedures with minimal supervision.

Duties

The incumbent s responsible for administrative details relative to all death cases occurring at the Medical Center. Incumbent must determine the legal person entitled lo receive funds and personal effects upon death of a veteran, and advise them of paperwork required to release the funds and effects. Upon release of items to a person legally entitled to· receive them, the incumbent often must prepare correspondence to Regional Office requesting advice regarding disposition. Documents all relevant occurrences with action taken, or follow-up action to be taken on Unusual Happenings Report. Reviews this report for the previous tours for possible follow-up action to be taken. Notifies next-of-kin and appropriate chaplain of patients being placed on and/or removed from the Seriously Ill list. Notifies next of kin of change in condition/ward assignment for the intensive care units, and for condition worsened for all wards. Obtains telephonic consents for special procedures, surge1y, or do not resuscitate orders per ward/physician requests, as well as recording 3-way conversations of unusual situations. Transcribes these consents and forwards to the appropriate ward. Mails consent forms to appropriate next-of-kin for signature, if person(s) giving consent is unable to come to the medical center to sign form. Assist funeral directors with information of veterans who do not expire at this facility, such as military information so the family can apply for VA burial benefits. Interviews family members of hospice patients for Pre-Funeral Arrangements. Interviews inpatient and/or his family when it becomes known that patient wishes to be a donor. Social worker often refers veteran and/or family to Details for assistance. Interviews family members for disposition of deceased patient funds. Incumbent tracks and requests administrative supplies such as printer cartridges, paper, pens, wristbands, and any other request that is requested from the team. Incumbent will request work orders through the Supervisor, track when action has been completed and follow up with staff to ensure issue has been resolved. Actively promotes a harmonious working relationship among patients, staff, and maximizes customer satisfaction in all interactions with Veterans, families, staff, other V AM Cs and health care facilities, and the public. Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, Monday thru Friday Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant (OA)/PD006130 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, 02/05/2024. 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-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04. 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-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Performing administrative functions, office operations and technology support for an organization; establishing and maintaining filing systems; experience using automated software applications such as Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint); typing letters, memos, reports; maintaining calendars and schedules. Overall administrative management in a clinical setting, Customer and Veteran focus service. AND/OR Education that has been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university. One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university, or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business, secretarial, or technical school. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. One full academic year of study beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience. This position requires the skills of a qualified typist. In addition to meeting the specialized experience, you must be able to type at least 40 words per minute. Additionally, your resume must include the following information for each job listed: Job title Duties (be as detailed as possible) Month & year start/end dates (e.g., June 2019 to April 2020) Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week) Series and Grade, if applicable, for all Federal positions you have held. Failure to provide in this format may lead to being rated ineligible You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Attention to DetailCustomer ServiceTechnical 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. Your resume must include a clear and detailed narrative description, in your own words, of how you meet the required specialized experience. Experience statements copied from a position description, vacancy announcement or other reference material constitutes plagiarism and may result in disqualification and losing consideration for the job. Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Typically, the employee sits comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking; standing; bending; carrying of light items such as papers, books, small parts; or driving an automobile, etc. No special physical demands are required to perform the work. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center 1111 East End Boulevard Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711 US
• Name: Shala Johnson
• Phone: (412) 822-2186
• Email: [email protected]