This position is located at the G. V. (Sonny) Montgomery VAMC serving as a Facility Patient Advocate 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 variety of patients, family and staff use of tact, diplomacy, sound judgment, compassion, flexibility, and a good sense of humor are extremely important.
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement,07/16/2025 Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade at 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. 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: . Identify elements of clinical or administrative practices which contribute to or cause patient complaints and recommend higher authority changes which will reduce or eliminate justified complaints. Assist patients in understanding their rights in addition to their responsibilities and evaluating and analyzing the situation, giving rise to the complaint to determine if more information is needed, if a valid complaint exists, if the issue can be resolved informally, and what steps are needed to resolve the issue. Develop and provide in-service education as necessary to bring awareness to the hospital staff of the patient's perceptions of his/her facility experience, thereby contributing to improved staff understanding and attitude. Plan and carry out assignments and resolving problems or deviations in the work in accordance with general directions, previous training, or accepted techniques and organization practices. Experience using federal laws; VA regulations and directives governing benefits for veterans; facility operating policies and procedures; and a comprehensive understanding of various health care services to serve the patients and their families. OR, Educational Substitute: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have had 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; or possession of a LL.M., if related. OR, Education/Experience Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grades GS-11. To compute, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100% to qualify. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Analysis and Problem Solving Communication Conflict Management Critical Thinking Customer Service Manages 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/.
Duties include but are not limited to: Collaborates with facility staff in the creation, development, and implementation of initiatives and actions that improve the patient experience. Serves as the liaison between the facility, patients, staff, and the community to ensure Patient Rights and Responsibilities and advocacy services are available. Assists patients in understanding their rights, in addition to, their responsibilities Explains a variety of government laws, directives, and policies to individuals of varying levels of educational and cultural backgrounds. Communicates patients' concerns, opinions, and needs to appropriate staff and management Communicates trends to facility leadership to help drive system improvements. Presents patient issue data and patient inquiry trends at meetings and/or to committees. Explores all avenues, crossing all lines of authority and responsibility within a medical facility, in order to properly identify the nature and scope of the problem and to initiate appropriate action to expedite a resolution. Facilitates resolution to problems beyond the capability of front-line staff. Resolves difficult and complex patient complaints. Identifies the elements of clinical or administrative practices that contribute to or create an atmosphere for patient dissatisfaction. Participates in resolution of system problems by presenting the patient's perspective of the problem and the desired resolution. Identifies training needs for front-line staff in resolving issues on first contact. Reviews and interprets information contained in medical and administrative records. Collects, analyzes, and evaluates patient complaint data. Identifies existing or potential problem areas and suggests solutions or alternatives to existing procedures which contribute to these problems Recommends changes which will reduce or eliminate substantiated complaints. Reviews appropriate documentation and records, and discusses with personnel or witnesses regarding any practice that appears to violate the patient's rights or which cause unnecessary discomfort or embarrassment. Prepares reports to identify process improvement opportunities. Produces cumulative reports to track patient inquiries and trend the patterns to identify areas of improvement needed. Manages a patient centered complaint resolution process to include complaint resolution, data capture and analysis of issues/complaints to make system improvements. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30am to 4:00pm. Subject to change based on the need of the facility. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Patient Representative/PD99864S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized