The incumbent of this position serves as Patient Representative (Patient Advocate) within the Office of Veteran Experience for the Medical Center. This position assists and supports overall coordination of the Veterans Experience and Patient Advocate programs. Major duties consist of serving as liaison between the medical center, patients and staff, and the community regarding the patient experience, patient rights and advocacy.
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of closing date of this announcement, 11/06/2025. Time-In-Grade Requirement: 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 within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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: GS-9 - Specialized Experience: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-07) in the Federal Service, that is directly related to the work of the position and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties as a Patient Representative/Advocate. Examples of specialized experience would typically 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. Communicates patients' concerns, opinions, and needs to appropriate staff and management. Identifies training needs for front-line staff in resolving issues on first contact. Communicates 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 hours worked per week. ~OR~ Education: Successfully completed two (2) years of progressively higher-level graduate education or masters or equivalent graduate degree or LL.B. or J.D., in a related field of the position to be filled. Education at the graduate level must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. ~OR~ Combination: Combinations of successfully completed graduate level education (beyond the first year) and specialized experience as described above, to meet the 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. This 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. Experience must be clearly indicated in your resume. GS-11 - Specialized Experience: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-09) in the Federal Service, that is directly related to the work of the position and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties as a Patient Representative/Advocate. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Explores all avenues, crossing all lines of authority and responsibility within a medical facility, to properly identify the nature and scope of the problem and to initiate appropriate action to expedite a resolution. Resolves difficult and complex patient complaints. Identifies the elements of clinical or administrative practices that contribute to or create an atmosphere for patient dissatisfaction. Identifies existing or potential problem areas and suggests solutions or alternatives to existing procedures which contribute to these problems. 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: Successfully completed three (3) years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree, or Ph.D., 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: Combinations 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. 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/.
The incumbent serves as the liaison between the medical center, patients and staff, and the community regarding the patient experience, patient rights and advocacy. The incumbent serves as the facility Veteran Experience Representative (VER) with primary purpose of this role being to enhance the Veterans experience. The VER will assure the timely resolution of patient and family complaints, identify and participate in the identification and correction of system issues, educate staff regarding patient centered strategies and collect and analyze data in order to identify trends and patterns that create difficulty for patients or families using the Patient Advocate Tracking System (PATS). PATS is a vital resource to patients and managers as the information gained from PATS allows medical center management to understand how well the facility is meeting the expectations of our patients; this information includes concerns voiced by Veterans, significant others, and stakeholders. The incumbent will maintain a clear communication between the Veteran population, staff and facility leadership. The incumbent will be responsible for supporting proactive training initiatives including Patient Centered Care Training, New Employee Orientation and New Patient Orientation. Incumbent reports and documents patient status and changes, and documents using monthly summaries or quarterly summaries pertaining to both resolved and unresolved patient and/or family concerns. Incumbent communicates pertinent information to appropriate parties concisely, accurately and in a timely fashion. Reports significant and relevant information and issues to leadership. Reviews data, performs comprehensive analysis and recommends remedial actions. Performs established follow-up procedures for insuring that remedial actions are implemented in a timely manner and takes independent and appropriate action necessary to implement programs or activities and correct problems. Incumbent works with Service Level/Line Patient Advocates/Case Managers and provides a channel through which patients can seek solutions to problems, concerns and unmet needs. Works with health care providers and administrative support staff throughout the medical center in preventing and resolving patient complaints and in enhancing Veteran experience. Assists patients in understanding their rights in addition to their responsibilities. Maintains liaison with Veteran's service organizations, community groups, and other entities whose interests are in helping and protecting Veterans, their families and their representatives. The incumbent interprets the Medical Center's mission, policies, and procedures, assesses available resources/services/options available to the patient and then represents the patient's problems, opinions and need to appropriate staff and management. Explains entitlements to patients and their families. Assists patients, their families and representatives, and facility staff members in recognizing the need to remove institutional barriers to ensure optimum health care is delivered to our Veterans. Identifies existing and potential program areas, suggests solutions or alternatives to existing procedures which contribute to these problems. Acts to resolve problems, expedite services, or implement necessary corrective measures within established facility policies and, where appropriate, through committee participation. Has overall responsibility for the resolution of patient problems. Receives and listens to complaints and grievances from patients or from individuals on behalf of patients that are unresolved at the service level. The incumbent is authorized to directly contact any member of the hospital staff concerning problems relating to patient care which were not resolved through the local Service Level/Line Patient Advocate/Case Manager and the incumbent must work with staff to seek a resolution, whenever possible, utilizing the full resources of the health care and VA systems. 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; 07:30am - 4:00pm or Monday - Friday; 08:00am - 4:30pm PST Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Patient Representative/PD21173A and PD21615-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized