Patient Representative

Full Job Description

The incumbent serves as a Patient Advocate within a CWM VAMC Medical Facility, Leeds MA (e.g., VAMC, CBOC, OPC, etc.).

On behalf of the VA Medical Facility Director, this position covers a variety of difficult and/or complex patient concerns, issues, and contacts for the Facility with the goal of providing resolution.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/23/2026.

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 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-11 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: providing customer service to patients and staff with resolving problems or complaints; identifying problem areas and suggesting solutions or alternatives; explaining policies and procedures; keeping accurate records and preparing reports and/or written correspondence; collaborating with facility staff to improve the patient experience.

OR, Education: completed three (3) years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D.

degree, LL.M., 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. Degree must be relevant to the position to be filled.

OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level.

You must have an combination 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.

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/.

Major Duties:

Patient Advocates are primarily responsible for 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.

The Patient Advocate works exclusively in the Patient Advocate Tracking System (PATS).

Although Patient Advocates do not document it the electronic medical record, it is expected that they are well versed in reviewing the record to quickly resolve concerns, whenever possible.

Complaint Resolution: The Patient Advocate is tasked with managing the facility VCCR process, including complaint resolution, data capture and analysis of issues/complaints to make system improvements.

All inquiries (compliments or complaints) no matter how a facility receives them (e.g., in person, email, voicemail, congressional, mail, survey, MyHealtheVet, etc.) must be documented in the Patient Advocate Tracking System (PATS), routed to the point of service, resolved, coded and closed.

Patient Advocates assist SLAs and front-line staff in resolving issues that occur at the point of service, while also addressing more complex complaints that were not able to be resolved at the point of service.

Diplomacy, good judgment, compassion, flexibility, and a good sense of humor are required to work with the diversity of patients, family and staff and the complexity and sensitivity of issues which have the potential of controversy or legal action.

The ability to comprehend and explain numerous government laws, directives, and policies is required to provide information to individuals representing various levels of educational and cultural backgrounds.

Relationship Management: The Patient Advocate maintains a strong and consistent focus on Complaint Resolution which must always be accompanied by attempts at Service Recovery.

Service Recovery focuses on extending efforts to make up for a situation or experience that did not meet the expectations of the patient.

It is an expectation that rounds throughout the facility are conducted on a routine basis to solicit patient feedback and build strong relationships with SLAs and service leadership.

Rounding also increases the visibility of the Patient Advocate role and promotes the availability of service which it can provide.

Patient Advocate must maintain the attitude of taking a negative experience and turning it into a positive, memorable experience for patients and employees.

Data Analysis/System Improvement: Serves as a staff member directly supporting facility Executive Leadership responsible for planning, organization, development, direction and evaluation of VA Medical Facility administration.

Ensures VHA Patient Advocacy goals, policy and requirements are met by collecting, analyzing, and evaluating relevant data, and preparing meaningful reports based on that data.

The Patient Advocate works to identify the elements of clinical or administrative practices which contribute to or create an atmosphere for patient dissatisfaction and recommends appropriating official changes which will reduce or eliminate substantiated complaints.

Produces, on a regular basis, a cumulative report which includes a categorization of patient inquiries to track and trend the patterns to identify opportunities for improvement.

Works closely with Facility Management to discuss trending concerns that may indicate the need for system improvements Work Schedule: 40 Hours a week, Monday-Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm, EST Telework: At Supervisory Discretion Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Patient Representative/PD99864S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Notifications: This position is not a Bargaining Unit position.

This position is in the Competitive Service.

Time-in-Grade Restriction: 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.

The grade may have been in any occupation but must have been held in the Federal service.

Interchange Agreements with Other Merit System: Employees who occupy medical or medical-related positions and were appointed under 38 U.S.C. 4701

or

[formerly 38 U.S.C. 4104

and

] must be serving in a full-time position without time limit and have served continuously for at least one year in this other merit system to be eligible to convert to the Title 5 System.

Some exceptions to this rule may apply if you have previously acquired tenure under a Title 5 appointment. Veterans' Preference does not apply for other current permanent Federal agency employees.