Patient Representative

Full Job Description

This position is located at the Washington, DC VA Medical Center 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, 03/12/2026.

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-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: 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.

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade 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; assisting patients and staff with resolving problems or complaints; assisting with identifying problem areas and suggesting solutions or alternatives; explaining policies and procedures; keeping accurate records and preparing reports and/or written correspondence.

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 degreeOR2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B.

or J.D., if related 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 graduate level education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level.

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 Advocacy within VA exists to ensure patient concerns are heard and addressed to improve the overall experience and quality of care for patients.

Effective, high-functioning Patient Advocacy is integral to fulfilling the goal of providing Veterans with world-class health care.

Major duties and responsibilities include: Complaint Resolution Manages the facility Veteran Centered Complaint Resolution (VCCR) process, including complaint resolution, data capture and analysis of issues/complaints to make system improvements Assists Service-Level Advocates (SLAs) and front-line staff in resolving issues and addressing more complex complaints Explores all avenues to properly identify the nature and scope of the problem and to initiate appropriate action to expedite a resolution Proactively identifies existing or potential problem areas and suggests solutions or alternatives to existing procedures which contribute to these problems Patient Representation and Relationship Management Serves as the liaison between the facility, patients, staff, and the community, ensuring Patients understand their rights, in addition to, their responsibilities Works directly with health care teams, Service Chiefs, and management to facilitate resolution to problems beyond the capability of front-line staff and participate in resolution of system problems by presenting the patient's perspective of the problem and the desired resolution Maintains a strong relationship with Veterans Service Organizations and others whose interests are in helping and protecting Veterans, their families, and their representatives Serves as liaison with congressional offices, responding directly to their staff assistants on matters involving patient concerns or dissatisfaction Data Analysis/System Improvement Ensures VHA Patient Advocacy goals, policy and requirements are met by collecting, analyzing, and evaluating relevant data, and preparing reports based on that data Works to identify the elements of clinical or administrative practices contribute to or create an atmosphere for patient dissatisfaction and recommends changes Presents patient issues and data at various facility meetings and committees Works closely with Facility Management to discuss trending concerns that may indicate the need for system improvements 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 to Friday - 08:00am - 04:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Patient Representative/PD99473-S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized