Patient Representative - Facility Patient Advocate
: Job Details :

Patient Representative - Facility Patient Advocate

This position is in Quality and Patient Services at the White River Junction VA Healthcare System, 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. Due to the diversity of patients, family and staff use of tact, diplomacy, sound judgment, compassion, flexibility, and a good sense of humor are extremely important.

Responsibilities:

• Patient Advocacy within VA exists to ensure patient concerns are heard and addressed to improve the overall experience and quality of care for patients.
• Major Duties include, but not limited to:
• 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: Full Time, Monday-Friday 8am-4:30pm

Position Description/PD#: Patient Representative - Facility Patient Advocate/PD99864S

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Notification:

• This position is not a Bargaining Unit position.
• This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay.
• The incumbent may be required to travel to other VA campuses and CBOC's.
• Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.
• Interchange Agreements with Other Merit System: Employees who occupy medical or medical-related positions and were appointed under 38 U.S.C. 4701(1) or (3) [formerly 38 U.S.C. 4104 (1) and (3)] 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 internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.

Requirements:

Conditions of Employment:

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job

Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959

You may be required to serve a probationary/trial period

Subject to background/security investigation

Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.

Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements.

Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.

Qualifications:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/19/2025.

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 9. 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.

To qualify for this position at the GS-09 level, you must meet one of the following:

• Specialized Experience: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-7) 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.
• Qualifying specialized experience includes 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.
• 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 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.

To qualify for this position at the GS-11 level, you must meet one of the following:

• Specialized Experience: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-9) 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.
• Qualifying