Patient Relations Advocate

Duties

• Represent the Command in safeguarding and ensuring ethical, statutory, and constitutional rights of patients.
• Interview patients, families/representatives, and facility staff members to identify institutional barriers for patient centered health care.
• Listen to complaints and grievances from patients or from individuals on behalf of patients and assist them in understanding their rights and responsibilities.
• Utilize a database to document all complaints and request for assistance.
• Report findings with recommendations for improvements

Requirements

Conditions of employment

• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• This position requires the incumbent be able to obtain and maintain a determination of eligibility for a Secret security clearance or access for the duration of employment. A background investigation and credit check are required.
• This position has mandatory seasonal Influenza vaccination requirements and is subject to annual seasonal Influenza vaccinations unless otherwise exempted for medical or religious reasons (documentation of exemption must be provided upon hire).
• This position has been designated Mission Essential. In the event of severe weather conditions or other such emergency type situations, the incumbent is required to report to work or remain at work as scheduled to support mission operations.
• Position is designated as Inclement Weather Essential. The incumbent must make every attempt to report for work on time and/or remain on duty during severe weather conditions.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected.

• 30 Percent or More Disabled Veterans
• Current Civilian Employees of the Defense Health Agency (DHA)
• Current Permanent Department of Defense (DoD) Civilian Employee
• Domestic Defense Industrial Base/Major Range and Test Facilities Base Civilian Personnel Workforce
• Executive Order (E.O.) 12721
• Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan
• Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act
• Military Spouses, under Executive Order (E.O.) 13473
• Non-Appropriated Fund Instrumentality (NAFI)
• Non-Department of Defense (DoD) Transfer
• Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Interchange Agreement Eligible
• People with Disabilities, Schedule A
• Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Reserve (MR) and National Guard (NG) Technician Eligible
• Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Spouse Preference (MSP) Eligible
• Priority Placement Program, DoD MR and NG Preference Eligible Tech Receiving Disability Retirement
• Priority Placement Program, DoD Retained Grade Preference Eligible
• Reinstatement
• Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) of 1998
• Veterans Recruitment Appointment (VRA)

In order to qualify, you must meet the experience requirements described below. 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; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is .

Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes providing patient advocacy and healthcare resolution; reviewing medical records to identify errors in clinical practices; and utilizing data collection systems for reporting purposes. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-07).

OR

Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D. [remove LL.B or J.D., if unrelated] in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: [insert applicable field(s) of study].

OR

Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by 18. Add the two percentages.

Time in Grade Requirement: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent (GS-07).

The selecting official has requested a competitive and noncompetitive candidate list for this vacancy. If you are eligible for the noncompetitive list, you will be evaluated on basic and/or minimum qualifications, as applicable. While required to answer the assessment questions, non-competitive candidates will not be evaluated against the competitive rating & ranking criteria. The selecting official may select from any of the candidate lists.

Education

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: .

Additional information

• Male applicants born after December 31, 1959 must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
• You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
• This position requires a 1 year probationary period during which the agency evaluates your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In making this determination, the agency may consider your performance and conduct; agency needs and interests; whether your continued employment supports organizational or Government goals; and whether it promotes the efficiency of the Federal service. Continued employment requires written certification that it advances the public interest.
• Direct Deposit of Pay is required.
• Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees.
• Incentives MAY be authorized for highly qualified candidates.
• Advanced in-hire rate MAY be authorized for highly qualified candidates.
• Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement. \
• Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement.
• If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the information sheet.
• Payment of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs is not authorized, based on a determination that a PCS move is not in the Government interest.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests : If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: