Summary The Durham VA Medical Center is seeking (1) highly skilled/experienced Program Specialist to serve within Nursing Operations. Responsibilities The Duties and Responsibilities include but are not limited to the following: Responsibility for development, organization, management and application of information systems for the clinical and administrative activities of Surgical Service. Clearly understand the array of informational and data systems available through local and national sources which include; Vista mainframe system with its files and programs, File Man, Decision-Support System (DSS), Clinical Patient Record System (CPRS), Patient Treatment File (PTF), VISN Support Services Center (VSSC), Ambulatory Care Record Program (ACRP Ad Hock Report) including the encounter forms, CPT Coding Systems, ICD-9 Coding System, ICD-10, Medicare Pricing Structure, Clinical Practice Guidelines. Utilize the clinical, demographic and administrative information systems to develop patient demographics, stratified provider productivity models, hospital or inpatient statistical data analyses, outpatient operational data-bases, cost-based practice and programmatic information, individual provider practice patterns and section specific patterns, clinical operational models, and comparative models with private sector as well as national VA models of risk assessment. Develop and implement a management information system (MIS) specific to the clinical information needs of Surgical Service to include the outpatient clinic areas, inpatient areas, and the operating room. Maintain and also re-engineer the system to meet the changing needs for relevant information. Understand the clinical programs, clinical practice models, medical center and VA operational systems, and resource utilization and/or cost accounting systems in order to create information streams incorporating aggregate cost analysis against current operational models or options. Manage all workload capture systems assuring all visits, procedures, consultations and other forms of workload are completed in the appropriate timeframes to include encounter forms, consultations, visits, and Ambulatory Care Data Capture systems. Develop workload descriptive assessments with trend data or forecasting information to analyze workload and resource levels to meet current and the future demand. Aggregate data sets using appropriate statistical analyses of current clinical operations and clinical practice patterns. Expected to aggregate and analyze provider-specific clinical practice information to assess such activities as clinic utilization, case-mix analysis, patient referral patterns, consultation utilization patterns, and productivity models based on case mix complexities and IPEC data. Develop and analyze operation room utilization by the Service and each section which includes but is not limited to First Case Delays, Lag Time, Block Time Utilization, Cancellations, Staffing, Tracking any trends. Integrate individual provider data into meaningful group or sub-set information analyses such as, but not limited to, hospital admissions patterns, length of stay, bed days of care Surgical Intensive Care Unit case-mix review, Operating Room Utilization, and Clinic Profiles. Skill in applying analytical and evaluative techniques to the identification, consideration, and resolution f issues or problems of a procedural or factual nature in order to assist managers in understanding a complex care system and creating the basis for data-driven decision-making to improve the efficiency of the Surgical Service processes and procedures. Ability to apply qualitative and quantitative analytical techniques such as work measurement, productivity charting, and flowcharting of work process n order to compile reports to be used in understanding clinical practice systems and applications. Understanding and knowledge of the data streams and file systems of Vista and understand their operation and organization within the system in order to access and tap important data and information bases. Must be knowledgeable in all he major current and future information based streams used within the VA as practice-models, productivity models, patient demographic systems, and workload reports for instructing staff in all aspects of software used. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm Travel Requirements: No Telework: This position is not telework eligible. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist (Nursing Operations)/PD068630 Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required. 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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/20/2026. 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 as described below: 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. Project Activation, Workload Analysis and Evaluation, Space Management, Facility Planning, Consultative Data Analysis, and Training and Program Administration. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required. Adequate vision to use a computer, read printed material and charts as required. Must be able to hear normal voices and able to speak to an audience effectively. The incumbent will be subject to stressful situations due to short timeframes for completion of assignments and potential conflicts.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/. Education A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act. 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. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
