Summary This position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6), Fredericksburg VA Healthcare Center, Consumer Affairs Office, Patient Experience Center. The PRA provides interaction with patients & their families and assist in the administration support of the Patient Experience Center. The incumbent works with staff across the Medical Center ensuring problem resolution & patient satisfaction. Responsibilities The Patient Relations Assistant (OA) provides the highest level of customer service and service recovery. incumbent works with veterans, their families, Medical Center services, Congressional offices and service organizations and is the initial VA contact for many veterans and their families. The incumbent, on a regular and recurring basis, performs the following patient relations function: Receives customer requests for information, and listens to routine to potentially serious patient complaints concerns and issues. Documents and reports the results of patients interviews and safeguards the patient's ethical, statutory and constitutional rights. Provides reports to the Medical Center's administration on corrective measures and service recovery actions taken on behalf of the Patient Advocate and/or the Customer Service Manager. Receives and listens to complaints and grievance from patients and their family. The Patient Relations Assistant explains patients' rights and their responsibilities. Answers a wide variety of questions related to services provided and clarifies the Medical Center policies and procedures. Handles institutional administrative procedures on behalf of patients and their families. acts as a liaison between Veterans and staff when needs have not been met and resolves problems on various issues, referring serious problems, opinions, and needs to the appropriate staff, Patient Advocate or Customer Service Manager. Responses must be researched and prepared for the signature of the Medical Center Director within the designated time frame. Develops and conducts the Voice of the Customer Surveys and facilitated listening. Collects and analyzes survey data for identification of system problems which impact a positive patient experience. Considers the quantitative results of various patient processing systems, the influence of the medical data being compared, the degree of flexibility in the systems, and the anticipated processing problems which will be created or solved by revisions in the systems. Acts as a central source of information within and outside the patient experience office. Is cognizant of the larger VHA system and makes referrals to VBA and other outside agencies. Supports customer service needs of the clinics through regular communication, providing training, appointment to improvement teams and special projects. Provides administrative support for the Patient Experience Center by entering work orders for maintenance of equipment and ordering supplies. Works effectively with interdisciplinary groups and collaboratively makes program enhancements based on research/studies. Maintains the Patient Advocate Tracking System (PATS) and ensures accuracy and timeliness of contacts and inquiries and logged into the system. Incumbent procedure cumulative reports of PATS data and analyzes patter trends to identify and recommend improvements for the patient experience. Determines correct office procedures and establishes guidelines for operations. Develops procedures to foster efficiency, productivity and excellent customer experience. Records all incoming congressional requests, researches electronics medical records for each request, gathers additional information from administrative and clinical staff, composes letters and responses for review and signature by Patient Advocates, Customer Service Manager and/or Medical Center Director. Meticulously monitors timelines for congressional(s) and maintains a collaborative communication with the congressional staff offices. Coordinates the activities of the Patient Advocacy/Patient Experience programs by maintaining records of meetings, scheduling activities and screening of incoming items. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Patient Relations Assistant (OA)/PD50238A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized 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. All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. 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 identification 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, 08/20/2026. 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-06 you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Experience with customer relations and handling concerns/complaints in a timely, competent, and caring manner; research problems and/or review issues and requests related to medical care; and providing administrative assistance such maintaining tracking systems and processing correspondence. 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 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. Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.
