Summary The Medical Administrative Specialist (Administrative Officer of the Day (AOD)) position is organizationally aligned to the Business Office of Health Administration Service (BOHAS) at the Wilkes Barre VA Medical Center, Wilkes Barre, PA. The AOD represents the Medical Center Director andChief of BOHAS in administrative matters occurring during WHEN hours (Weekends, Holidays, Evenings, Nights) or other irregular hours. Responsibilities Provides administrative authority, guidance, advice, and assistance to the Medical Officer of the Day (MOD), the Psychiatric Officer of the Day (POD), and the Nursing Care Coordinator (NCC), and all other clinical and administrative staff concerning administrative matters necessary for the operation of the medical center during WHEN hours and other than normal tours. Interprets VA rules and regulations relating to determining legal entitlements to benefits relating to hospital admission, nursing home, dental, fee basis, outpatient care, prosthetic appliances, patient transfer and beneficiary travel. Provides orientation and situational technical advice to physicians and staff regarding VA. Processes and resolves to the maximum extent possible administrative issues relevant to beneficiary death, seriously ill cases, developments, suicides, assaults, deaths on arrival (DOA's), homicides, medical emergencies, cost recovery matters, and disasters at the facility or surrounding community. Prepares and maintains daily Gains and Losses Sheet and other related statistical reports. Directly intervenes when problems regarding patient activity occur, and advises clinical staff of appropriate administrative action according to medical center policy and procedures. Authorized as a Certifying Officer to certify documents pertaining to the administration of laws concerning VA. Ensures the VISTA (Veterans Information Systems and Technology Architecture) system, and other Health Information Systems are operational, and evaluates and initiates actions to resolve computer related problems. During regular hours, may be assigned as acting section chief or to perform additional medical administrative duties. Oversees the process for determining applicants' eligibilities; obtains income and insurance information from appropriate applicants; counsels appropriate applicants and Veterans to help determine their ability to defray costs of medical care; determines extent of release of medical or social data from patient records; safeguards and ensures the rights of patients; and serves and functions as Patient Advocate, Representative, and Ombudsman during tour of duty. 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: Rotating shifts including nights, weekends and holidays Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Medical Administrative Specialist/PD99385S Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this 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 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 or trial 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, 08/24/2026. 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-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-5 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 that demonstrated the ability to work and communicate with clients and customers to satisfy their expectations and committed to quality services; uses computers, software applications, databases, and automated systems to accomplish work; uses logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems; and, applies the process of discovery that involves the diagnosis of a problem or issue, identification and gathering of relevant information, formulation and evaluation of alternative solutions or courses of action, and selection or recommendation of the preferred solution or course of action.. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have one full year if graduate level education or superior academic achievement. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Analysis and Problem Solving Attention to Detail Computer Skills Critical Thinking Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Decision Making Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance 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; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: The work requires much walking through the medical center with occasionally the requirement to lift objects such as suitcases, clothing or medical charts. Work is accomplished in a busy, generally congested area. The AOD routinely goes to most sections of the building, including offices, clinics, wards, laboratories and the morgue. 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 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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. 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.
