Patient Representative

The Patient Representative is primarily responsible for complaint resolution with service recovery, receiving compliments, working with Service Level Advocates to help resolve issues and concerns and communicating with patients about their experiences of care. Works exclusively in the Patient Advocate Tracking System (PATS-R).Collaborating with other facility staff in the creation, development, and implementation of initiatives and actions that improve the patient experience throughout the VAMC.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/06/2026. 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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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. Examples of appropriate SF-50's include: Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-09 Level Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Assists patients in understanding their rights, in addition to, their responsibilities. Communicates patients' opinions, and needs to appropriate staff and management. Collects, analyzes, and evaluates patient complaint data. Prepares reports to identify process improvement opportunites. Reviews and interprets information contained in medical and administrative records. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a 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., if related. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an an appropriate combination of specialized experience and education. 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. GS-11 Level 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. Specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Facilitates resolution to problems beyond the capability of front-line staff. Resolves difficult and complex patient complaints Recommends changes which will reduce or eliminate substantiated complaints. Communicates trends to facility leadership to help drive system improvements. Produces reports to track patient inquiries and the patterns to identify area of improvement needed. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.M., if related. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an an appropriate combination of specialized experience and education. 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. 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/.