Clarification from the agency

Open to Current permanent employees of the Togus VA Medical Center including permanent Veterans Canteen Service employees, current permanent full-time Hybrid Title 38 and permanent full-time Title 38 employees.

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The incumbent functions as the Patient Safety Specialist and point of contact for patient safety policies and activities developed by the National Center for Patient Safety (NCPS).

Duties may include, but are not limited to:

• Responsible for the development, maintenance, and operation of the VHA's patient safety program at the facility level in conjunction with the Patient Safety Manager.
• Maintains clear communication between the facility, VISN and National Center for Patient Safety (NCPS), both to communicate relevant patient safety information and lessons learned from the facility which have potential impact beyond the local level and to understand changes at the national level in the patient safety program.
• Performs duties directly contributing to the administrative management of the facility health care delivery system, and is responsible for planning, organizing, developing, managing, and evaluating the medical center's patient safety program in conjunction with the Patient Safety Manager. These duties require the ability to apply the specialized principles and practices of health care management in leading the facility's patient safety program.
• Performs Root Cause Analysis (RCA) activities.
• Performs general patient safety programmatic functions.
• Evaluates the RCA process as it functions in the facility and responds to improve it as appropriate.
• Develops background and management options available to deal with complex medical center planning and implementation problems related to the facility's patient safety program working closely with Patient Safety Manager.
• Plays a critical support role in developing and coordinating internal review systems to assure that both clinical and administrative patient safety activities are in compliance with agency and accrediting standards and regulatory requirements.
• Assumes primary responsibility for training and implementation of the patient safety, RCA, and HFMEA process to clinicians, management, and all relevant support personnel within their facilities and associated facilities and operations (e.g., home care) in conjunction with Patient Safety Manager.
• Provides education and training to new employees through new employee orientation, Nurses as part of the in-depth nursing orientation and medical residents on an annual basis and as needed basis.
• Responsible for translating policies, theories, and strategies into action within the complex interrelationships that exist related to patient safety.
• Serves as a Human Factors engineering resource for the facility by developing a list of local human factors engineering experts for use, as needed.

• Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.
• Interchange Agreements with Other Merit System: Employees who occupy medical or medical-related positions and were appointed under 38 U.S.C. 4701(1) or (3) [formerly 38 U.S.C. 4104 (1) and (3)] must be serving in a full-time position without time limit and have served continuously for at least one year in this other merit system to be eligible to convert to the Title 5 System. Some exceptions to this rule may apply if you have previously acquired tenure under a Title 5 appointment.
• Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.
• This position is a AFGE Bargaining Unit position.
• This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay.
• This position is subject to review and possible re-classification in accordance with government wide Office of Personnel Management (OPM) standards. Reviews could result in a change to lower grade.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• 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)
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/07/2025.
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-9. For a GS-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. 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.

Special Provision for In-service Placement: Successful completion of an agency-sponsored on-the-job training program may be substituted for qualifying experience, provided it included a formal individualized training plan. Such a training program must have been conducted in an operating health care system and included:

• Assignments providing a knowledge of basic health system administration philosophies, practices, and procedures, and basic government administrative policies and requirements;
• Practical assignments providing an opportunity to apply health system administration skills and principles (as the individual progresses, work assignments must be characteristic of the grade level to which he or she is assigned); and
• Oversight by an experienced health system administrator with periodic evaluation of the individual's progress and appropriate adjustment of the training program.

• 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. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: progressively responsible analytical or administrative, or clinical management or supervisory experience in the health care field. This work may have been performed in an operating health care facility or a higher organizational echelon with advisory or directional authority over such facilities. Work must have involved a close working relationship with facility managers and analysis and/or coordination of administrative, clinical, or other service activities, and provided knowledge of the following: (1) Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems; and (2) Regulations, national patient safety training materials and computer systems and applicable regulations of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. 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 successfully completed two (2) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position (i.e., hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration). OR,
• Combination: Applicants may also combine graduate level education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond the first year of graduate level education (18 semester hours) to qualify for the GS-09 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. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: progressively responsible analytical or administrative, or clinical management or supervisory experience in the health care field. This work may have been performed in an operating health care facility or a higher organizational echelon with advisory or directional authority over such facilities. Work must have involved a close working relationship with facility managers and analysis and/or coordination of administrative, clinical, or other service activities, and provided knowledge of the following: (1) Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems; and (2) Regulations, national patient safety training materials and computer systems, and and applicable regulations of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. At this level, applicants would have obtained this experience working within a health care setting, working directly with clinicians and other administrators working with all levels of staff within the facility, including top level management and patient safety teams to help build and implement patient safety systems and promote the culture of safety within the facilities and for patients in all healthcare settings. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree OR three (3) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, Or LL.M in the related field of the position to be filled (i.e., hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration). The education portion must include courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. OR,
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond a master's degree to qualify for the GS-11 level.

• Administration and Management
• Compliance
• Education and Training
• Organizational Performance Analysis
• Problem Solving
• Project Management

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.