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Lead Patient Relations Assistant

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
South Texas Veterans Health Care System (STVHCS)

Summary

As the Lead Patient Relations Assistant, the incumbent will assign work to a team of Patient Relations Assistants and volunteers. The incumbent will construct plans and maintain compliance with assignment of various sectors to ensure coverage of the Health Care System's campuses. Incumbent will conduct daily meetings with Patient Relations Assistants to assign work as well as to communicate information provided from the Patient Experience Program Manager.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
03/26/2026 to 03/30/2026
Salary
$41,334 to - $53,735 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 5
Location
2 vacancies in the following location:
San Antonio, TX
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
25% or less - You will be expected to travel to the main facility and to Outpatient Clinics within the service area.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
CAZM-12922438-26-RBW
Control number
862749100

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Duties

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Duties include:

  • Conduct daily meetings with Patient Relations Assistants to assign work as well as to communicate information provided from the Patient Experience Program Manager.
  • Maintain and issue an extensive inventory of radio assets to ensure real-time connectivity and communication with team members on various aspects of the Health Care System to include services offered, location and changes.
  • Recommends changes and improvements to the Patient Experience Program Manager. Incumbent serves as a committee member on the Experience Committee and conducts Patient Experience Ambassador, Greeter, and Tour Guide training.
  • The incumbent will interpret the Health Care Center's mission, policies, procedures, and available services to Veterans and family members.
  • Makes recommendations for changes and improvements to the Lead Patient Relations Assistant. Assists Veterans, family members, and Health Care System staff members in recognizing and removing obstacles to providing the optimal patient experience.
  • Incumbent will serve as a liaison between the Veteran and Health Care System staff to provide maximal assistance to the Veteran and assist in resolving any conflicts or issues.
  • The incumbent will track and trend requests for information, concerns, and suggestions presented to the incumbent by patients.
  • Produce a weekly analysis and categorization of data to Lead Patient Relations Assistant and will assist Lead Patient Relations Assistant in developing patient experience improvements.
Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, Daytime (start as early as 7 am and go as late as 5pm depending on location), based off the need for the Agency.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Lead Patient Relations Assistant/PD671-3885-A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

Requirements

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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
  • 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, 03/30/2026.

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-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: 1) Extensive knowledge of Health Care System policies, procedures and regulations; 2) Translate medical center policies and procedures and regulations in a manner to help respond to patients' requests for assistance; 3) Extensive knowledge of patient rights and responsibilities law, eligibility laws, benefits regulation and medical terminology in order to thoroughly interpret these areas to patients in an easily understood manner; 4) Analytical and statistical skills in order to track, trend and prepare recommendations to problem areas. OR,
  • Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have four years of education above high school (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED). 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 high school. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. One full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED)
  • You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:- Communications- Customer Service- Interpersonal Skills- Organizational Awareness
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/.

Note: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application.

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.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and 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 ICTAP and 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/.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

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

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position:

  • Accountability
  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork


Your 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. 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. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

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.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

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.

Veterans Health Administration

OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate whole health care to Veterans?

The South Texas Veterans Health Care System (STVHCS) is comprised of two inpatient campuses: the Audie L. Murphy Memorial VA Hospital in San Antonio and the Kerrville VA Hospital in Kerrville, Texas. The STVHCS serves one of the largest primary service areas in the nation, with 35 counties, and is part of the VA Heart of Texas Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN 17), with offices located in Arlington, Texas. Providing a service to Veterans with a working staff of more than 4,900 employees, South Texas provides health care services for 114,000 Veterans. The STVHCS is a facility providing primary, secondary and tertiary health care in medicine, surgery, psychiatry, and rehabilitation medicine. It also supports a 90 bed Extended Care Therapy Center, a 30-bed Spinal Cord Injury Center, an eight-bed Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, and a Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center. Affiliated with UT Health San Antonio, the system has an active ambulatory care program with numerous satellite outpatient clinics.

Agency contact information

VISN 17 SSU USAS Group
Email
VISN17SSUUSAS@va.gov
Address
Audie L Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital
7400 Merton Minter Boulevard
San Antonio, TX 78229
US

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