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Patient Relations Assistant

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
West Palm Beach VA Medical Center, West Palm Beach, Florida

Summary

The incumbent serves as a Program Support Assistant Guest Relations for Patient Advocacy with primary duties and responsibilities supporting the Veteran Experience Officer. The position is in Patient Advocate Section under the Veteran Experience Officer. The incumbent is physically located at or near a main entrance of the campus and/or supporting the Information Desk. This position has the direct support for Guest Relations Information, Escort Services and wheelchair management.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
04/23/2026 to 05/04/2026
Salary
$43,384 - $56,399 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 5
Location
2 vacancies in the following location:
West Palm Beach, FL
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
Yes
Announcement number
CBTC-12938080-26-TAB
Control number
866457800

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

The area of consideration is current, permanent employees of the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center and satellite offices and those employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Note: ICTAP is outside of this area of consideration.

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Duties

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Duties include but are not limited to:

  • Provides Veterans, their families, and visitors with staff who can quickly respond to inquiries, identify problems, and aid to improve the experience of those visiting the campus.
  • Responds to customer immediate needs including navigation, direction, and information assistance.
  • Serves as the initial, as well as the final point of contact for guests entering and leaving the facility; is a key influence toward patient/public perception.
  • Receives, greets and direct callers over the telephone and in person with precise clear instructions.
  • Provides information about the organization, its functions, and activities.
  • Provides assistance requested to ease the experience of the customer.
  • Directs Veterans, visitors and callers to appropriate staff member and/or department based on specific request or by determining the nature of the need and initiates service recovery when needed.
  • Takes accurate messages and ensures their delivery to support a responsive culture to the customer.
  • Provides personal wayfinding assistance and often takes Veterans and visitors to locations when they have difficulties with instructions provided.
  • Provides excellent customer service via the telephone and face-to-face simultaneously; ensures customers are greeted with respect and dignity.
  • Addresses customers by answering questions concerning the location of outpatient clinics, inpatient area pharmacy, radiology and lab services and other areas of the medical center.
  • Meets the demands of a busy facility providing simply understandable instructions and or directions.
  • Responsible for communicating effectively with individuals from varied backgrounds as well as those with mental and/or physical health problems.
  • Operates computer and photocopy machine to make copies of forms, letters, etc. from the original, assembles and staples copied materials, and distributes completed photocopy work.
  • Responsible for all administrative functions of the program; will be actively involved in identifying problem areas and in the development of methods to improve the functions of the program.
  • May work with Volunteers who support guest relations.
  • Responsible for delivering ongoing customer service training to VA staff via face-to-face or computer-based mediums.
  • Back-up for other Patient Advocate activities; will have frequent verbal interaction with customers to include determining and documenting their level of satisfaction with their experience

Work Schedule: Rotating Shifts to include weekends
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Patient Relations Assistant/PD02986A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
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
  • Physical Requirements: Required to stand and walk for prolonged periods of time along with sitting at a computer for extended periods of time to perform work. May be required to push a wheelchair, bend or kneel to obtain information or assist patients. Required to carry light objects such as files, clipboards, medical records, etc. A pre-placement evaluation is 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 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, 05/04/2026.

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-05 position, you may be advanced without time restrictions to positions up to GS-05, if the position to be filled is no more than two grades above the lowest grade the employee held within the preceding 52 weeks under his/her latest non-temporary competitive appointment. 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 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: answering phones and log calls; provides directions and assistance to patients and guests; provides friendly, excellent customer service; greeting patients and offering assistance for appointments; locates appointments in computer system; reports safety concerns. OR,
  • Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed four (4) years above high school. OR,
  • Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond the first 60 semester hours is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement.
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/.

***PREFERRED EXPERIENCE: The best qualified applicant will have previous Customer Service experience in a federal agency. The highly qualified applicant will have previous Patient Relations Assistant experience in a federal agency and fully meet the specialized experience skills as stated above. Will have documented experience related to customer service, quality improvement process, and problem solving.****

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

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.

TheCareer 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.

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 West Palm Beach VA Medical Center opened in 1995 and is a general medical and surgical facility, providing a full range of patient care services, as well as comprehensive medical education and residency programs and limited research. All-inclusive health care is provided through primary care, emergency care and long-term care in the areas of medicine, surgery, mental health, physical medicine and rehabilitation, radiology, telemedicine, dentistry, hemodialysis, comprehensive Cancer Center and geriatrics and extended care including hospice and palliative care. The medical center provides health services to Veterans throughout South Florida and the Treasure Coast at its main facility in West Palm Beach and six contractor-operated community-based outpatient clinics in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Fort Pierce, Okeechobee, Stuart and Vero Beach.

Agency contact information

Takisha Butler
Email
takisha.butler@va.gov
Address
West Palm Beach VA Medical Center
7305 North Military Trail
West Palm Beach, FL 33410
US

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