Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this occupational series. For more information, refer to Required Documents below. **All U.S. Citizens **This position is being filled using U.S. Code 38 U.S.C. § 7412 which waives the requirement to apply Veterans' preference to external applicants for appointments made to shortage occupations.

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Duties include but are not limited to:

• Ensures patients with malignant disease and some reportable benign conditions are submitted and followed in accordance with established procedures and professional ethics required by various accrediting agencies.
• Retrieves and analyzes registry data and disseminates cancer data as required.
• Coordinates with Quality Improvement Coordinator to disseminate pertinent findings using Cancer Registry data to the Cancer Committee.
• Works independently and as a required member of the hospital Cancer Committee.
• Reports estimates of production capability of Cancer Registry and anticipated workload (based on experience) to higher level management for potential future personnel initiatives.
• Responsible for lifetime disease surveillance/follow-up of all cancer patients accessioned into the Salem VAMC Cancer Registry Database.
• Supports all cancer registry operations to ensure the objectives of the Cancer Registry and the Cancer Program standards are met.
• Provides technical advice and data on one or more of the following areas in the Salem Cancer Program: utilization patterns, clinical outcomes, performance measures/monitors, patient satisfaction, patient demographics, workload capture, discrepancies in clinical documentation.
• Plans and develops priorities and working guides, recommends policy changes to the Cancer Committee regarding data standards.
• Performs case ascertainment to determine reportability of patients with a malignancy, certain premalignant and benign conditions diagnosed and/or treated to ensure inclusion in the VA Cancer Registry System database.
• Creates correspondence, graphs, charts, lists, activity reports and must have the knowledge to search the Internet and Intranet through various commercial and VA software programs.
• Searches the VA Cancer Registry computerized database and/or manual master file system to determine the inclusion status for the information gathered in daily review and analyses of reports.
• Determines if active disease at follow-up is recurrent disease, progression of disease or a new primary cancer and curates that data according to American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer guidelines.
• Enters all information into the computerized database follow-up section and assigns appropriate codes as required by various Cancer Registry guidelines using multiple cancer specific coding manuals from national standard setters and VA.
• Reviews, compares, and evaluates Electronic Health Record documentation for quality assurance.
• Some travel may be required to attend workshops and conferences essential to the continued education of the employee and to the quality of data collected.

Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm, Monday - Friday
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Telework: Not Available
Remote: Yes - This position is eligible for remote work and is currently operating under an extension of the Return-to-Office (RTO) mandate. Please note that remote work eligibility is reviewed on an ongoing basis and does not imply a permanent remote work status until an approved exemption is approved. Employees in this role may be required to comply with future RTO requirements as determined by agency policy.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• 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.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 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 trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• English Language Proficiency Requirement: MRT (Cancer Registrar) candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• Experience/Education: Experience: One year of experience that indicates knowledge of medical terminology and general understanding of the health record. Six months of the required one year of experience must have provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) needed to perform MRT work.OR,
• Education: Two years above high school with a minimum of 12 semester hours directly related to MRT work (e.g., courses in medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, and introduction to health records). OR,
• Experience/Education Combination: Equivalent combinations of experience and education are qualifying. The following educational/training substitutions are appropriate for combining education and experience:
  • (a) Six months of experience that indicates knowledge of medical terminology and general understanding of the health record and one year above high school with a minimum of six semester hours of health information technology courses.
  • (b) Successful completion of a course for medical technicians, hospital corpsmen, medical service specialists, or hospital training obtained in a training program given by the Armed Forces or the U.S. Maritime Service under close medical and professional supervision. Training may be substituted on a month-for-month basis for up to six months of experience, provided the training program included courses in anatomy, physiology, and medical record techniques and procedures. The position requires six additional months of experience that indicates knowledge of medical terminology and general understanding of the health record.

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements listed above, the candidate must meet the following grade level requirements to qualify.

GS-9 Experience: Must have at least one (1) full year of experience equivalent to the GS-08 level. In addition to the experience, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

1. Ability to organize work, set priorities, and delegate tasks/responsibilities to meet deadlines.
2. Knowledge of neoplastic disease processes, cancer staging systems, biologic and molecular prognostic indicators to determine derived stage.
3. Knowledge of reportable diseases, surveillance, epidemiology and end results program, cancer staging systems, multiple primary and histology rules, international classification of diseases for oncology, morphology and topography, cancer treatment modalities, and data requirements.
4. Ability to analyze data using comparative statistical methods and present the data in graph format.
5. Ability to interpret and apply facility bylaws regarding the cancer program.
6. Knowledge of legal and regulatory requirements governing cancer registry operations to plan, organize, and maintain special cancer registries.
7. Ability to communicate orally and in writing to ensure staff compliance with written directives, rules, and regulations.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Preferred Qualifications: Current Oncology Data Specialist (ODS)-credentialed. Extensive understanding of National Cancer Database (NCDB) data requirements, Commission on Cancer (CoC) standards for accredited cancer programs, pathophysiology, advanced medical terminology, full spectrum oncologic therapies and the oncological disease processes.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-9. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-9.

Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. There are no unusual physical demands.

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 MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

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.

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.

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.