Clarification from the agency

OPEN to all VHA employees only

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Major Duties:

Program Administration Management 75%:
Delegated full authority of the Chief, HAS for non-clinical administrative activities occurring during irregular tours. Interprets VA rules and regulations relating to determining legal entitlement to benefits relating to hospital admission; nursing home, dental, domiciliary, Community Care (outside VA), and outpatient care; dental treatment; prosthetic appliances; patient transfer; and beneficiary travel. Authorized as certifying officer for documents pertaining to the administration of laws concerning VA. Coordinates the resolution of medical legal problems concerning the medical center. Ensures that appropriate legal, regulatory, and policy requirements are met. Processes administrative issues surrounding beneficiary death, seriously ill cases, elopements, suicides, assaults, deaths on arrival (DOAs), homicides, code blue, cost recovery matters, and facility or community disasters, etc. Determines the appropriateness of notifying the medical examiner of unusual deaths. When unusual circumstances occur determines actions to cancel clinics and appointments. Seeks clinical input and initiates process to contact affected parties and reschedule where appropriate.

Provides administrative authority, guidance, and decision making to Medical Officer of the Day (MOD), Nursing Officer of the Day (NOD), and other similarly named Nurse and Medical positions in charge after hours, and all other clinical staff concerning administrative matters necessary for operation of the medical center during other than normal tours. Provides orientation and situational technical advice to physicians regarding VA policies and procedures. Assists medical center staff with medically related problems, including involuntary commitments, orders of protective custody, and management of unruly or severely disturbed patients. Performs for administrative matters as the MOD does for clinical matters, working as a team to carry out top management responsibilities during other than regular working hours. Promotes harmonious working relationship among patients, public, and staff. Directly intervenes with problems regarding patient activity, directing and advising clinical staff of appropriate administrative action. Observes, evaluates, and coordinates administrative activities with IRMS, Engineering, Ol&T, Laboratory, Medicine, Radiology, Nursing, Hospice, and Environmental Management services and personnel among others. This includes administrative rounding to designated areas during second and third shift.

Management Analysis and Program Analysis 25%:
Conducts analytical studies on operational processes, issue topics, or related special projects as assigned. These may include access, consultations, travel, enrollment management, Medical Center Memoranda or Policies or other topics related to the flow of patient care related to health administration processes. These studies may require study planning, statistical measurement, data analysis, and report preparation and development using databases and dashboards available through VSSC or the Health Eligibility Center. It also may involve research for action items from VISN, or other national VA oversight bodies. Reviews data and information for trends, problem areas, and makes recommendations to management to resolve issues. As many of these issues will require contact with patients for scheduling, additional information, or a resolution of discrepancies, a handoff will be required to contact patients during the day.

HODs at the full performance level will be responsible for training new HODs at the developmental level. This includes developing and providing job aids and other training materials for new HODs, leading on shifts with a new HOD shadowing, and providing continuing education to meet 30/60/90-day competency checklists.

After normal business hours data assistance includes work on processing beneficiary travel claims, scanning the 10-10EZ enrollment applications into the VES system, disposition of the registration of veterans, confirming that the veteran has an honorable or general discharge and/or confirm in VIS that veteran has military service established, run reports and analyze gains and losses, Bed Management, and EARR encounters. HOD also trained in analyzing and managing JPATS, VEText, Patient Check-In, Fugitive Felon Program, and EAAS. Perform other duties as assigned.

Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

Work Schedule: 1pm-9pm/ flex tour
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Medical Admin Specialist/PD99385S

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
• 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 or trial 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, 12/15/2025.

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-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5 and 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.


You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

• GS-301-7 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-5) in the Federal Service, that is directly related to the work of the position and is equipped with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties as a Medical Administrative Specialist - HOD. Qualifying specialized experience includes Basic knowledge of medical center organization, functions, specialties, and programs, i.e., Social Work, Nursing, Laboratory, Radiology, etc.; experience locating and interpreting regulations from a wide range of sources; reviewing data and information for trends, problem areas, and makes recommendations to management to resolve issues; ability to cope with wide variety of problems and to resolve them quickly and decisively; and explain and organize complex issues in writing.

• GS-301-9 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 at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-7) in the Federal Service, that is directly related to the work of the position and has equipped me with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties as a Medical Administrative Specialist - HOD. Qualifying specialized experience includes experienced using a wide range of medical center administrative concepts, principles, and practices; provides technical guidance necessary to meet procedural, legal, and administrative requirements relating to the care and treatment of patients; reviewing data and information for trends, problem areas, and makes recommendations to management to resolve issues; interpreting rules, regulations, policies, and procedures to make sound decisions; and identify and analyze complex problems or situations with a range of variables. 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. OR,
• GS-0301-7 Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 1 full year of graduate level education orsuperior academic achievement. Superior Academic Achievement (SAA): I meet the qualification requirements for this position using SAA. I have completed all the requirements for a bachelor's degree in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled and I meet one of the following: Rank in the upper one-third of your class in the college, university or major subdivision; A grade-point average of "B" (a GPA of 2.95 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all completed undergraduate courses, or those completed in the last two years of undergraduate study; A grade point average of "B+" (a GPA of 3.45 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all courses in your major field of study, or those courses in your major completed in the last two years of undergraduate study; Membership in a national honor society (other than freshman honor societies) recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies.
  NOTE: Copies of transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation.
• 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.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

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

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.

Note: 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.

Physical Requirements: The work requires much walking through the medical center with occasionally the requirement to lift objects such as suitcases, clothing, or medical charts.

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/.

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.