Summary The Health System Specialist is assigned to the Medical Staff Office, which is under the Chief of Staff at a VA Medical Center (VAMC) and is responsible for providing administrative and technical direction and support to the credentialing and privileging (C&P) operations. The incumbent ensures compliance with VHA policies, directives, memos, and notices of The Joint Commission (TJC) standards, recommendations by the Office of Inspector General (OIG), and Government Accountability Office (GAO). Responsibilities Duties include but are not limited to: Assists the C&P Manager/Analyst in developing short- and long-term goals necessary to accomplish the mission of the C&P program. Assists C&P Manager/Analyst in drafting local credentialing processes and Medical Staff Bylaws in compliance with all applicable regulations. Ensures accurate provider data is entered into and maintained in the VetPro computer program. Manages provider applications (initial and renewals) for LIPs C&P within the VAMC. Provides guidance and instruction to hospital staff in completing the required documentation for establishing privileges for LIPs. Assures application packages and other documents meet technical requirements per specialty of provider and assures application folder and database account (VetPro or other internal databases and spreadsheets) meet technical requirements. Serves as technical advisor to the Executive Committee of the Medical Staff (ECMS) and if applicable the Credentials Committee. Prepares agendas for credentials-related meetings, ensures those involved are notified of expectations, and ensures appropriate paperwork is accomplished completely and accurately prepared for committee action. Conducts final appointment into the VetPro database, after thoroughly researching, analyzing, and validating all data, information, documents, and signature authorities. Develops and provides routine and special reports as requested by the C&P Manager/Analyst. Holds the credit card and is responsible for maintaining records, reconciling monthly charge statements, and verifying the legitimacy of requests for NPDB CQ enrollments/ renewals, licensure verification (if applicable), Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates , American Medical Association, FSMB, National Student Clearing House, Work Number and, board certification (if applicable). Participates in the required annual C&P self-assessment and if opportunities for improvement are identified, is involved in improvement efforts. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30AM-4:00PM Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for ADHOC telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist (Credentialing & Privileging Analyst)/PD99877S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized. Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. 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 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, 11/21/2024. 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-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. Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR / Series 0671 / GS-09): This position requires education or experience that must have been related to the work of the position for which the application is made. Applicants must meet one of the following: Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study-hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration (Transcript Required). OR, Specialized Experience: 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: Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems; Regulations and standards of various regulatory and credentialing groups; and Government-wide, agency, and facility systems and requirements in various administrative areas such as budget, personnel, and procurement. OR, 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. In addition to meeting the above IOR requirement, applicant must also meet the following grade requirement: 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-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: Broad and thorough knowledge of pertinent laws, regulations, policies, and precedents, accreditation standards and guidelines such as TJC, which affect the use of program related support resources in the area of C&P; Handbooks, Directives, Memos, and Notices; VetPro Policies/Standard Operating Procedures; and local medical center policies related to the principles, practices, and program goals of the C&P program; skill in applying analytical and evaluative methods and techniques to issues or studies concerning the efficiency and effectiveness of the C&P operations and toward the planning and accomplishment of a variety of routine and complex work assignments, such as advising leadership on documentation requirements for provider profiling and competence; knowledge of medical terminology, medical specialties, and core privileges and procedures to assure competence/appropriateness of credentials and privileging requested; ability to communicate orally technical information to a diverse group of individuals with varying levels of understanding; ability to communicate in writing to prepare emails, letters, reports, and committee minutes; skill in using software applications such as word processing and data bases and internet database applications for data entry, file maintenance and data retrieval and analysis; ability to manage multiple projects and priorities and meet deadlines. 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 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related. (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 the first full year of graduate education. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) Note: IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Verbiage displayed on your resume or application must contain your own words. You may refer to the specialized experience located within the vacancy announcement, to assist with describing work experiences; however, resumes or applications received that copied verbatim from the announcement will be evaluated and may be reviewed as falsifying your experience or application. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Communications Compliance Quality Assurance Technical Competence 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 is mostly sedentary. Occasionally, light physical effort may be required, such as that involved with walking, stair climbing, and carrying of light office items. 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/. Additional Information This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. 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.