Clarification from the agency

This is an internal job announcement. Current permanent Long Beach, Tibor Rubin VA Medical Center (VAMC) employees ONLY.

Duties include but are not limited to:

• 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.
• Assists patients in getting into and out of their vehicles, loading and unloading patient wheelchairs as necessary.
• Uses CPRS and/or VISTA to verify appointment information.
• Assist Nursing Service and Pharmacy Service regarding the transportation of discharging patients by picking up non-narcotic medications from the pharmacy, picking up any assistive equipment that patient needs at discharge (i.e., wheelchair, walker, etc.) and transporting the patient at discharge to a location where family member can meet/pick up the patient.
• Support the medical floor/units in transporting labs, urgent STAT labs to help facilitate care in Code Blues, and Rapid responses team.
• Routinely visit clinical waiting areas and seek to problem-solve potential or existing barriers to care or patient dissatisfiers.
• Assist with office emergencies to resolve situations requiring expertise in determining methods to use and approaches to be taken based on the patient circumstances.
• Produce a weekly analysis and categorization of data to Supervisor or Lead Ambassador and will assist Supervisor or Lead Ambassador in developing patient experience improvements.
• Assist the public relations program in increasing community and Veteran awareness of the Health Care System.
• Interpret the Health Care Center's mission, policies, procedures, and available service, providing comprehensive assistance to Veterans and family members.
• Provides a personal and positive first impression, standardizes the experience of assistance with navigation and information for Veterans and their family members, fosters a general culture of care, and personally assists customers throughout the Health Care System.
• Responsible for record keeping, scheduling, computer input, correspondence, and reports, to include organizing work by reading and routing incoming correspondence, collecting information, and initiating telecommunications.
• Provide courteous phone coverage and ensure telephone calls, office visitors, and patients are screened and referred to appropriate individuals in a timely manner; provide dispatch for high volume calls for transport and document all pertinent information required for transport of patients.
• Ensure routine equipment such as Sabina, Scissor Lift & Hover Matt are operable and contain all components, and report discrepancies immediately.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 1300 -2300
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Patient Relations Assistant/PD14098A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): 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
• 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 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, 03/11/2026.

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 must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04. 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.

Preferred experience posses a basic computer skills and familiar with various Microsoft programs to include Excel, Word, Power Point, etc.

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

• Specialized Experience: (In addition to meeting Time and Grade) 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: administration, customer service, safeguard patient information, knowledge or patient rights, benefits regulation, registrations, medical transporter, CPR, Heimlich maneuver for choking, seizure precautions, safety during seizures, safety and emergency first aid. (Must be in Resume) OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have at least 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.

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

• Administration and Management
• Communication
• Decisiveness
• Veteran and Customer Focus

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 no special physical demands, but will require some physical effort such as standing, walking, bending or sitting.

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.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please make sure you have included other documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), documentation to support Veterans Preference claims, or ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees). You will not be contacted for additional information.

• Cover Letter
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (if applicable for Time in Grade and/or Eligibility):

• Most recent SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee
• An SF-50 showing 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
• Award 50's do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade.
• Examples of appropriate SF-50's include:
  • Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or
  • Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or
  • SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old.

Next steps