Health System Specialist - Credentialing & Privileging Specialist

Summary
The incumbent serves as a Health Systems Specialist and is assigned to the Medical Staff Office, which is under the Chief of Staff at a VA HealthCare System and is responsible for conducting analytical reviews, managing and tracking data, and serving as an advisor to Medical Center leadership on key processes related to the Credentialing and Privileging (C&P) program of the Medical Center.
This job is open to

• Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)
  Federal employees who meet the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee.
• Federal employees - Competitive service
  Current or former competitive service federal employees.
• Federal employees - Excepted service
  Current excepted service federal employees.
• Individuals with disabilities
• Internal to an agency
  Current federal employees of this agency.
• Military spouses
• Veterans
• Land & base management
  Certain current or former term or temporary federal employees of a land or base management agency.
• Peace Corps & AmeriCorps Vista

Clarification from the agency
Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL), Individuals with disabilities; Federal employees serving in the Competitive Service on Career or Career-Conditional appointment or in the Excepted Service with an Interchange Agreement; Permanent Title 38 employees employed on a full time basis; Former federal employees eligible for reinstatement; 30% Disabled Veterans, Veterans' Recruitment Appointment (VRA), Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA), or based on completion of service in the Peace Corps
Videos
Duties

• Serves as subject matter expert in the field of credentials and clinical privileging, keeps management group, hospital staff, and appropriate administrative staff informed of program changes, new regulatory requirements policies and procedures pertaining to the credentialing and privileging process.
• Receives and reviews both sensitive and non-sensitive correspondence for the credentials function and triages communications to determine which items require immediate attention and which are confidential in nature.
• Manages provider applications (initial and renewals) for the credentialing and privileging within the facility.
• Ensures primary source verification to include but not limited to licenses, certifications, medical specialty training, board certification, continuing medical education credits, etc.
• Serves as technical advisor to service chiefs on routine and noncomplex matters related to credentialing and privileging health care practitioners, such as Focused Professional Practice Evaluation/Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluation (OPPE/FPPE)
• Conducts final appointment into the VetPro database after thoroughly researching, analyzing and validating all data, information, documents and signature authorities.
• Composes correspondence requiring Chief of Staff/Director signature for privileging actions.
• Maintains confidentiality of information in accordance with the Privacy Act in releasing information.
• Troubleshoots any problems that occur with staff using VetPro.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm
Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist - Credentialing & Privileging Specialist/PD99876SRelocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Requirements
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
• 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.
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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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.
Individual Occupational Requirements
Must possess undergraduate and graduate degrees with major study in hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration.
-OR-
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:
• 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,

• 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 an LL.B. or J.D., if related to major study hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration.

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 1 full year of graduate level education.

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

• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Manages and Organizes Information
• Problem Solving
• Planning and Evaluating
• Standards

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.
Additional information
Receiving Service Credit or 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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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.
Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.
The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/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/.
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.

• Benefits
  A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
  Review our benefits
  Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

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 ...