Summary Serves as a Health Systems Specialist and is assigned to the Medical Staff Office, which is under the Chief of Staff at a VA Medical Center (VAMC) and is responsible for conducting analytical reviews, managing and tracking data, and serving as an advisor to VAMC leadership on key processes related to the Credentialing and Privileging (C&P) program of the VAMC. Responsibilities The Medical Staff Office is responsible for the C&P process of VAMC clinical services providers including full-time, part-time, temporary, intermittent, contract, without compensation (WOC), fee basis and telehealth Licensed Independent Providers (LIPs), as defined in the VAMC Medical Staff Bylaws. 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) and other internal or external auditors and reviewers as appropriate. Responsible for collecting relevant data and making informed decisions to ensure qualified health care professionals are providing appropriate care in appropriate settings. Is the subject matter expert (SME) to LIPs and Service Chiefs regarding routine and complex matters related to C&P including provider competence for the ongoing provider practice evaluation (OPPE) and focused provider practice evaluation (FPPE). The functions of the Medical Staff Office are critical to patient safety and for assuring the quality of patient care provided by the VAMC. Assists the C&P Manager/Analyst in developing short- and long-term goals necessary to accomplish the mission of the C&P program. Assists in identifying the resources necessary for accomplishing the mission and function of the credentials and privileging program. Serves as SME in the field of credentials and clinical privileging. Keeps leadership and appropriate administrative staff informed of program changes, new regulatory requirements, and policies and procedures pertaining to the C&P process. Assists C&P Manager/Analyst in drafting local credentialing processes and Medical Staff Bylaws in compliance with all applicable regulations. Receives and reviews correspondence and communications for the C&P function and determines which items require immediate attention and which are confidential in nature. Receives and reviews VetPro reports detecting problem areas requiring further investigation. Upon identification of a problem, researches reference materials, regulations, and standards to identify appropriate action necessary to correct the problem. Issues of a serious nature are elevated to the supervisor for guidance. Ensures accurate provider data is entered into and maintained in the VetPro computer program. Ensures current information is present on providers relative to state licensure, Drug Enforcement Organization (DEA) license, National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) Continuous Query (CQ) enrollments and renewals, Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), documentation of professional education, specialty medical training, certifications, adverse licensure or privileging actions, initial and renewal of privileges which may affect the status of privileges granted for medical practice. Informs C&P Manager/Analyst of trends identified, audit results and identified problems that may affect a provider's privilege status. Manages provider applications (initial and renewals) for LIPs C&P within the VAMC. Incumbent must have a broad knowledge of medical specialties and core privileges and is the technical advisor to clinical leadership for the development of department specific privileges and assures that complete documentation is available to support privileges granted to providers within their training and/or experience. 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: Monday-Friday (8:00 am to 4:30 pm) Compressed/Flexible: Available Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist (Credentialing and Privileging Specialist)/PD99876-S and PD99620-S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized 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. 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) Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/30/2025. 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. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. Note: You must submit a copy of your most recent personnel action/SF50: 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. Interchange Agreement: Applicants must be eligible under the VA Interchange Agreement, having served continuously for at least one year in the other merit system under this interchange agreement. For more information regarding the VA Interchange Agreement please visit: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-authorities/competitive-hiring/. This position has an Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR). An IOR is part of the minimum qualifications for this occupational series. In order to meet the IOR you must have: Undergraduate and Graduate Level Education: Major study -- hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration., 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
