Patient Services Assistant

Summary

The purpose of this position is to serve as Enrollment Clerk for the Eligibility Unit of the MedicalAdministration Service at the Oklahoma City VA Health Care System.

Duties

• Enters demographic, insurance, and income information into various data systems. Verifies eligibility/entitlement for benefits of all applicants. Gathers information and updates data files as necessary to ensure accurate and complete Veteran eligibility records. Processes applications for benefits received through the mail, electronically, or in person. Interviews patients applying for VHA medical benefits. Provides customer service to all applicants. Responds to requests or complaints. Identifies needs or problems and determines solutions. Is open to change and new information coming from the Enrollment Standardization Office & Health Enrollment Center. Adapts behavior and work methods in response to new information, changing conditions, or unexpected obstacles. Corresponds with applicants, visitors, and other stakeholders in a professional manner. Corresponds with Enrollment Standardization Office (ESO) Liaisons to resolve any escalations and shows understanding of needed corrections. Works and corresponds with staff from various backgrounds to include VHA staff and other Veteran Organizations with courtesy and respect. Maintains patient privacy (PHI/PII). Provides feedback to all Veteran applications. Communicates and expresses information surrounding health benefits in a clear manner to Veterans within the community setting at outreach events. 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, 7:30am-4:00pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Patient Services Assistant/PD09002A, PD14683A, and PD14684A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/25/2026. 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 GS-4 there is no 52 week requirement, for GS-5 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-4 level, for GS-6 you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5 level. 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: General Experience (GS-04): Applicants applying for this position at the GS-04 level must possess general experience, which includes progressively responsible clerical, office, or other work that indicates ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position to be filled and a knowledge of a body of standardized rules, procedures, or operations that require considerable training, and the experience to perform the full range of developmental assignments as well as the ability to resolve recurring problems...OR Education: Applicants may also be qualified for this position at the GS-04 level based on their education. To be qualified, applicants must have successfully completed 2 years above the high school level in any field for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university. One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university, or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business, secretarial, or technical school...OR Combination: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total experience requirements for this position at the GS-04 level. NOTE: All experience must be clearly stated and described on your resume to include dates of employments (month/year) and hours worked. Failure to do so may disqualify you for this position. Specialized Experience (GS-05): . To qualify for this position, applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade of GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Knowledge of various services available within the medical facility; knowledge of the laws and regulations pertaining to eligibility and entitlement for benefits; knowledge of organizing work and completing priority tasks; skilled in establishing and maintaining effective working relationship with patients, relatives, and hospital staff; possess good communication skills, and exhibits high skills in oral communication techniques with particular emphasis placed on interviewing; must be able to relate and coordinate with individuals of all socioeconomic and educational levels. ....OR Education: Applicants may also qualify for this position at the GS-05 level based on their education. Applicants must have successfully completed 4 years above the high school level. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university....OR Combination: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total experience requirements for this position at the GS-05 level. Specialized Experience (GS-06): To qualify for this position, applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade of GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience for this position includes but is not limited to... Knowledge of the priorities, commitments and goals for the Eligibility Unit, Medical Administration Service and the Medical Center's operating principles to meet this facility's needs as they relate to annual collection goals; comprehensive knowledge of various services available at the facility; a thorough knowledge of the laws and regulations pertaining to eligibility and entitlement for benefits; the ability to work under considerable pressure and plan workload without halting or interrupting the operation as a whole by showing initiative in completing priority tasks; the ability to work rapidly with a high degree of accuracy; dependable and able to use good judgment, and effectively and properly analyzes and evaluates all situations to ensure that the Veteran's welfare is protected; skilled in establishing and maintaining effective working relationship with patients, relatives, and hospital staff; possesses good communication skills, and exhibits high skills in oral communication techniques with particular emphasis placed on interviewing, which is a main responsibility of this position; must be able to relate and coordinate with individuals of all socioeconomic and educational levels. 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/.

Requirements

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the 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 Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required. 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 identification 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) 5 CFR 330.502 - General restriction on movement after competitive appointment. 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 period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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/.

How to apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online questionnaire and submission of the required documentation specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. To preview the application questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13064721. The application process is as follows: To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date, 09/25/2026. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. NOTE: Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application. Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume: Prioritize most relevant and recent experience Use concise, results focused language Align language from the job announcement Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies Remove outdated or unrelated experience Use the USAJOBS resume builder Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit.