Challenge Yourself - Be an Army Civilian - Go Army! Civilian employees serve a vital role in supporting the Army mission. They provide the skills that are not readily available in the military, but crucial to support military operations. The Army integrates the talents and skills of its military and civilian members to form a Total Army. Changes to the Job Announcement: Extending closing date Organization(s): Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Office of the Commander, Washington, DC About the Position: The healthcare mediator is a neutral, independent, and confidential dispute resolution practitioner, charged by the organization to achieve equitable resolutions of health care issues, disputes, and concerns following unanticipated or adverse outcomes of care. Facilitates dispute resolution processes impartially, and without bias, and has no personal interest in the outcome of the conflict, offering patients, family members, staff and providers a conflict management program to resolve health care disputes. This is a non-legal venue. The health care mediator serves as the compassionate face of the organization and skilled communicator in adversarial situations. This position will be filled at the Walter Reed Medical Treatment Facility but will be transferred to the Community Hospital at Ft. Belvoir in 2011. The duties of the position will remain as advertised, but the duty location will change in order for the Hospital to meet mission needs. Who May Apply: Click here for more information. All U. S. citizens and Nationals with allegiance to the United States.

KEY REQUIREMENTS: See Other Requirements

1 vacancy - DC - Washington

You will be responsible for resolving health care disputes involving unanticipated or adverse outcomes of care, prior to claims being filed, ensuring that the resolution process is fair for patients, providers, and the organization. You will receive inquiries for dispute resolution, conduct informal fact-finding, gather information, review the medical record, and meet with all involved parties to discuss issues. You must ensure that patients, families, and providers understand their options, and the involved processes, striving to empower parties to find solutions for patient-care issues. You understand the dynamics of patient-provider communication and the relational aspects of dispute resolution. You rely heavily upon shuttle diplomacy, problem solving, and interpersonal communication skills. You provide upper-level feedback to senior leadership regarding patient, provider and systemic issues affecting health care delivery. Works effectively with the Staff Judge Advocate.

Click on link below to view qualification standard.
General Schedule

• Specialized Experience: To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower level. The best qualified candidates for this job must show in their resume that they possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities described below. Experience required by the position:

  Knowledge of the concepts, principles, and methods associated with alternative dispute resolution and skilled in use of mediation techniques.

  Knowledge of federal and state health law regulations pertaining to disclosure, claims processing, malpractice statues and apology (including but not limited to: Federal Tort Claims Act, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, Health Care Decisions Act, and the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act)

  Ability to establish a collaborative relationship with stakeholders as well as develop an understanding of regulatory or enforcement programs (such as the Staff Judge Advocate, Customer Advocacy, Health Benefits Advisors, Command Performance and Evaluation, Ethics Committee, Executive Committe of the Medical Staff, Executive Committee of the Nursing Staff, and the Board of Directors). May have experience in designing and integrating conflict management systems.

  ***Applicant must meet the basic requirement of Bachelor's Degree: major study in an academic field appropriate to the work of the position. A Master's Degrees in health care or related field is desired.**

  A Certified Mediator, or certificate-eligible as a mediator, is desired.

• Only degrees from an accredited college or university recognized by the Department of Education are acceptable to meet positive education requirements or to substitute education for experience. For additional information, please go to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and U.S. Department of Education websites at - http://www.opm.gov/qualifications and http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html
• On your resume, please include college/university, dates attended, degree achieved, semester hours earned, GPA, major field of study, 24 semester hours of specific courses and course hours in your major. Failure to provide this education information on your resume may result in an ineligible rating.
• Foreign education must be evaluated for U.S. equivalency in order to be considered for this position. Please include this information in your resume.
• The experience described in your resume will be evaluated and screened for the Office of Personnel Management's basic qualification requirements, and the skills needed to perform the duties of this position as described in this vacancy announcement. Resumes are rated using Category Rating procedures. If you meet the minimum qualification requirements, based on your possession of job-related skills, your resume will be placed in one of three categories: Best Qualified, Highly Qualified, or Qualified. Within these categories, applicants eligible for veteran's preference will receive selection priority over non-veterans.
• GS-12 and above: Bachelor's degree directly related to this occupation and 1 year of experience directly related to this occupation equivalent to the next lower grade level.
  
  Other Requirements:
  Click here for more information.
• Personnel security investigation required.
• This position has a mandatory seasonal influenza vaccination requirement and is therefore subject to annual seasonal influenza vaccinations. Applicants tentatively selected for appointment to this position will be required to sign a statement (Condition of Employment) consenting to seasonal influenza vaccinations.
• Male applicants born after December 31, 1959 must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
• Direct Deposit of Pay is Required.
• Applicants claiming veteran's preference must clearly show an entitlement to such preference on the resume/supplemental data submitted.
• Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in the vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
• One year trial/probationary period may be required.

Resumes will be evaluated for basic qualifications requirements and for the skills needed to perform the duties of the position, as described in this vacancy announcement and identified by the Selecting Official for the position.

The Department of Defense offers excellent benefits programs some of which may include:

• Comprehensive health and life insurance
• Competitive salaries
• Generous retirement programs
• Paid holidays, sick leave, and vacation time
• Flexible work environment and alternate work schedules
• Paid employment related training and education
• Possible student loan repayment
• Payment of licenses, certification, and academic degrees as applicable
• Bonuses, incentives, and awards as appropriate for the job.

Click here for more information.

• To successfully claim veteran's preference, your resume/supplemental data must clearly show your entitlement. Please review the information listed under the Other Requirements link on this announcement or review our on-line Job Application Kit.
• The Department of Defense (DoD) policy on employment of annuitants will be used in determining eligibility of annuitants. The DoD policy is available on http://www.cpms.osd.mil/ASSETS/E8AB932EA1E44617BAC7222922E42A62/DoD...
• Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement.
• In accordance with section 9902(h) of title 5, United States Code, annuitants reemployed in the Department of Defense shall receive full annuity and salary upon appointment. They shall not be eligible for retirement contributions, participation in the Thrift Savings Plan, or a supplemental or redetermined annuity for the reemployment period. Discontinued service retirement annuitants (i.e., retired under section 8336(d)(1) or 8414(b)(1)(A) of title 5, United States Code) appointed to the Department of Defense may elect to be subject to retirement provisions of the new appointment as appropriate. (See DoD Instruction 1400.25, Volume 300, at http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives.)
• Special Note to NSPS Applicants: If you apply for and accept a GS position, your GS pay will be set differently than if you transition out of NSPS with your organization. If you apply for and accept a position and your pay cannot be set within the GS grade range, you will not be eligible for pay retention. Be sure to refer to the NSPS web site ( http://cpol.army.mil/library/general/nsps/docs-repeal/NSPS_Empl_Tra... ) for more details on how this might affect your specific situation.
• Payment of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs is not authorized, based on a determination that a PCS move is not in the Government interest.
• Temporary Duty (TDY) travel is 5 percent.
  
  Other Advantages: All federal agencies in the National Capital Region offer qualified employees a monthly stipend as a transit or vanpool subsidy to help reduce traffic congestion and air pollution. Generally, staff members who take part must give up their parking permits to receive the subsidy. Federal (civil service) employees who use public transportation or van pools to Walter Reed are entitled to a free MetroChek pass which can be used to save up to $230 per month in transit costs
  
  

Click here for more information.

• Resumes must be received by the closing date of this announcement.
• Self-nomination must be submitted by the closing date. Applicants wishing to withdraw from consideration may contact the Central Resume Processing Center at (410) 306- 0137 or applicanthelp@conus.army.mil.
• Resume must be on file in our centralized database.
• Announcements close at 12:00am (midnight) Eastern Time.
• You must have an ACTIVE resume with the Army Centralized Resumix database before you submit your Self-nomination. If you do not have an ACTIVE resume on file, please click here to use the Army Resume Builder to create or update your resume.

• You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
• If selected, official college or university transcript must be submitted.

Central Resume Processing Center Phone: 410-306-0137 Email: applicanthelp@conus.army.mil

Agency Information: Central Resume Processing Center 314 Johnson Street Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21005-5283

Once this announcement closes, candidates will be evaluated using an automated system, (Resumix) which compares your skills and experience as described in your resume with the requirements of the position. If you are found to be a highly qualified candidate, you will be referred to the selecting official for further consideration. (In some cases, individuals with priority for special consideration must be considered and selected before other candidates.) Whether or not you are contacted for an interview depends upon the location of the position and the judgment of the selecting official. You can view the status of announcements that you applied for through our automated response system, ANSWER, accessed through our Civilian Personnel On-Line web page.