The Medical Records Technician (Cancer Registrar) Coordinator maintains clinical registries and work to meet the standards of regulatory and accrediting agencies that approve cancer programs and/or other programs requiring registries. The Medical Records Technician (Cancer Registrar) is the Oncology Data Specialist (ODS) and/or Cancer Conference Coordinator to the Cancer Committee in the general medical and surgical center.

Responsibilities

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Duties of the position are in two major areas: Tumor Registry Coordinator and Administrative Support to Cancer Committee.

Tumor Registry Coordinator:

• Establish procedures to identify all cases of malignant disease the departments of the medical center and outpatient clinics where patients are diagnosed and treated.
• Maintain the confidentiality and security of patient data stored in the tumor registry computer files.
• Develop, complete, and maintain quality control of case finding, abstracting, coding of follow-up information and processing procedures.
• Organize work, set priorities, and delegate tasks/responsibilities.
• Knowledge of neoplastic disease process, cancer staging systems, biologic and molecular prognostic indicators to determine derived stage.
• Knowledge of reportable disease, surveillance, epidemiology and end results program, cancer staging systems, multiple primary and histology rules, international classification of disease for oncology, morphology
• Ability to operate and train others in computerized programs to review documentation within the electronic medical record and cancer registry software.
• Organize and maintain a data system that will conform to the highest standard of tumor registry operation and meet the needs of users of the registry data in accordance with the guidelines established by the American College of Surgeons Cancer Program.
• Knowledge of ACS CoC Standards regarding tumor boards, including staging, prognostic indicators, and clinical guidelines.
• Conducts lifetime follow-up on patients, documenting the progression recurrence of their disease and other required elements.

Administrative Support to Cancer Committee

• Maintain a continuous awareness of all activities of the cancer committee.
• Maintain liaison with medical community and allied health professional societies and other medical center cancer programs.
• Coordinates and prepares the multidisciplinary tumor board conference, a weekly conference under the direction of the Cancer Committee.
• Prepares correspondence, minutes in final form for all reports required by the cancer committee quarterly.
• Confers monthly with the chairperson of the cancer committee, and on this basis, is expected to perform the duties of administrative assistant with minimal supervision, exercising judgement, initiative in planning, and carrying out the administrative matters of the cancer committee.
• Knowledge and understanding of ACoS and/or facility requirements for administering, monitoring, and reporting compliance of the cancer program to the governing bodies.
• Review periodic and retrospective analysis of quality of care audits to determine what modifications in current programs are required.
• Prepare annual reports for the Cancer Committee that summarizes tumor registry activities for the year.
• Run required queries and compile records both timely and error-free for annual submission to the National Cancer Database, NCDB and quarterly to Rapid Cancer Reporting System, RQRS.
• Prepare the annual site-specific audits for the American College of Surgeons, part of the cancer program approval requirements.
• Completes all assigned standards with templates and reports to the Cancer Committee prior to quarterly meeting date.
• Knowledge of the Joint Commission requirements, Commission on Cancer, CoC, and American College of Surgeons, ACoS, guidance and/or health record documentation guidelines.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm
Compressed/Flexible:Available
Recruitment Incentive - Sign-on Bonus: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station - Relocation Assistance: Not Authorized
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA, Above Minimum Rate of the Grade.
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year, 13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year
Certain applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience.
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
Retirement: Traditional federal pension, 5 years vesting and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care, many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement
Telework: Not available
Virtual: This is a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 25584F

Education Requirements

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/.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Experience and Education:
  1. Experience. One year of experience that indicates knowledge of medical terminology and general understanding of the health record. Six months of the required one year of experience must have provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) needed to perform MRT work. OR;
  2. Education. Two years above high school with a minimum of 12 semester hours directly related to MRT work (e.g., courses in medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, and introduction to health records). OR;
  3. Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combinations of experience and education are qualifying. The following educational/training substitutions are appropriate for combining education and experience:
     • Six months of experience that indicates knowledge of medical terminology and general understanding of the health record and one year above high school with a minimum of six semester hours of health information technology courses. OR;
     • Successful completion of a course for medical technicians, hospital corpsmen, medical service specialists, or hospital training obtained in a training program given by the Armed Forces or the U.S. Maritime Service under close medical and professional supervision. Training may be substituted on a month-for-month basis for up to six months of experience, provided the training program included courses in anatomy, physiology, and medical record techniques and procedures. The position requires six additional months of experience that indicates knowledge of medical terminology and general understanding of the health record.

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grandfathering Provision: All persons employed in VHA as a MRT (Cancer Registrar) on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education that is part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:

1. Such employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journeyman) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
2. MRTs (Cancer Registrar) who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
3. MRTs (Cancer Registrar) initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education that meets all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.
4. Employees who are retained as a MRT (Cancer Registrar) under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation, lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry as a MRT (Cancer Registrar).

Grade Determinations:

MRT (Cancer Registrar) Coordinator, GS-9

Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

1. Knowledge and understanding of ACoS and/or facility requirements for administering, monitoring, and reporting compliance of the cancer program to the governing bodies.
2. Ability to interpret data to set, evaluate, and adjust the cancer program and/or facility goals and objectives.
3. Ability to inform cancer registry staff on the technical components of the cancer database, coordinate workflow and monitor data for accuracy and quality measures.
4. Ability to multitask.
5. Ability to communicate with individuals from various disciplines regarding the facility requirements of the cancer program.
6. Ability to analyze and interpret data for use in facility strategic planning.
7. Ability to develop cancer program/cancer registry policies and procedures to ensure patient-centered care for cancer patients in accordance with government- wide, agency, and facility requirements.

Preferred Experience: The VAMHCS holds CoC accreditation and we are looking for a certified Cancer Registrar to become part of the team in the Radiation Oncology Clinical Care Center. The position prefers Oncology Data Specialist (ODS, formally known as CTR) certification as mandated by the American College of Surgeons to continue our CoC accreditation. This position takes an active role in the re-accreditation process every three years, attends quarterly Cancer Committee meetings to review standards prior to accreditation, completes abstracting of cases in addition to follow up of cancer patients. This position will support the Huntington VA, who are completing quarterly Cancer Care Committee Meetings. As this is the sole position for Huntington VA, knowledge of OncoTrax , CPRS, and VA systems are critical.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-08. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-09.