Skip to main content
U.S. flag
Back to results

Advanced Medical Support Assistant

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
VISN 19 Rocky Mountain Network
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The incumbent (s) will serve as Advanced Medical Support Assistant (s), assigned to the following sections of the Health Administration Service: Care in the Community (CITC), Primary Acute Care Teams (PACT), and various Specialty Clinics. The Advanced Medical Support Assistant (s) provides specialized and expert administrative patient support in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model.

Overview

Help
Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
12/03/2021 to 09/30/2022
Salary
$39,311 to - $51,103 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 6
Locations
many vacancies in the following locations:
Ardmore, OK
Clinton, OK
Enid, OK
Fort Sill, OK
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
CBSU-11299334-22-CR
Control number
625250000

This job is open to

Help

Clarification from the agency

This Vacancy is open to Current Permanent VA and other Federal Agency Employees, former VA and other Federal Agency Employees and to the Public. This is an Open Continuous Announcement. We accept applications for this occupation on an ongoing basis; qualified applicants will be considered as vacancies become available.

Duties

Help

This is an open continuous announcement. We accept applications for this occupation on an ongoing basis; qualified applicants will be considered as vacancies become available.

Major duties of the Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) include, but are not limited to:

  • Adhering to the scheduling policies and procedures.
  • Conducting special audits, studies, or surveys to development procedures.
  • Ensure appointments are made from a provider's order.
  • Coordinating administrative services for veterans, family members, caregivers, and general public, administrative and clinical staff to insure continuity of inpatient and outpatient care.
  • Patient check-in process (in its entirety), including the printing of documentation needed for appointment.
  • Explaining the VHA mandate to collect insurance information to Veterans and their families.
  • Collecting, scanning, and updating health insurance information to aid in the revenue collection process.
  • Completing patient check-out process daily, including completion of Return to Clinic (RTC) orders, creation of recall reminders, consult follow-up, no-showing patient appointments according to local policy, and any other action required to complete appointment process.
  • Utilizing reports to assist in care delivery process.
  • Resolving difficult problems and diffuses potential dissatisfaction with VA services.
  • Responsible for VHIC Card process, BeneTravel requests assistance, understanding Heritage Medication Program, postage meters, UPS labels, and any other miscellaneous processes.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday; various tours as agreed upon with the possibility of extended hours and weekends.

NOTE: Candidates must be willing to work weekends, irregular work hours and extended hours. The candidate must be willing to be assigned to other related services and/or locations, if necessary.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this 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
  • You may be required to serve a probationary period
  • Subject to a background/security investigation
  • Must be proficient in written and spoken English
  • 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 Department of Veterans Affairs Personnel

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

  • Citizenship: Citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.g.).
  • English Language Proficiency: MSAs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.j.
  • Experience: Six (6) months experience of clerical, office, [customer service], or other [administrative] work that indicates the ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position, OR;
  • Education: One (1) year above high school, OR;
  • Experience/Education Combination: Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable. (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).
GRADE REQUIREMENTS.
Creditable Experience: Must have demonstrated the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) associated with current MSA responsibilities [or an equivalent administrative patient support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting].

GS-6 Grade Determinations: In addition to the Basic Requirements for employment listed above, the following education and experience criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates for Advanced Medical Support Assistant GS-6:

a. Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level.

The specialized experience for this position includes the following, but not limited to:
  • Specialized Experience - In an advanced or complex clinical setting utilizing numerous advanced patient care systems, scheduling appointments across multiple clinics and coordination of services among a diverse team of medical providers and clinics to include outside agencies, advanced knowledge of medical terminology, advanced knowledge of the technical health care processes, policy and procedures as it relates to coordination of care.
b. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. (Candidates must demonstrate [all of] the KSAs below):
  1. Ability to collaborate [and] communicate with a [wide range of medical clinicians across multiple disciplines (e.g. medical doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, clinical pharmacists, and nursing staff), to accomplish team goal setting to ensure medical care to patients is met].
  2. [Ability to independently] set priorities and organize work [ ] to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
  3. Ability to communicate tactfully and effectively, [electronically, by phone, in-person], and in-writing, [with internal and external customers]. This may include preparing reports in various formats and presenting data to various organizational levels, [as well as resolving patient concerns].
  4. Advanced knowledge of the technical health care process [(including, but not limited to, scheduling across interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community models and patient health care portals)] as it relates to access to care.
  5. Advanced knowledge of policies and procedures associated with interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community operational activities that affect patient flow, and patient support care [administrative functions] to include, but not limited to appointment cycles, outside patient referrals, follow-up care, overbooking, provider availability etc.
  6. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.
c. Assignment. The Advanced MSA [provides specialized and expert administrative patient support while working] collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model [ ]. [Work involves specialized administrative judgment and the flexible use of a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or care in the community resources. Recommends changes to existing clinic procedures based on current administrative guidelines. Expertise in utilizing numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics involved in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. Coordinates] with the patient care team to review clinic [appointment availability] (utilization) [ ] to ensure that clinic [schedules are] closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinics, and [makes adjustments as necessary]. [MSAs at this level] develop [and/or] maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary [coordinated care delivery model teams] , VA medical centers, and other agencies (e.g., assist with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge; communicate with non-VA medical facilities; [prepare correspondence] to notify patients of normal lab results; [ ] manage a [ ] system for follow-up care such as consults, tests, etc.).

The full performance level of this vacancy is at the GS-06 level.

IMPORTANT: Education cannot be substituted for the year of specialized experience that is required.

References: VA Handbook 5005/117, Part II, Appendix G-45, Medical Support Assistant Qualification Standards, GS-0679, Veterans Health Administration.

Physical Requirements: The work is mostly sedentary and requires incumbent to utilize a personal computer resulting in a large amount of keyboarding/data entry. Faxing clinical documentation to the outside providers/vendors at their request during the scheduling/approving process for Fee Basis care. Additionally, lifting and carrying items such as medical records, paperwork, and folders and will be required to do tasks that require some fine manipulation skills/abilities. May be required to work many hours at a computer terminal.

Education

IMPORTANT: 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.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements, education must be accredited by an accrediting institution by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

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. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. 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.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.

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 MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, résumé, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

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.

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.