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The incumbent serves as the Lead Advanced Medical Support Assistant for Outpatient Clinical Support in the VA Medical Center. S/He uses initiative in completing recurring assignments independently and without specific instructions, but refers deviations, problems and unfamiliar situations to the supervisor for assistance. Work is performed collaboratively in a Interdisciplinary Coordinate Care delivery model (Patient Aligned Care Team, or Specialty Care Setting). The employee works closely with the staff in the inpatient and outpatient clinic areas to ensure the direct activities related to the day to day care of patients is maintained. The incumbents working knowledge of various policies and procedures relating to the business rules regarding Scheduling, Clinical Access and the proper flow of work within the team contributes significantly to the daily business activities. Duties include but not limited to:

• Provides educational sessions to train new employees in clerical process in an efficient and effective manner to insure that clerical processes, functions and goals are understood and met.
• Must have knowledge of VA policies, regulations, guidelines and process as they relate to the scheduling of patient appointments, consults, NEAR, Electronic Wait Lists, and pre-appointment clinical requirements(i.e. labs, EKGs, x-rays) to ensure readiness for the patient visit.
• Monitors clinic's Access to care.
• Monitors ICB usage ensuring insurance is collected at time of appointments and captured appropriately by the incumbent and other scheduling staff.
• Must keep abreast of rapidly changing regulations, directives, software patches programs, and processes involved in the delivery of the healthcare benefits package.
• Assist with the clean-up of the EARR (Encounter Action Required Report) and delinquent recall report; supports clinics regarding utilization and clinic profile management i.e. set-up of clinic grids, cancel and restore clinics.
• Screens/receive phone calls in a courteous and timely manner, determine the nature of request and provide the information desired using privacy rules and established clinic processes.
• Prepares correspondence and memos as needed
• Promotes Veteran registration for and utilization of MyHealthyVet (MHV)
• Stocks basic office supplies for the executive suite.
• Enters Veterans seeking emergent/urgent care, scheduling appointments accurately.
• Utilizes call lists and telephones Veterans to pre-register them before their scheduled visits. Incumbent updates all patient demographics.
• Communicates and interacts with patients in a manner which is appropriate to cognitive, emotional, and chronological maturation needs of the adult and/or geriatric patient.
• Assures that all appropriate VA forms are used correctly and regulations followed.
• Additional duties or tasks may be assigned by the supervisor to ensure efficient daily operations.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am until 4:30pm
Compressed/Flexible: Not authorized
Telework: Not authorized
Virtual: This is not a virtual position
Relocation & Travel Incentives: Not authorized
Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

Notifications:

• This position is a NAGE Bargaining unit position.
• Selectee may be required to work at any Boston Healthcare System campus as needed.
• May be required to attend conference at other facilities or other VA sites on occasion.
• Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50 (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.
• This position is in the Excepted Service.
• Narrative responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) will be required from the selectee in order to proceed with the appointment.

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 a background/security investigation
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

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.
• Must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, Paragraph 3.j.

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). All MSAs employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series, and grade held, [which] are [a] part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required 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, or [changed to a lower grade] within the occupation.

Grade Determinations: To qualify for the MSA GS 7 level applicant must have had one year of experience equivalent to the GS 6 grade level. This experience includes providing specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery mode, 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, expertise in utilizing numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics, processing incoming patient secure messaging through MyHealthyVet and coordinating with care team, experience setting priorities and organizing to meet deadlines ensuring compliance with established processes, policies and regulations, communicating tactfully and effectively by phone, in person and in writing and having advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.

References: Part II Appendix G45: Medical Support Assistant Qualification Standard GS-679

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-7. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-7 .

Physical Requirements: Work is sedentary but also demands standing, walking, bending, twisting, and carrying light items. Work is performed in an office/clinic setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions; the area is adequately lighted, heated and ventilated. However, the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations. May be exposed to extreme temperatures/inclement weather

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.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

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

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.