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This Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) position is in the Medical Administration Service (MAS) of the Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System located in Biloxi, MS.

**NOTE: Select all locations you are willing to consider as this announcement will be used to fill vacancies at all listed locations. Once selected for a specific location as indicated in your application, changes in assigned location after selection will not be considered.

The primary duties of the AMSA include but are not limited to:

• Using specialized administrative judgment and the flexible use of a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics or specialties and/or care in the community resources.
• Coordinating with the with the patient care team to review clinic appointment availability and utilization to ensure that clinic schedules are closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinics and makes adjustments as necessary in accordance with local and national directives, policies, and procedures.
• Developing and maintaining effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary team, VA Medical Centers, and other agencies (e.g., assist with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge; communicate with non-VA medical facilities; facilitate/process secure messaging with the patient and team; notify patients of normal lab results; develop and manage a tracking system for follow up care such as consults, tests, etc.).
• Participating in team huddles and team meetings to manage and plan patient care; setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs; identifying incomplete encounters and communicate findings to clinical team members, may work with the team to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions and entering appropriate information into the electronic record; monitoring pre-appointment requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure (e.g., X-ray, lab work), registration, management of consult requests, recall reminders, VA Online Scheduling requests, secure messaging, and Electronic Wait Lists to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues.
• Participating and providing input in problem solving on operational issues or procedures in team meetings, performing administrative follow up actions; participating in and independently following up on team huddles by sharing information and collaborating with the medical team to assure continuity of care.
• Evaluating patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether patient is vested. Educating providers about shared patients (those who receive their care at multiple VAs or those who have care in the community) and bringing to the attention of the PACT; registering new patients for care when necessary to facilitate same day appointment scheduling; updating patient demographic data, collecting insurance information, and negotiating appointments during check-out, and scheduling follow-up/ consult appointments, entering recall reminder requests; and contacting patients that fail to appear for scheduled appointments.
• Interprets and communicates requirements of national and local scheduling directives, policies, and procedures and complete accurate scheduling responsibilities. Schedules all appointments in a timely manner with patient input.
• Manages position responsibilities with little supervision as well as set priorities and deadlines adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and Veteran needs while ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
• Communicates tactfully and effectively, electronically, by phone, in person, and in writing with internal and external customers. Reads and responds to work related messages in a timely manner. Incumbent will maintain scheduling training compliance and complete all required training within established time frames.

Work Schedule: Monday- Friday; 8 hour tour between 7:00am and 5:00 pm. Will be determined upon call to interview.
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 520-00125-F
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

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.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• 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 Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

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. Six 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,
  • (2) Education. One year above high school; OR,
  • (3) Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.
• Certification. None required.
• English Language Proficiency. Medical Support Assistants must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Policy.

Grade Determinations. To qualify for the GS-06 level, your resume must demonstrate you possess the required experience necessary to possess the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) required for the grade. Be specific when describing the job duties that demonstrate you possess the KSAs listed. Resume must include hours per week for work experience credit.

Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), GS-06
(a) Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-05 grade level. To qualify for this position, you must demonstrate in your resume that you have experience that includes:

• Entering, modifying, retrieving sensitive information into or from electronic health records, scheduling systems, and/or reports;
• Scheduling medical appointments in a clinical setting;
• Performing patient support work;
• Providing customer service and identifying patient concerns to ensure satisfactory resolution,
• Advanced level of medical terminology.

(b) 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.).

(c) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition, you must demonstrate ALL of the following KSAs in your resume:

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.

Preferred Experience:

• Strong organizational skills with ability to prioritize and manage multiple competing tasks.
• A high degree of personal and professional accountability, maturity, stability and the ability to function independently and work effectively as a team with internal and external personnel.
• Ability to adapt to changing work assignments as needed to meet facility needs.
• Data Management-Uses spreadsheets and databases to complete and track work assignments

**Resume must include hours per week for work experience credit.**

References: VA Handbook 5005/53 Part II, Appendix G45 VA Qualification Standard for Medical Support Assistant, GS-0679.

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

Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary and walking. The work requires the ability to handle multiple demands simultaneously in dealing with a wide variety of clients on a daily basis. Tasks will require prolonged use of computers. There are lengthy periods of sitting, interrupted by intervals of walking and climbing stairs about the medical center to make the many personal contacts required of this position.

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.