Clarification from the agency

All eligible U.S. Citizens; priority consideration will be given to current, permanent VHA employees.

Videos

Major Duties:

• Schedules new and established patient appointments.
• Tracks and facilitates completion of encounters and consults.
• Participates in team huddles and team meetings to manage and plan patient care.
• Sets priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs.
• Works 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).
• Manages electronic wait list to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues.
• Participates and provides input in problem solving on operational issues or procedures in team meetings.
• Performs administrative follow up actions.
• Participates in and independently following up on team huddles by sharing information and collaborating with the medical team to assure continuity of care.
• Evaluates patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether patient is vested.
• Gathers information and collects/compiles data to meet the needs of the service.
• Educates providers about shared patients (those who receive their care at multiple VAs or those who have care in the community) and brings to the attention of the providers.
• Coordinates with the patient care team to review the clinic utilization by using various reports
• Develop/maintain effective and efficient communication with the patients, interdisciplinary teams, VA medical centers, and other agencies to assist with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge.
• Communicate with non-VA medical facilities; facilitate/process secure messaging with the patient and team.

Work Schedule: Various Tours
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• 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

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 the English language
• Experience/Education/Combination:
  • 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, Education: One year above high school; (Transcripts Required)
  • OR, Experience/Education Combination: Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable (Transcripts Required).

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 Determinations: To qualify for the GS-06 level, you must have one year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level. Experience at the GS-5 includes but is not limited to: scheduling, cancelling, re-scheduling patients appointments and/or monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments for areas of responsibility, ensuring encounter forms are completed in order to obtain appropriate workload credit, verifying and updating demographics and insurance information, processing all emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals, performing basic eligibility, co-pays and preauthorization requirements for specific coverage, etc.

Candidates must also demonstrate all of the knowledge, skills, and abilities below:

• 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.
• Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.

Preferred Experience: Clinical Scheduling Experience

References: VA Handbook 5005/31, Part II, Appendix G45, Medical Support Assistant Qualification Standards.

Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. Physical demands do not exceed those of a typical office setting. There may be some walking, standing twisting, turning, sitting, pushing, bending, repetitive keyboarding, or carrying of light items. Some positions may require sitting for long periods of time at a computer terminal typing data while talking on a telephone headset.

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, resume, 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.