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• Serve as receptionist to the unit for visitors and/or telephone calls. Screening and forwarding as appropriate, a large volume of inquiries while maintaining confidentiality and privacy of the patient's record.
• Addressing inquiries related to administrative processes.
• Receives, directs and refers patients and visitors on the unit to the appropriate personnel, or area as needed, in a courteous and helpful manner.
• Interpreting and completing all physicians' orders related to administrative processes entered in the Veterans' orders in CPRS. T
• Maintains the patient information in a secure fashion.
• Extract contact information, for use by clinical staff, when patient is unable to sign on their own behalf.
• Obtains previously initiated forms such as treatment preferences, power of attorney, and other legal forms as needed.
• Schedule and coordinate appointments as outlined in VHA Directive 2010-027, VHA Outpatient Scheduling Processes and Procedures along with local MCM's including MCM 11- 58. Emergency Medical care CBOC's'; MCM 11-107, Rescheduling Patients due to cancelled Appointments or No-Shows.
• Order and maintain adequate supply of office supplies and non-computerized forms used on the unit, and are responsible for upkeep of the contingency forms box for computer down times.
• All other duties as assigned.

Conditions of employment

• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• 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.

CITIZENSHIP: Must be a United States Citizen.
ENGLISH: Must be proficient in basic written and spoken English.
EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE: Must possess six (6) months experience of clerical, office, customer service or other administrative work that indicates the ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skill necessary to perform the duties of the Medical Support Assistant.
OR
Must have successfully completed one (1) year above high school. This education must have been obtained in an accredited technical school, junior college, college or university. One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED)
OR
Equivalent combinations of experience and education are qualifying for entry level. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED)

IN ADDITION TO MEETING THE BASIC REQUIREMENTS LISTED ABOVE, YOU MUST MEET THE GRADE REQUIREMENTS TO QUALIFY FOR THIS POSITION.

GRADE REQUIREMENTS:
GS-5 level
Experience: One (1) year of experience that is directly related to the duties of a MSA and that equips you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position. To be creditable, this experience must be equivalent to the next lower grade level, GS-4, and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with current MSA responsibilities. Experience at this level includes, but is not limited to: scheduling and rescheduling patients for treatment; interviewing patients for appointments; referring patients to other medical specialty clinics; providing information to patients necessary to resolve complaints; interacting with both internal and external customers; reviewing and documenting medical outpatient and inpatient electronic health records, as well as administrative records; verifying third party insurance and updating information in the Insurance Capture Buffer (ICB) system; obtaining medical information from patients; coordinating information and actions related to patient care and services; and scheduling appointments in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines.
OR
Education: Successful completion of four (4) years of education above high school level. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university. One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED)
AND
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
1. Ability to operate computerized programs and systems in order to enter, modify, and retrieve sensitive medical and patient identifying information (PII) into or from electronic health records, scheduling systems, and/or reports.
2. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.
3. Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.
4. Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work.
5. Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers.
6. Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.

References: VA Handbook 5005/117, Part II, Appendix G45, Medical Support Assistant Qualification Standards. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office.

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.