Clarification from the agency

VETERANS PREFERENCE IS WAIVED FOR THIS OCCUPATIONAL SERIES IAW Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) BULLETIN "FY24 Staffing Shortage Determinations" dated: 10/26/2021. Areas of Consideration are as follows: 1. Current permanent VA employees of the Atlanta VA Healthcare System and its outlying Clinics. 2. Current permanent VA employees of other facilities. 3. Current permanent Federal employees of other agencies. 4. Public/ US Citizens.

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Major duties include, but are not limited to:

• Monitoring, scheduling and rescheduling patients for treatment,
• Interviewing patients for appointments,
• Interpreting and verifying provider orders as appropriate.
• Obtaining medical information from patients, documenting this information accurately in the appropriate system and communication accurately and timely to the appropriate clinician, pharmacy representative or team as needed.
• interacting with internal and external customers to achieve desired outcomes.
• Verifying and updating demographics for every call received.
• Prioritizing calls and making decisions based on caller needs.
• Handing-off call to the RN for patients/callers that potentially have an emergent or urgent need..
• Medication refills and refills tracking
• Communicating non-symptom messages for patients with their Patient Aligned Care Teams, specialty care teams and Pharmacy representatives as well.
• Sending secured messages using Telephone record Management Plus (TRM Plus) and Microsoft Outlook on behalf of the patient.
• Maintains assigned ATLANTA VA CALL CENTER BINDER to ensure accessibility of needed reference materials.
• Complete any additional duties or task that may be assigned by the supervisor to ensure efficient daily operations, during hours of low call volume, in order to assist other sections within the Medical Facility meet their goals.

Work Schedule: M-F, 7:30am-4:00pm or 8:00am-4:30pm
Telework: Telework may be available, at the discretion of Management, after completion of in person training and 90 days of demonstrated competence
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: 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.
• 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.
• 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
• Education. One 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.

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].

Grade Determinations: GS-5

Medical Support Assistant, GS-5
(a) Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-4 grade level; Experience includes: Ability to meet, communicate, and interact with individuals from varying backgrounds and other health care team members in a courteous and helpful manner in order to facilitate medical care for patients; Ability to use, and navigate between, various types of office automation equipment and software (i.e. computer systems, web based scheduling programs; insurance collection system; scanning software, multiple line phone systems; electronic faxing programs) to support patient care; Advanced knowledge of medical terminology to assist in the provision of care to patients; Skill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care in internal or external clinics. OR,
(b) Education. Four years of education above high school.
(c) Assignment. This is the full performance level for MSAs. At this level, the MSA independently performs a full range of duties related to the delivery of healthcare services in an inpatient or outpatient setting. The MSA is responsible for answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit, scheduling appointments, including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines. Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults; entering no-show information; monitoring appointment requests from multiple electronic sources; participating in huddles with other MSAs and/or clinic staff to determine the daily needs of the clinic.
(d) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate ALL of the KSAs below:
i. 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.
ii. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.
iii. Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.
iv. Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work.
v. Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers.vi. Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.

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).

References: VA Handbook 5005/117, Part II, Appendix G45The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-5. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-5.

Physical Requirements: The majority of work is performed in an office setting, primarily while seated. The position requires some standing, ambulation, bending and carrying of items such as training manuals. In addition, there can be increased stress due to the intensity of a patient/customer complaint or concern.

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.