Clarification from the agency

This position is hybrid title 38 occupations reported among the occupations with the largest staffing shortages and, therefore, under 38 U.S.C. § 7412 waives the requirement to apply Veterans' preference to external applicants for appointments made during the FY 2024. Open to U.S. Citizen: If you are not a current permanent VA Nationwide employees or permanent Federal employees of anther Agencies you please apply to CBTG-OCA-12307708-24-CJK for consideration.

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The Medical Support Assistant serves in the Business Office of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The MSA has face to face interaction with the Veteran and/or Veteran's family and will interface with numerous computer applications. The Medical Support Assistant (MSA) position serves as foundational role as a clinic clerk or a call center agent.. The incumbent reports to the Supervisory Medical Support Assistant. The incumbent performs duties related to the receipt, intake, and indexing of health administrative information. The incumbent performs a variety of clerical duties.

As front-line contact with patients and staff, the incumbent sets the tone for the perception concerning quality of healthcare services at the VA. The incumbent must possess a high level of customer service skills and is able to relate those skills when dealing with Veterans, families, and outside customers.
Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient's appointments and/or consults.
• Entering no-show information; monitoring the electronic wait list.
• Preparing for clinic visits; ensure escort/transportation services are properly arranged.
• Operate a multi-line telephone system to receive/relay incoming and outgoing telephone messages.
• Faxing/scanning of documents; monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments for areas of responsibility.
• Ensuring encounter forms are completed in order to obtain appropriate workload credit.
• Managing both incoming and outgoing calls and mailings.
• 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.

Work Schedule: Various tours are available and are to be determined by the Service during interview and confirmed upon selection. There are two tours one will be Monday - Friday 7:45am - 4:30pm and the second will vary to include nights, weekends and holidays.
Telework: Not Available.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
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).

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
• English Language Proficiency. MSAs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.j.
• Experience/Education Requirement
  • 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.

Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. programs. Applicants 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).

Grandfathering Provision. All MSAs employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard (August 1, 2019) 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.

Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment listed above, the following education and experience criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

Medical Support Assistant, GS-5 (Full Performance Level): To qualify candidates must meet either:

• Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-4 grade level. Examples of assignments at this level are but are 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 VA Handbook 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. Four years of education above high school; AND
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:
  • 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.
  • Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.
  • Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.
  • Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work
  • Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers.
  • Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.

Note: You must provide detailed information of your experience performed. Information such as "I was a Medical Support Assistant" is insufficient to determine your qualifications. Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hour worked per week.

References: August 1, 2019 VA HANDBOOK 5005/117 PART II APPENDIX G45

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-5.

Physical Requirements: Operate a computer terminal and be able to manage multiple activities at one time. Work is generally sedentary; however, there may be some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of light items. Work Environment: The work may be stressful due to the accelerated pace for several hours at a time during peak hours or on days that have a large volume of activity. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

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.