Clarification from the agency

This position is open to current, permanent VA employees. Must submit a copy of your most recent Notification of Personnel Action, Standard Form 50 (SF-50).

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Duties for the NESSU Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) include but are not limited to:

• Ensures scheduling practices and standards are implemented across the enterprise.
• Exercise organizational skills, problem-solve ability, and content expertise in the varies scheduling programs and best practices.
• Coordinate with the patient care team to review the clinic utilization by using various report, ensures that the clinic setup is closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinic, and make any necessary adjustments.
• Possess advanced knowledge of policies and procedures associated with operational activities that affect the patient flow, patient care and the revenue process.
• Participates in daily team huddles and weekly team meetings where patient care planning and management occur.
• Manage Electronic Wait List to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues, provide input in problem solving on operational issues or procedures in team meetings and performing administrative follow up action.
• Identify customer's concerns, perform the task required to resolve the issues accurately and timely, and follow-up as necessary to ensure a satisfactory resolution.
• Possess advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.
• Facilitates communication between providers and patients, serving as the point of contact for incoming provider calls from patients, facilities, and others, communicating tactfully and effectively both orally and in writing if needed.
• Additional duties or tasks may be assigned by the supervisor to ensure efficient daily operations.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday with standard daytime hours across multiple time zones. Evenings, weekends, and holidays required as necessary based on the needs of the Clinical Resource Hub and spoke sites.
Remote: This position is designated as remote. Remote work is defined as full-time employment conducted outside of a VA facility or in VA-leased spaces. The option for remote work will be assessed continuously, and the selected individual may need to return to a VA office if required. The selectee must live within 50 miles of a VA Medical Center.
Functional Statement #: 91615-A

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 trial period.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).

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.
• 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 and/or Education
  • Experience. Six (6) months 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.
• Certification. None required.

Preferred Experience: Experience with federal Electronic Health Records (EHR), specifically Oracle/Cerner systems. Provide schedule peer support to facility end-users based upon guidance from Oracle-Cerner and NESSU peer support Program subject matter experts. Peer support includes a variety of modalities to enhance the learning of clinical peers to increase the adoption timeline related to the EHR. Such modalities include presentation, demonstrations, answering real-time questions from end-users, email communications, or video calls. Peer support is primarily through virtual communications, but some in-person peer support at a facility may be required based on the deeds of the facility and the availability of NESSU staff.
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).

Creditable Experience:

(1) Knowledge of MSA Practices.
To be creditable, the 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. Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid/non-paid employment as an MSA or an equivalent position in a non-VA hospital or clinic setting.

(2) Quality of Experience.
Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to MSA experience [or equivalent administrative clinical support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting] at the next lower grade level. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty), and a range of varieties as described in this standard, at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.

(3) Part-Time Experience.
Part-time experience as an MSA or equivalent administrative patient support in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time workweek. For example, an MSA employed 20 hours a week, or on a 1/2-time basis, would receive one full-time workweek of credit for each two weeks of service.

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 (Advanced), GS-6: One year of experience equivalent to the [GS-5] grade level. Experience at the GS-5 includes but is not limited to: 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.


In addition, the candidate must also demonstrate all of the below Knowledge Skills and Abilities:

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.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-0679-06.

Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary in nature. Manual dexterity is required in operation of a personal computer. The work sometimes requires walking, standing, bending, lifting or carrying light items such as paper and books.

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.