Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this occupational series. For more information, refer to Required Documents below. This announcement is open to the public. CRITICAL Shortage LIST OIG: 38 U.S.C. 7412 waives the requirement to apply Veterans' preference to external applicants for appointments made during the fiscal year to hybrid title 38 occupations among those reported to have the largest staffing shortages.

Videos

VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant: https://youtube.com/embed/EE9c4XkaELo

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

The Advance MSA CITC performs a variety of administrative tasks associated with maintaining and supporting the work performed in the Non-VA Purchased Care unit.

• S/he receives Non-VA Care consults via electronic notification, after approval by the CITC clinician.
• The Advanced MSA then coordinates timely care for the Veteran based on the priority indicated on the consult. This requires knowledge of medical conditions and terminology.
• The Advanced MSA contacts Non-VA provider to schedule appointment; obtains necessary documentation needed for the Non-VA provider; coordinates with other service lines in order to obtain necessary information for Non-VA provider.
• Schedules appointment for veteran; follow-up after appointment to ensure attendance, and check-up for additional procedures; manages appointments in Vista (no shows, cancellations, rescheduled appointments); informs providers in any change to patient's Non-VA medical appointment;
• Ensures medical documentation is received from Non-VA provider; manages workload on spreadsheets; prepares medical documentation for scanning into Veteran's electronic medical record; organizes material for the Lead MSA, CITC case managers, and/or CITC RN Manager.
• The Advanced MSA works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model (i.e. PACT) and performs receptionist duties, customer service, and other duties assigned for the proper and timely treatment of patients and maintains appointment schedules for one or more CITC clinical teams.
• S/he must assist with access contingency plans by adjusting appointment times, location, or dates as well as shift patients to other community healthcare providers as conflicts with staffing and/or coverage occurs.
• Incumbent can independently manage position responsibilities with little supervision as well as set priorities and deadlines adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs.
• The Advanced MSA participates in team led huddles and/or team meetings where patient care planning and management occur, except during staff shortages for coverage.
• Advanced MSA's will be fluent with Veterans Choice program. S/he will be able to triage calls and direct patients accordingly on their eligibility for the program, and the process for attaining an appointment through the program. This requires strong working and navigational knowledge of the DOMA Technologies medical records portal. Advanced MSA's move seamlessly between DOMA, CPRS, and VistA.
• Daily review of active/pending consults, Veteran's Choice List (VCL) / Electronic Wait List (EWL) and individually maintained recall spreadsheet for accuracy and disposition.
• Coordinates administrative services for veterans, family members, caregivers, and general public, administrative, and clinical staff to ensure continuity of inpatient and outpatient care. When records are received, the incumbent will ensure that all necessary health/administrative information are integrated into Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) by scanning the documents according to national guidelines.
• Interprets and applies a complex body of pertinent laws, regulations, directives, and policies that relate to the administration of VA Healthcare Benefits.
• Incumbent must be able to interpret and communicate requirements of CITC Scheduling Directives and complete accurate scheduling responsibilities.
• Schedules appointments and utilize the VCL/EWL accurately in a timely manner. All appointments will be made with the patient's input via phone. This may require a high level of coordination to avoid patients having to make multiple trips to community providers.
• The Advanced MSA must also be able to direct patients the appropriate voucher examiners for authorizations and claims.
• Incumbent intervenes to resolve difficult problems and diffuses potential dissatisfaction with VA services in order to prevent congressional and adverse publicity. Incumbent must completely understand and be able to explain complex regulations and eligibility criteria concerning veterans' entitlements and VA benefits, priorities for care, access to care, and advanced clinic access.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 8:00am - 4:30pm
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #:000000
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

Conditions of employment

• RESUME REQUIREMENTS - Your resume MUST include the following information:
• Job Title (for each position)
• Description of duties (be as detailed as possible)
• Month and year start/end dates (e.g. June 2018 to April 2020) of employment
• Full-time or part-time status (include average hours worked per week)
• 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.
• 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).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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 and Education.

• 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.

Certification: None required.

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.

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: Advanced Medical Support Assistant GS-6 Grade Level:

possess one (1) year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-5).

Experience is defined as experience that includes, but is 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; 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 pre-authorization requirements for specific coverage (i.e., TRICARE, sharing agreements, etc.).

Candidates must also be able to demonstrate the following Knowledge, skills, and abilities for the GS-0679-6 level to qualify for this position:

• 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 and abbreviations

Preferred Experience:

• 2 - 3 years of medical office experience
• customer service experience

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is a GS-06. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is a GS-06.

Physical Requirements: The work is both sedentary and walking. The work requires the ability to handle multiple demands simultaneously in dealing with a wide variety of staff daily. Tasks will require prolonged use of computers. There are lengthy periods of sitting, interrupted by intervals of walking and climbing stairs about the medical center to make the many personal contacts required of this position.

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.