Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below. CRITICAL SHORTAGE LIST: 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. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS OPEN TO ALL US CITIZENS.

Videos

DUTIES:
The Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) at this grade level is a Lead AMSA. The Lead
AMSA works independently and is considered the chief source of patient information and plays an important role in accomplishing the administrative work within the outpatient clinics by the duties listed below:

1. Scheduling appointments in accordance with VHA Directive 1230(3) and VHA Directive 1232 (2); including canceling, re-scheduling, and no showing patient appointments and/or consults.
2. Verifies and updates patient demographics to include capturing of insurance data.
3. Ensures all patients are identified by photo identification.
4. Responsible for receiving and routing all Veterans who report to the facility for scheduled and unscheduled examinations and appointments, assuring that the patients are electronically checked-in for their appointment.
5. Responsible for explaining in detailed to Veterans about upcoming appointments, ensuring they understand what they must do and where they must go to complete their work-up.
6. Responsible for capturing scheduling preferences.
7. Responsible for completing open disposition list.
8. Ensures clinic assigned staff are appropriately utilizing Recall List (Delinquent), Return to Clinic Orders (Query from VS GUI), insurance capture buffer report, Upcoming appointment with no enrollment, VAOS report, bene-travel consults report, consult tracking manager report.
9. Ensures patient encounters are completed for clinics assigned by the end of each business day (no-shows and patient cancellations through AudioCare, VeText, etc.). Encounters should be given to the Providers at the end of each business day.
10. Make Veterans aware of community care wait time.
11. Responsible for collecting Patient Tracking forms.
12. Ensures that consults greater than 30 days have proper documentation for additional scheduling attempts or dispositioning directed by the provider.
13. Ensures clinic assigned staff is appropriately using the insurance capture buffer exception list and appropriately utilizing Vet Link for clinics assigned.
14. Receives and directs patients and visitors by telephone, answering routine inquiries, and making appropriate referral of questions concerning patients' care.
15. Directs patients to Beneficiary Travel for transportation support and mileage reimbursement if required.
16. Receives, process and arranges ravel for eligible/entitled Veterans when requested.
17. Monitors and makes daily work assignments, resolves daily workplace issues, and maintains efficient workflow in the clinics assigned.
18. Determines and accurately verifies legal eligibility of all patients presenting for care. When eligibility is not established, ensures the patient s are counseled and that documentation of counseling is filed in the enrollment system. Follow-up to ensure eligibility is verified.
19. Review the eligibility and financial assessment status of all patients and updates when required.
20. Completes daily rounds to ensure adequate administrative support coverage in all areas distributing and balancing workload in clinic areas assigned.
21. Orients and provides on-the-job training for new and current employees as required.
22. Ensures AMSAs are well informed of management goals and directives. The incumbent will also ensure employees are informed of new procedures, instructions and techniques required in the function of the sections.
23. Monitors pre-appointment requirements to ensure readiness for the patient visit; perform administrative follow-up actions; evaluate patient information and clinic schedule list.
24. Ensures accurate daily posting of employee's time assigned to specific T&L unit.
25. Other duties include but are not limited to ensuring all patient areas are covered during episodes of vacancies, annual and sick leave.
26. Responsible for other duties as assigned.

Conditions of employment

Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

• 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.

• 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.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:
Citizenship. Citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.g.).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.
Grandfathering Provision. All MSAs employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard 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. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: (1) Such employees may be reassigned, promoted, or changed to a lower grade within the occupation. (2) Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. (3) If an employee who was converted to Title 38 hybrid status under this provision leaves the occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.
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.
Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook.
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
GRADE REQUIREMENTS.
Creditable Experience 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.
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.
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:

Lead Medical Support Assistant, GS-7
Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-6 grade level. Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to: provides specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery mode, 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 to ensure that clinic schedules are closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinics, and makes adjustments necessary.

Assignment. The Lead MSA is responsible for the coordination of Advanced MSA assignments and workflow found in an interdisciplinary unit. The Lead MSA is responsible for daily workload assessments, assigning work, and assuring proper staffing coverage; evaluating training records; and determining training needs of MSAs to provide support across interdisciplinary settings. The Lead assists the unit with complex and non-standard procedures, including clinical flow processes related to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or community resources. Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: ensuring accurate and timely scheduling of appointments; providing guidance to staff members, to include changes in policies and procedures; creating and maintaining employee work schedules; and acting as a liaison among Advanced MSA staff, patients, and other interdisciplinary staff to resolve day-to-day conflicts. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:
i. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology and a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or community resources.
ii. Ability to utilize numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics in an interdisciplinary setting
iii Ability to organize work, set priorities, and delegate tasks/responsibilities in order to meet deadlines.
iv. Skill in communicating with individuals to obtain the desired effect [and coordinating with a variety of interdisciplinary care team staff.
v. Ability to provide staff development and training.
vi. Ability to manage staffing requirements, manage workflow priorities, and adjust the flow of work to meet team and patient needs. This includes the ability to follow-up on pending issues and demonstrate an understanding of the impact of incomplete work across multiple clinics.

Preferred Experience:
Excellent Customer Service Knowledge of Medical Terminology Ability to lead a team

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-7. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-7.

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.