Clarification from the agency

Open to current permanent Department of Veterans Affairs employees, current permanent Federal employees of other agencies and all US Citizens. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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Major duties include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Greet and check in patients, assist patients with mobile check-in if needed
• Scheduling and rescheduling patients for treatment; interviewing patients for appointments;
• Referring patients to other medical specialty clinics
• Perform front desk duties, receives telephone calls, and visitors to the MSA unit
• Providing information to patients necessary to resolve 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
• Scheduling appointments in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines
• Consult with clinic staff when processing physician scheduling and administrative orders.
• Advises clinical staff on current administrative processes
• 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.
• 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
• Monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments in areas of responsibility
• Verifying and updating demographics and insurance information when patients check-in for appointments
• Coordinates administrative functions relating to emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals and determines appointment type based on the patient's eligibility status (i.e., TRICARE, sharing agreements, collaterals, research patient, VA employee, etc.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
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

• 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 1 or 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

***KSA Recommendation - All qualifying experience you possess must be clearly described in your application package. We will not make assumptions when reviewing applications. Failure to demonstrate your experience and knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) in your application may result in disqualification. It is strongly recommended that you write to each KSA (found below) to demonstrate how you have gained each one in your application package or on a supplemental document***

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.). Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens according to 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).
• Experience. No experience required.
• Education. High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.
• Licensure/Certification/Registration. None
• 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.
• English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

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:
Grade Determination GS-3 MSA (Entry Level).

• You must meet the Basic Requirements outlined above.

Grade Determination GS-4 MSA (Developmental Level)

1. Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.

OR

2. Education. One year of education above high school.

AND

• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to Basic Requirements and the experience listed above, candidates must be able to demonstrate all of the KSAs below:
  • 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.
  • Knowledge of basic 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.

Grade Determination GS-5 MSA (Full Performance Level)

1. Experience: One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.

OR

2. Education. Two years of education above high school.

AND

• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to Basic Requirements and the experience listed above, candidates must be able to 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.

References: https://department.va.gov/employees/wp-content/uploads/sites/63/2025/09/0679-MedicalSupportAssistant.pdf

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-05. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-03 to GS-05.

Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Area of Consideration-Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order:
1 Current permanent VA employees of the facility
2 All other VA employees
3 All other applicants

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.