Clarification from the agency

This vacancy announcement is open to 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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Leadership and Supervision
Supervise the activities of MSAs across multiple areas, including Primary Care, Specialty Care, Mental Health, and Community Care, ensuring that patient care services are delivered efficiently. Manage the performance of at least one subordinate MSA team leader, supervisor, or equivalent administrative patient support staff. Evaluate the work of subordinate staff, providing feedback, coaching, and corrective action as needed. Develop performance standards and evaluate staff performance regularly. Make final decisions on hiring, promotion, disciplinary actions, and resolving staff complaints. Ensure the proper training and development of all subordinate staff. Plan and prioritize work assignments, supervise technical and administrative functions, and provide leadership in resolving complex administrative problems. Maintain staff schedules, ensure adequate staffing levels for clinic operations, and adjust workload distribution to meet clinic needs.
Program Management and Scheduling Oversight
Oversee the scheduling program for the medical center and satellite clinics, ensuring compliance with VA policies and guidelines. Ensure the accurate and timely scheduling of patient appointments, monitor clinic availability, and make necessary adjustments to maximize patient access to care. Conduct weekly audits to ensure adherence to scheduling policies, tools, and metrics, and provide regular reports to senior management. Evaluate new products, equipment, and systems to make recommendations for improving clinic operations and enhancing efficiency.
Training and Staff Development
Identify educational or training needs for MSAs, team leaders, and supervisors, and develop tailored training programs to address these gaps. Provide ongoing training and mentorship to staff, ensuring they have the necessary skills and knowledge to perform their duties effectively. Lead training sessions on administrative processes, scheduling policies, and patient management systems, and track training compliance for all staff.
Collaborate with other supervisors and department heads to ensure staff development is aligned with the organization's goals and priorities.
Data Analysis and Reporting
Extract and analyze data to track key performance measures, including scheduling efficiency, patient access, and clinic utilization. Prepare detailed reports for senior management, providing insights into clinic operations and recommending improvements to enhance performance. Monitor key scheduling metrics, such as return-to-clinic orders (RTC), consults, and urgent scheduling needs, ensuring that all patient care requirements are met.
Implement corrective actions based on data analysis to address discrepancies and improve operational efficiency.
Customer Service and Patient Interaction
Meet the needs of customers (veterans, representatives, visitors, and VA staff) while supporting VA missions.
Communicate courteously, tactfully, and respectfully with veterans, representatives, visitors, and staff.
Provide veteran-centered care by emotionally supporting patients and their families and respecting their values and preferences. Respond to patient inquiries concerning medical, personal, and administrative matters, referring medical questions to clinical staff. Handle conflict and problems constructively and positively while listening and responding to customer concerns.
Complex Problem-Solving and Patient Service Coordination
Resolve complex patient service issues, ensuring that patients receive the care they need promptly and
efficiently. Act as a liaison between MSAs, patients, and interdisciplinary teams to resolve conflicts, address administrative issues, and improve patient flow. Collaborate with clinical staff to ensure follow-up care is properly scheduled and completed, addressing any gaps or delays in the process. Ensure the smooth operation of clinic functions by overseeing the coordination of clinical flow processes related to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and community resources.
Compliance and Information Security
Ensure compliance with policies for the security of sensitive data, including the Privacy Act of 1974.
Maintain confidentiality and ensure access to sensitive information is limited to authorized staff.
Report and address any violations of information security in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
Use various office automation software (e.g., VISTA, CPRS, ICBWeb, ISS, CTM) to manage patient care.

Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf
Medical Support Assistant: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-MSA-VA-Career-Flyer.pdf
Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 51653-A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the 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

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: To qualify for appointment to this position, all applicants
must possess the following:

a. United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.

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

c. Education. High school diploma, General Education Development equivalence certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.

d. Licensure/Certification/Registration. None.

e. Grandfathering Provision. Employees in VHA in this occupation, under a permanent, appropriate, and legal placement on the effective date of the qualification standard, are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade and/or assignment held, including positive education and registration/certification where applicable. For employees who do not meet all the basic or assignment-specific requirements in this standard but met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed, the following provisions apply:
(1) 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.
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).
(2) Employees retained in this occupation under this provision who subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re­entry to the occupation.
NOTE: This provision is not intended to regularize appointments/placements.
f. Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials.
g. Physical Requirements. See See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.
h. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

Grade Determinations:
Supervisory Medical Support Assistant, GS-08. In order to be found qualified for this position, you must possess the following:
(1) Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.

Candidates must also demonstrate the following

(2) In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs):

(a) Advanced knowledge of managing or leading patient support staff in a clinic. This includes independently utilizing reference sources, decision making, and 13 empowering the team to collaborate and resolve problems within a complex systems environment.
(b) Ability to provide the full range of administrative and supervisory duties to at least one subordinate MSA supervisor or team leader in a patient support setting which includes assignment of work, performance evaluations, selection of staff, and recommendation of awards and/or advancements.
(c) Ability to collaborate, communicate, and demonstrate customer service and interpersonal skills with internal and external customers to ensure quality/continuity of care and ensure compliance with established policies and regulations.
(d) Ability to provide briefings, orientations, staff development, and training in a patient support setting.
(e) Ability to manage fiscal matters, forecast resource and equipment needs, and identify budget needs.

GS-08 Supervisor Medical Support Assistant Assignment:
For all supervisory assignments the Supervisory MSA must spend 25% or more of their time providing administrative and technical supervision and perform major duties above those at the FPL that consist of significant scope, complexity, difficulty, and variety. Supervisory MSAs at this level plan and direct programs at medical centers and/or satellite outpatient clinics. They have full responsibility for supervising at least one subordinate MSA team leader, supervisor, or equivalent administrative patient support staff in a VA medical inpatient, outpatient, or interdisciplinary setting. Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to evaluating the work of subordinate staff; resolving complex problems to ensure patient services are met; evaluating new products, equipment, and systems to make recommendations for improved operations; identifying educational or training needs; making final decisions on hiring selections; evaluating performance, and taking disciplinary action when necessary. The employee has administrative and professional responsibility for planning and directing the subordinate lead, supervisor, and MSA's activities. Responsible for extracting and analyzing data to provide reports to senior management in support of tracking measures.

Reference: VA Handbook 5005/117, PART II, APPENDIX G45

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-08.

Physical Requirements: The work is mostly sedentary and requires employee to utilize a personal computer resulting in a large amount of keyboarding/data entry. Faxing clinical documentation to the outside providers/vendors at their request during the scheduling/approving process for Fee Basis care. Additionally, lifting and carrying items such as medical records, paperwork, folders and will be required to do tasks that require some fine manipulation skills/abilities. May be required to work many hours at a computer terminal.

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.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position:

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.