Clarification from the agency

Open to the public. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position.

Videos

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

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Functions or Scopes of Practice
An acute and outpatient care setting for both VA and DoD patients in accordance with VHA Directive 1230 and 1232 for scheduling of appointments. Works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model and performs administrative duties, customer service, and other duties assigned for the proper and timely treatment of patients and maintains appointment schedules for one or more outpatient clinics.

Assigned Duties:

• Incumbent uses a variety of window-based applications in day-to-day activities and duties such as Outlook, Excel, and Word; competent in use of the medical record applications (Revenue Cycle, Power Chart, Joint Legacy Viewer (JLV), DoD Genesis, Rad Net, Perioperative Scheduling in Schapp Book, and Remote Data), and can retrieve the necessary data when required. Collects and retrieves complex technical data, ensuring productivity remains at the desired level. Capable of efficiently carrying out responsibilities in the event of computer system failure by managing phone calls, directing activities, and fulfilling any necessary role during an emergency.
• Support patient safety standards by ensuring that all patients are accurately identified by Cerner. This is achieved by utilizing two forms of identification: the date of birth and the patient's first and last name. The Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC) may also be presented by the patient for identification purposes. The incumbent is required to validate and update patient demographic information during each interaction with the patient, whether in person during check-in or over the phone. This will reduce the occurrence of returned mail due to incorrect addresses and the inability to contact the patient by phone due to a wrong number.
• The incumbent will ensure that all VA and DoD patients' records are correlated in (Electronic Health Record) and will verify/update demographics and insurance information that will connect to Joint Legacy and DoD Genesis on every patient visit.
• The incumbent daily responsibilities include the scheduling, cancellation, and rescheduling of patient appointments, printing the Patient Tracker appointment list for schedule patients the day prior, and the verification and clearing of workload queues (Displaced, Cancel/No- Show, Past Due Arrivals, Referrals, and Future Requests) in Revenue Cycle daily.
• Establish and sustain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary team, VA medical centers, and other agencies (e.g., facilitate/process secure messaging with the patient and team effectively both orally and in writing when needed; assist with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge; communicate with non-VA medical facilities).
• 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.
• The incumbent will print the After Visit Summaries for patients following clinical visits, once a provider has signed the note, if accessible (which offers patient information for review and utilization in their treatment and care). The incumbent is authorized to send the After Visit Summaries, Medication Profiles, and Lab Results via mail only upon request from clinical staff.
• The incumbent can print a wristband and provide it to the patient. The patient will be requested by the incumbent to examine the wristband and verify the accuracy of the information: last and first names, Medical Record Number (MRN), and date of birth.

Work Schedule: 0730-1600 Monday-Friday
Compressed/Flexible:N/A
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: N/A
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 07361F

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 identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.
• 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

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:

• Experience and Education -(1) Experience - no experience OR, (2) Education - High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.
• 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.

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 REQUIREMENTS: GS-6 Advanced Medical Support Assistant

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Must have at least one (1) full year of experience that is directly related to the duties of a MSA and that equips you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position. To be creditable, this experience must be equivalent to the next lower grade level, GS-5, and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with current MSA responsibilities. Experience at this level includes but is not limited to: Advising clinical staff on current administrative processes. Answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit, scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults 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 patient's 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.).

AND

In addition, candidates must demonstrate the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Ability to collaborate and communicate with a wide range of medical clinicians across multiple disciplines 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. 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 the patient flow, and patient support care to include, but not limited to appointment cycles, outside patient referrals, follow-up care, overbooking, provider availability, etc.
• 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-06.

Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. Typically, the employee sits comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending; carrying of light items such as papers, books, small parts; or driving an automobile, etc. No special physical demands are required to perform the work.

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.