Clarification from the agency

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

Videos

Duties include receiving patients on the unit, initiating the admitting process, routing patients to their destinations, providing telephone assistance, triaging telephone calls, gathering demographics, and scheduling appointments. The AMSA is cross-trained to provide coverage for other clinics within the health care system as staffing needs dictate.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNED DUTIES INCLUDES BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO:

• The primary purpose of the position is to provide administrative and team support in a wide variety of basic administrative functions within a patient-aligned care team (PACT), primary care clinic, specialty clinic, or outbound clinical support (OCS) / patient scheduling unit.
• The AMSA works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model. The incumbent is considered the team clinic/area authority on a variety of processes, regulations, policies, and procedures regarding eligibility and benefits, clinic support, statistical and data collection, medical record management, and customer service.
• The incumbent must interpret and implement regulations accurately to reflect current operating procedures. The role is complex and requires flexibility and independent decision-making.
• Scheduling Duties:
  • The incumbent schedules outpatient clinic appointments using the Integrated Scheduling Solution (ISS).
  • The incumbent follows nationally established business rules to schedule appointments for Veterans.
  • This includes clinic visits, consultations, and entries into the Electronic Wait List (EWL) and Veterans Choice List (VCL).
• The incumbent completes the mandatory national and local training requirements for the outpatient scheduling process.
  • The incumbent is required to complete the 2-week VHA Scheduler Training for Internal Schedulers (VHA-1 52) curriculum and receive a passing score on all required TMS post-tests and a passing score of 75% or higher on the scheduling Hands-On demonstration and competencies.
• Outbound Clinical Support/Call Center Duties (if applicable):
  • AMSAs assigned to the outbound clinical support (OCS)/call center provide information and resolution to Veterans' requests within scope, use administrative judgment to escalate symptomatic concerns to clinical staff or direct the contact to the appropriate discipline for resolution; screen incoming contacts and independently route the contacts to the appropriate area for resolution; utilize various software, hardware system products, and data portals to transfer and capture information electronically for the support of the daily operation of the unit; and operate within the various contact modalities to receive and respond to incoming and outgoing contacts using computerized interfaces and telecommunications hardware and software.
• Data Collection:
  • Incumbent will participate in data collection efforts put forth by this health care system. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:
    • Process all encounter forms and audit for accuracy of diagnostic codes and outpatient procedure codes. Work closely with providers and bring to their attention errors or discrepancies. Generate a daily appointment management report and clear any actions required or errors in data entry.
    • Daily capture patient private insurance information in the ICB system.
• Medical Record Management:
  • In the performance of official duties, the incumbent has regular access to printed and electronic files containing sensitive data which must be protected under the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974, and other applicable laws, Federal regulations, Department of Veterans Affairs statutes and policies, and VHA policies.
• Other duties as assigned

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

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Experience: None.
• 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 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.
• Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service, for requirements.
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38U.S.C.§7403(f).

• Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), GS-06:
  • Experience: One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.
  • Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs):
    • In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
      • 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 due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.
      • 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.
• Assignment:
  • For all assignments above the FPLs, the higher-level duties must be of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity, 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 At the advanced levels, the Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) (AMSA) performs difficult and responsible specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model 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 Recommend 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 (utilization) to ensure that clinic schedules are closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinics and makes adjustments as necessary. MSAs at this level develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication with the patients' interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model teams, VA medical centers, and other agencies (e.g., assist with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge; communicate with non-VA medical facilities; prepare correspondence to notify patients of normal lab results; manage a system for follow-up care such as consults, tests, etc.).
• Other assignments at this level include but are not limited to:
  • Processes incoming patient secure messaging through MyHealthyVet and coordinates with care team as appropriate; participates in team huddles and team meetings to manage plans, problem-solve, and follow up with patient care by sharing information and collaborating with the interdisciplinary team; setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs; identifies incomplete encounters and communicates findings to providers; as needed; assists the team to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions; enters appropriate information in to the electronic record; monitors pre-appointment in formation and/or requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure; manages patient systems to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues; evaluates patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether the patient requires an immediate appointment; informs team members about shared patients (i.e., those who receive their care at multiple VA centers or those who receive care in the community).

• The work is performed in an outpatient treatment setting, typically in a front desk environment, and/or call center setting.
• The environment involves those everyday risks or discomforts that require normal safety precautions typical of this environment.
• Although the work is typically sedentary, some standing, stooping, reaching, and lifting of up to twenty (20) pounds is required.
• The duties and responsibilities of the position require some mobility between various clinic areas located in separate building locations.
• The employee is required to work with computer equipment at least 75% of the time, which impacts hand and wrist motions.
• Although the employee works in a health care facility where exposure to contagious diseases exists, the tasks required for this position do not put the employee at serious risk for this type of exposure.
• The work area is adequately lit, heated, and ventilated.
• The incumbent must always remain composed in trying to assist Veterans, their families and staff, who may be upset or in distress and hostile in manner.

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.