Clarification from the agency

Open to current West Palm Beach permanent employees only. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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Primary Duties:

• Perform duties of MSA at an expanded scope and advanced level.
• Provide administrative support and is an integral member of the clinic team to effectively carry out daily administrative operations of the clinic.
• Ensure all Consults and Scheduling practices are acted upon in accordance with National Directives Regulations and Standard Operating Procedures.
• Develop and maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient and interdisciplinary care team, VA medical centers, and other agencies.
• Assist with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge; communicates with non-VA medical facilities.
• Maintain and monitor patient appointment schedules and communicates delays in scheduled appointments to the appropriate staff and patients.
• Resolve complaints of a local administrative nature and refers other complaints to supervisor.
• Coordinate and/or schedule patient appointments with other clinics or specialties.
• Facilitate and process secure messaging with the patient and care team; notifies patient of normal lab results.
• Develop and/or manage a tracking system for follow up care to include but is not limited to consult status and test results.
• Monitor pre-appointment requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure (e.g. x-ray, lab work).
• Manage electronic wait list to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues.
• Evaluate patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether patient is vested.
• Assist with clinic access contingency plans by adjusting appointment times, location, or dates as well as shift patients to other healthcare providers as conflict with staffing and/or coverage occurs.
• Perform administrative duties in support of provider panel management using various VHA databases to extract, categorize, and collate specific patient/provider metrics required to manage the chronic and preventive health care needs of the panel.
• Develop and maintain specific reports, track, and trend care delivery as well as participating and leading quality improvement efforts focused on cost, access, quality, and customer satisfaction.
• Responsible for appointment management and coordination of all administrative information between the professional staff and the patient.
• Receive patients and visitors in person or telephonically.
• Update demographic information, scheduling appointments, enters, No Shows, collection insurance information, data entry, administratively managing encounters, consultation requests, and electronic wait list, enters appropriate documentation in patient records, answering telephones, and notifying the patient of his/her appointment.
• Orient medical staff to basic administrative policies and procedures dealing with outpatient scheduling and other administrative matters.

Work Schedule: 8:30am - 5:00pm, Monday - Friday
Compressed/Flexible:Not Available
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 20330F
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• 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 examination.
• 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:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• 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.
• 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: In addition to meeting the basic requirements stated above, the following qualifications criteria must be met in determining the appropriate grade assignment of candidates.

Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), GS-06

• Experience: One year of experience providing administrative support in a medical or clinical setting. This may include scheduling patient appointments, coordinating care with providers, managing medical records, communicating with patients or healthcare teams, handling secure messages, using electronic health record systems, or performing customer service and clerical duties related to patient care.

In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (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.

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.

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

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.