Clarification from the agency

Open to All US Citizens NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position.

Videos

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

Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Interviewing applicants and family members to elicit and provide information to determine eligibility and substantiate legal entitlement.
• Acts as the Liaison between the three other VAs in VISN 10 for Inter-Facility consultations and other specialty appointments at the Dayton VA. Maintains good communication skills with particular emphasis on telephone etiquette
• Responds to inquiries via Inter-Facility consults for clinical appointments, receives and handle telephone inquiries from numerous sources concerning authorization, consult status of Community Care, and patient transfers.
• Utilizes advanced skills working in Microsoft Excel, as a spreadsheet is maintained by the incumbent to track consults for timely scheduling in clinics at the Dayton VA.
• Maintains strong skills in the enrollment/registration package, as inter-facility consults come to the incumbent through Community Care consults.
• Registers the Veterans into the Dayton database in VISTA so Veteran can get scheduled for appointment or admitted to the hospital.
• Serves as the administrative point of contact in the request, coordination, and authorization for referrals to the community for non-VA care.
• Assists with the counsel of beneficiaries on application procedures, entitlement factors, and changes to entitlement that might initiate or alter benefits.
• Reviews all Community Care consults for completeness of information. Identifies questionable patterns or trends noted or suspected such as inappropriate referrals for non-VA health care and makes recommendations for corrective action.
• Performs entitlement work related to the examination of the Community Care consults for administrative appropriateness as defined under the Code of Federal Regulations, National Fee Guidelines, and VHA Directives.
• Utilize skills in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with in -house professional staff, Non-VA care providers, and medical staff at outside VAs.
• Understands rules of scheduling, as this duty may be required.
• Responsible for preparing correspondences for the purpose of obtaining or supplying information. Correspondence provides explanation of facts or actions taken or transmits requested material usually related to common requests or questions.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30 am - 4:00 pm
Compressed/Flexible:Not Available
Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).
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)
Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.
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 #:FS-93291-A
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.
• 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.

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.
• English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• 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.

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 the basic requirements for employment, candidates must meet the following grade-determining criteria for placement at grade levels specified.

GS-6 Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)
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.

Preferred Experience: Six months of experience in the following:

• Coordinating medical referrals, consultations, authorizations, and appointments between healthcare facilities and community providers.
• Reviewing medical referrals for completeness, accuracy, and appropriate documentation.
• Proficiency in electronic health record systems for patient registration, data entry, information retrieval, and appointment management.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel for tracking referrals, monitoring scheduling timelines, maintaining spreadsheets, and compiling data.
• Verifying patient eligibility, updating demographic and insurance information, and maintaining accurate patient records.
• Coordinating specialty consultations, patient transfers, and follow-up care among healthcare providers and clinical departments.
• Strong telephone communication and customer service skills, including responding to patient inquiries, resolving scheduling issues, and communicating medical administrative information.
• Preparing correspondence, processing documentation, and communicating effectively with patients, family members, healthcare professionals, and external agencies.
• Knowledge of healthcare policies, patient confidentiality, medical record management, and applicable privacy regulations, including HIPAA.
• Ability to identify documentation discrepancies, recognize administrative trends, recommend corrective actions, and resolve problems in accordance with established procedures.
• Handling confidential medical information and maintaining the accuracy, security, and integrity of electronic and paper records.

• Strong organizational, analytical, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to prioritize competing responsibilities, meet deadlines, and provide respectful, patient-centered service to individuals from diverse backgrounds.

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-6. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is the GS-6.

Physical Requirements: Work is mostly sedentary; some periods of walking, bending, lifting or carrying of work related items. Normal safety precautions and practices are required for working in as healthcare environment.

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:

• Customer Service
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Reading Comprehension
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Teamwork

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.