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Medical Support Assistant

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Tomah VA Medical Center
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The Medical Support Assistant (MSA) serves in the Health Administration Department at the Tomah Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The Medical Support Assistant is responsible for a range of duties related to telephone support and management, consult tracking, scanning, receiving and processing of all mail.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
07/03/2025 to 07/15/2025
Salary
$40,332 to - $52,426 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 5
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Tomah, WI
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent - This is not a remote/virtual position.
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
CAZP-12757639-25-JI
Control number
840093500

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This job is open to current permanent Department of Veteran Affairs employees and all US Citizens.

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Duties

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Queries patient as to current address and phone number, updating information as needed.

Ensures that incoming claims, medical documentation, statements, and general inquiries are properly opened, date stamped, and sorted into established categories for proper processing.

Reviews incoming correspondence to determine the nature of the question, concern, or issue, and directs the documentation to the proper area for resolution.

Views and sorts medical documentation and indexes to the correct veteran by either scanning records to the veteran's chart or properly directs to the Health Information Management Department for scanning.

Assists in training new employees and in updating procedures with experienced employees.

Maintains a cooperative working relationship with co-workers, managers, and patients from a wide range of backgrounds and services.

Demonstrates ability to effectively communicate both orally and in writing.

Promotes teamwork by cooperating with and supporting staff and customers in achieving Medical Center goals and mission.

Manages information security within areas of responsibility to assure that computer system security and confidentiality of sensitive information is maintained.

Creates and maintains an environment that ensures confidentiality and privacy of patient information.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

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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.
  • You may be required to serve a probationary period.
  • Subject to background/security investigation.
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
  • 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).

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.

Experience: Six months experience of clerical, office, [customer service], or other [administrative] work that indicates the ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position;

OR

Education: One year above high school;

OR

Experience/Education Combination: Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.

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:

Creditable Experience: Must have demonstrated the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) associated with current MSA responsibilities [or an equivalent administrative patient support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting].

Grade Determinations:

In addition to the Basic Requirements listed above, the following education and experience criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates:

Medical Support Assistant,GS-5

(a) Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-4 grade level; Experience includes: Ability to meet, communicate, and interact with individuals from varying backgrounds and other health care team members in a courteous and helpful manner in order to facilitate medical care for patients; Ability to use, and navigate between, various types of office automation equipment and software (i.e. computer systems, web based scheduling programs; insurance collection system; scanning software, multiple line phone systems; electronic faxing programs) to support patient care; Advanced knowledge of medical terminology to assist in the provision of care to patients; Skill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care in internal or external clinics.

OR

(b) Education. Four years of education above high school.

(c) Assignment. This is the full performance level for MSAs. At this level, the MSA independently performs a full range of duties related to the delivery of healthcare services in an inpatient or outpatient setting. The MSA is responsible for answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit, scheduling appointments, including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines. Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults; 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.

(d) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate ALL of the KSAs below:
i. Ability to operate computerized programs and [systems] in order to enter, modify, and retrieve sensitive medical and patient identifying information (PII) into or from electronic [health] records, scheduling systems, and/or reports.
ii. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.
iii. Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.
iv. Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work.
v. Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers.
vi. Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.

References: VA Handbook 5005/117, Part II, Appendix G45. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-5. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-4 to GS-5.

Physical Requirements: This is primarily a sedentary position, but the work requires some walking, bending, stooping and carrying of light objects such as manuals, documents, etc. Concentration and sustained performance under prolonged stress is required because of the time factors involved in completion of work assignments within deadlines.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Additional information

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Area of Consideration - Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order:
1. Current permanent VA employees of the facility.
2. All other VA employees.
3. All other applicants.


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.

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