Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open to non-VA Federal employees, VETERANS and the PUBLIC. Current, permanent VA EMPLOYEES should apply to announcement CBSS-12767788-25-DA.

Videos

The incumbent serves as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) in a VISN Clinical Contact Center (CCC) as part of an inter-professional healthcare team. AMSAs provide support across multiple ancillary and inter-professional clinics and determines the needs of the Veteran/ caregiver. The AMSA is responsible for routing clinical questions to appropriate clinical staff. The AMSA plays an integral role in achieving first contact resolution through Veteran-centered delivery of care. The AMSA provides information on programs and initiatives available to Veterans and provides administrative referrals of services as needed. The AMSA collaborates to best coordinate the care needs of the Veteran.

The 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. Works collaboratively with VISN programs, services and interprofessional coordinated care team members to provide access to care and meet the needs of Veterans via various available contact modalities to include but not limited to telephone calls, secure messaging, chat, text messaging and video. The AMSA is responsible for answering telephones, secure messages and chat messages, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside our outside of the VISN CCC, scheduling appointments, interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines. Recommends 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 inter-professional coordinated care delivery model. AMSAs at this level develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, inter-professional care delivery teams, VA medical centers and other agencies, communicates with non-VA medical facilities.

Other 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; gathering and obtaining medical information from patients; processing medication refill requests; reviewing electronic health records, obtaining medical records, faxing, participating in huddles with other MSAs and/or VISN CCC staff to determine the daily needs of the VISN CCC, monitoring outpatient appointments in areas of responsibility; and verifying and updating demographics when contacted by patients. 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 inter-professional team members about shared patients, i.e., those who receive care at multiple VA centers or those who receive care in the community.

Work Schedule: 24/7 call center Weekends, holidays, evenings and overnights are possible to meet the agency need. "This position requires flexibility and availability to work various shifts, including evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays. The exact schedule may vary based on operational needs. Candidates should be prepared to cover a range of shifts. Specific shift assignments will be determined upon hire and may change over time to ensure adequate coverage."
Functional Statement #: 000000
Compressed/Flexible:No
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This position is eligible for Remote/Virtual work. However, this position may fall under the Presidential Memorandum titled "Return to In-Person Work" which will require you to go into the office. * This position has an approved exemption from the Return to Office memorandum.
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required.

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 trial period.
• 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 dentification 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).

Qualifications

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: Must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j.
• Experience/Education: Six (6) months experience of clerical, office work, 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 one (1) year of education above high school; or 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 Determinations:GS-5 MSA, Medical Support Assistant, GS-0679-05: (Full Performance Level)
Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level or 4 years of education above high school.
Assignment: This is the full performance level for MSAs. At this level, the MSA performs a full range of duties related to the delivery of healthcare services in an inpatient or outpatient setting. Advises clinical staff on current administrative processes. 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, rescheduling 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, monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments in areas of responsibility; verifying and updating demographics and insurance information when patients check-in for appointments. Coordinate administrative functions relating to emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals and determine appropriate type based on the patient's eligibility status.(i.e., TRICARE, sharing agreements, etc.), collaterals, research patient, VA employee, etc.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities - Candidates must demonstrate ALL of the KSAs below:
1. Ability to operate computerized programs and databases in order to enter, modify and retrieve sensitive information/data into or from electronic medical records, scheduling systems and/or reports.
2. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.
3. Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.
4. Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work.
5. Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers.
6. Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.

GS-6 MSA Advanced Medical Support Assistant, GS-0679-06:
Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level GS 5.
Assignment. The Advanced MSA works collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model (i.e., patient aligned care team, or other specialty care setting where the patient aligned care team model is used such as oncology, HIV, SCI, Military Sexual Trauma, etc.). The Advanced MSA coordinates with the patient care team to review the clinic utilization by using various reports (e.g., Clinic Utilization Statistical Summary), ensure that the clinic setup is closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinic, and make any necessary adjustments. They develop/maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary team, VA medical centers, and other agencies (e.g., assist with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge; communicate with non-VA medical facilities; facilitate/process secure messaging with the patient and team; notify patients of normal lab results; develop and manage a tracking system for follow up care such as consults, tests, etc.). For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty) 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.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities-Candidates must demonstrate ALL of the KSA's Below:
1. 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.
2. Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.

References: VA Handbook 5005/117, Part II, Appendix G45, MEDICAL SUPPORT ASSISTANT QUALIFICATION STANDARD, dated August 1, 2019.The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06.

Preferred Qualifications:

1. Customer Relationship Manager (CRM) application experience ISS Scheduling experience.
2. High volume Call Center experience.
3. At least 1- year Primary Care Clinic Scheduling Experience in the past 24 months.
4. Reliable high speed internet connectivity with wired connections capabilities is required (No satellite providers or hotspot allowed)

Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Occasionally requires carrying of light objects such as files, books and papers; some walking, standing and bending. No special physical qualifications required

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.