Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open to facility employees and VISN employees. First area of consideration will go to facility employees. Due to the FY2025 Annual Determination of Staffing Shortages, Veteran's Preference does not apply.

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The Medical Support Assistant (MSA) is responsible for evaluating, advising and assisting Veterans who seek inpatient and outpatient services, and requires the knowledge of medical terminology, procedures, and regulations as they pertain to eligibility, scheduling, and administrative responsibilities for inpatient units, outpatient clinics, specialty departments, call centers, and support services.

The full performance level (GS-5) MSA independently performs a full range of duties related to the delivery of healthcare services in an inpatient or outpatient setting.

Duties include, but are not limited to;

• Scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults and 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.
• Coordinates administrative functions relating to emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals and determines appointment type based on the patient's eligibility status (i.e., TRICARE, sharing agreements, collaterals, research patient, VA employee, etc.).

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.
• 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.
• 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

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;

• Education. One year above high school;

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

Grade Determinations:GS-5 MSA (Full Performance Level) - In addition to the basic requirements listed above, applicants at the GS-5 grade level must also meet the following requirements:

Experience:One-year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-4). Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to MSA experience or equivalent administrative clinical support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting.

OR,

Education: Four years of education above high school.

AND

In addition to the experience/education, your resume MUST demonstrate all the below Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs).

• Ability to operate computerized programs and systems to enter, modify, and retrieve sensitive medical and patient identifying information (PII) into or from electronic health records, scheduling systems, and/or reports.
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures enough to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.
• Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.
• Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work.
• Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone with internal and external customers.
• Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure satisfactory resolution.

To be creditable, any experience claimed for consideration 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.

Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid/non-paid employment as an MSA or an equivalent position in a non-VA hospital or clinic setting.

We cannot assume anything. If you would like credit for your experience, please make sure you list the Job Title, dates of employment, work schedule (full-time or part-time or list number of hours), and a complete list of the duties you performed for each job.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary, but may require some walking, bending, stooping, standing, stretching, and carrying objects such as files/binders. Work also requires spending considerable time performing keyboarding and telephone duties.

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.