Clarification from the agency

All US Citizens--Public--VETERANS PREFERENCE IS WAIVED FOR THIS OCCUPATIONAL SERIES IAW Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) BULLETIN "FY25 Staffing Shortage Determinations" dated: 10/1/2024.

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The Advanced Medical Support Assistant must possess a thorough working knowledge of clinic processes and services to function in and interact with various clinics throughout the hospital. Employee must have knowledge of and ability to apply policies and procedures associated with operational activities that affect workload data.

Advanced Medical Assistant duties consist of but are not limited to the following:

• Develop and maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient interdisciplinary team, VA Medical Centers, and other agencies.
• Work within the team to set priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs.
• Ensures all visitors and telephone calls are answered and referred in a prompt and courteous manner.
• Performs scheduling, canceling, and re-scheduling of patient appointments and consults.
• Maintains and monitors patient appointment schedules for the clinic and communicates delays to the appropriate staff and patients.
• Analyzes situations to determine what decisions can be made or if advice from higher authority is needed.
• Resolves complaints of a local administrative nature and refers other complaints to appropriate authorities.
• Updates and verifies patient demographic information.
• Provides information regarding clinic and hospital policies, procedures, and locations to patient(s), family members, and staff.
• Maintains patients confidential records
• Enters information into VISTA, CPRS, VISTA-GUI, CTM, and other advanced patient systems as required.

Work Schedule: Will be discussed during the interview process and determined after selection. Subject to change with management discretion to accommodate the needs of the VA Mission. May include rotating and irregular shifts, including days, nights, weekends, and holidays.
Functional Statement/PD#: 30007-F
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): 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.
• 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. 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).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

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: MSAs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j.
• Experience and Education. 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
• Certification: None required.
• Grandfathering Provision: 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).
• Foreign Education: To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. programs.
• Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

Grade Determinations: Specialized Experience;One year of experience equivalent to the [GS-5] grade level.

Assignments: The Advanced MSA specialized administrative judgment and flexible use of a wide range of clinical processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or care in the community resources. Recommends changes to existing clinic procedures based on current administrative guidelines. Expertise in utilizing numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics, coordinate with the patient care team to review clinic appointment/availability, ensure schedules/appointments are closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinics. MSAs at this level develop and/or maintains communication with patients, coordinate care delivery model teams w/ VA medical centers, and other agencies, assist with communications during inpatient to outpatient discharge, communicate with non-VA medical facilities, prepare correspondence to notify patients of lab results, manage system for follow-up care such as consults, tests, etc. Other assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: processes incoming patient secure messaging through MyHealthyVet, participates in team huddles/meetings, problem solve, and follow-up with patients care, collaborating with the interdisciplinary teams, setting priorities and deadlines, identifies incomplete encounters and communicates findings to providers, enters appropriate information into the electronic record, monitors pre- appointment information and/or requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedures., AND

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate the KSAs below:
1. Ability to collaborate, communicate, set priorities, and organize the work in order to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
2. Ability to communicate tactfully and effectively, both orally and in writing, in order to meet program objectives. This may include preparing reports in various formats and presenting data to various organizational levels.
3. Advanced knowledge of the technical health care process as it relates to access to care.
4. Advanced knowledge of managing a clinic. This includes independently utilizing reference sources, decision making, and empowering the team to collaborate and resolve problems within a complex systems environment.
5. Advanced knowledge of policies and procedures associated with operational activities that affect the patient flow, patient care, and the revenue process.
6. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.

Preferred experience: It is highly desirable that candidates meet the following criteria for this position:

• Interaction with patients/customers in a Medical/Clinical setting either by face to face or over the phone
• Experience dealing with a diverse group of individuals when providing pertinent/general medical/clinical information
• 3 -plus years of customer service style training
• Your Resume must detail your experience as mentioned above to be considered attainment of such highly desirable experience.

QUALIFICATION STANDARDS: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G45, dated June 7, 2012. This standard is available for review or you may access this standard through the internet at the following address: http://vaww1.va.gov/ohrm/T38Hybrid/QualStandards.htm.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: The work is mostly sedentary in nature, requires non-routine walking, bending, and lifting of objects of 15-25 lbs.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS 6.

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 WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Applicants will be referred in the order in which they were received.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job-related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

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.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the 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.