Medical Support Assistant

Summary

This position provides medical administrative support to the Nutrition and Food Services department of the Minneapolis VA Health Care System and is an integral member of the clinic team to effectively carry out day to day administrative operations of the clinics. The Medical Support Assistant is responsible for accurate appointment management and the coordination of all administrative information between the professional staff, patient caregiver and/or representative.

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Duties

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VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant:

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Major duties include, but are not limited to:

• Performs receptionist, customer service, and administrative duties for proper and timely treatment of patients.
• Demonstrates substantial skill in planning, organizing, problem solving, and decision making.
• Maintain appointment schedules for one or more outpatient clinics.
• Demonstrates high level of oral and written communication skills.
• Administrative support to our clinical colleagues in care of our Veterans.
• Utilizing patient data systems.
• Scheduling, rescheduling and cancellation of appointments for ingoing and outgoing customers and communication.
• Appointment check in/out, verification of provider orders, recall reminders, manual and electronica data entry and reviewing/updating patient demographics and insurance verification.
• Inbound and outbound phone calls.
• Determine nature of requests and provide information desired using privacy rules and established clinic processes.
• Requests medical records from community healthcare facilities, schedules consultation appointments, special procedures, etc. to coordinate care.
• Contacting new patients for appointment reminders, no shows, recall reminders and if necessary enters notes into CPRS and removes them from recall.
• Interpret and communicate requirements of the VHA Scheduling Directives and policies.
• Daily review of return to clinic and recall delinquency list.
• Protects printed and electronic files containing sensitive data in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, policies and regulations.
• Attends scheduled training sessions and participates in medical center/service level safety promotions as directed by supervisor.

Work Schedule : Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm

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 : Ad-Hoc

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : 000000

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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.
• 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 ( 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.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.
• 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: Must be proficient in basic written and spoken English.
• Education/Experience:
  • Experience. No experience required.
  • Education: Must possess a High School Diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education.

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, you must meet the grade specific requirement:

One (1) year experience that is directly related to the duties of a MSA and that equips you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position. To be creditable, this experience must be equivalent to the next lower grade level, GS-4, and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with current MSA responsibilities. Experience at this level includes, but is not limited to: scheduling and rescheduling patients for treatment; interviewing for appointment: referring patients to other medical specialty clinics; providing information to patients necessary to resolve complaints; interacting with both internal customers; reviewing and documenting medical outpatient and inpatient electronic health records, as well as administrative records; verifying third party insurance and updating information in the Insurance Capture Buffer (ICB) system, obtaining medical information from patients; coordinating information and actions related to patient care and services; and scheduling appointment in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines. OR,

• Education: Two years of education above high school.

AND,

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the above basic requirements and experience, candidates must also demonstrate all of the KSAs below:

KSA- 1: Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.

KSA-2: Skill in customer service with the ability] to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.

KSA-3: 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.

KSA-4: Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.

KSA-5: Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work.

KSA- 6: Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with [internal and external customers.

Preferred Experience: Experience in computer systems and a support role; such as an assistant, program support, answering phones and customer service.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-5.

Physical Requirements: This position requires long periods of sitting and extensive fine motor skills and exertion to the upper extremities. Rigid deadlines and need for high degree of accuracy periodically becomes stressful. Incumbent is expected to practice safe work habits and use ergonomically correct body mechanics to avoid injury.

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: 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:

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

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.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.