Advanced Medical Support Assistant

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 None Education High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education Licensure/Certification/Registration None 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 be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials Physical Requirements See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements English Language Proficiency Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f) Creditable Experience To be creditable, the experience must have required the use of 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 or non-paid employment as an MSA or an equivalent position in a non-VA hospital or clinic setting Part-Time Experience Part-time experience is creditable according to its relationship to a full-time workweek For example, an individual employed 20 hours per week, or on a half-time basis, would receive credit for 1 full-time workweek for each 2 weeks of service Quality of Experience 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 at the next lower grade level of the position being filled For all assignments above the full performance level (FPL), the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity, 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 Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, candidates must meet the following grade-determining criteria for placement at grade levels specified Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), GS-06 Experience One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: 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 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 Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians 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 Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations 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 Assignment For all assignments above the FPL, the higher-level duties must be of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity, 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 At the advanced level, the Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) (AMSA) performs difficult and responsible specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model 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 Recommend 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 interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model Coordinates with the patient care team to review clinic appointment availability (utilization) to ensure that clinic schedules are closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinics, and makes adjustments as necessary MSAs at this level develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model teams, VA medical centers, and other agencies (e.g., assist with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge communicate with non-VA medical facilities prepare correspondence to notify patients of normal lab results manage a 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 and coordinates with care team as appropriate participates in team huddles and team meetings to manage, plan, problem solve, and follow-up with patient care by sharing information and collaborating with the interdisciplinary team setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs identifies incomplete encounters and communicates findings to providers as needed assists the team to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions enters appropriate information into the electronic record monitors pre-appointment information and/or requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure 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 team members about shared patients (i.e., those who receive their care at multiple VA centers or those who receive care in the community) Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-6. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-6. Physical Requirements: The work is administrative which requires standing, walking, sitting, stooping, bending, lifting light objects, answering telephone, and data entry into VISTA and other supportive software for the scheduling and intake processes. ]]]]>