Supervisory Medical Support Assistant

Summary

The Supervisory Medical Support Assistant serves in Community Care Referral Coordination and provides full supervisory oversight of Lead and Advanced MSAs. The incumbent plans and directs consult scheduling operations, assigns and evaluates work, resolves complex patient service issues, identifies training needs, evaluates performance, and analyzes data to support performance measures and senior management.

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Duties

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The Supervisory Medical Support Assistant (MSA) serves in Community Care, Referral Coordination, and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Referral Coordination Initiative scheduling process. The incumbent plans and directs consult scheduling activities and has full supervisory responsibility for a Lead Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) and multiple Advanced MSAs.

Major duties include, but are not limited to:

• Plans, organizes, and directs consult scheduling activities and the daily operations of the Referral Coordination scheduling process.
• Assigns and evaluates the work of subordinate staff and ensures patient service needs are met.
• Resolves complex problems affecting patient services, scheduling operations, and workflow.
• Identifies educational and training needs of subordinate staff and ensures appropriate staff development.
• Evaluates employee performance and takes appropriate disciplinary action when necessary.
• Makes final decisions regarding selections for subordinate positions.
• Evaluates new products, equipment, and systems and makes recommendations to improve operations.
• Extracts and analyzes data and prepares reports in support of performance measures for senior management.
• Monitors workload, backlogs, deadlines, and other operational issues and elevates non-routine or highly technical problems as appropriate.
• Communicates and collaborates with physicians, registered nurses, and other allied health professionals to support effective patient care and administrative operations.
• Maintains the confidentiality and security of sensitive patient and administrative information.
• Provides courteous, tactful, and respectful service to patients, visitors, staff, and other customers and handles conflicts constructively and appropriately.

Work Schedule : Monday-Friday, 8:00AM-4:30PM

Telework : Not Available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : 60816F

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives : Not Authorized

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.
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. This position requires the application, assessment, and questionnaire to be fully completed. The assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the 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.
• 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-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

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 (GED) equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate issued by a State or Territorial Board or Department of Education.
• Licensure/Certification/Registration: None.
• Grandfathering Provision: Employees in VHA in this occupation, under a permanent, appropriate, and legal placement on the effective date of the qualification standard, are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade and/or assignment held, including positive education and registration/certification where applicable. For employees who do not meet all the basic or assignment-specific requirements in this standard but met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed, the following provisions apply:
  • Employees appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
  • Employees retained in this occupation under this provision who subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation.

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).

Documentation Requirements for Proof of High School Completion or Higher

To satisfy the basic requirement at the time of application, applicants must self-certify that they meet the basic education requirement.

If selected, to meet the basic requirement of high school education or equivalent and prior to a firm job offer being extended, applicants must provide one of the following as verification of the education requirement if not covered under the grandfathering provision:

• Copy of high school diploma;
• High school transcript (unofficial or official);
• GED certificate;
• Documentation of homeschooling completion;
• Proficiency certificate issued by a State or Territorial Board or Department of Education; or
• Official college transcript.

Supervisory Medical Support Assistant, GS-08

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 managing or leading patient support staff in a clinic. This includes independently utilizing reference sources, decision making, and empowering the team to collaborate and resolve problems within a complex systems environment.
• Ability to provide the full range of administrative and supervisory duties to at least one subordinate MSA supervisor or team leader in a patient support setting, which includes assignment of work, performance evaluations, selection of staff, and recommendation of awards and/or advancements.
• Ability to collaborate, communicate, and demonstrate customer service and interpersonal skills with internal and external customers to ensure quality/continuity of care and compliance with established policies and regulations.
• Ability to provide briefings, orientations, staff development, and training in a patient support setting.
• Ability to manage fiscal matters, forecast resource and equipment needs, and identify budget needs.

Assignment: For all supervisory assignments, the Supervisory MSA must spend 25% or more of their time providing administrative and technical supervision and perform major duties above those at the full performance level that consist of significant scope, complexity, difficulty, and variety. Supervisory MSAs at this level plan and direct programs at medical centers and/or satellite outpatient clinics. They have full responsibility for supervising at least one subordinate MSA team leader, supervisor, or equivalent administrative patient support staff in a VA medical inpatient, outpatient, or interdisciplinary setting. Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to, evaluating the work of subordinate staff; resolving complex problems to ensure patient services are met; evaluating new products, equipment, and systems to make recommendations for improved operations; identifying educational or training needs; making final decisions on hiring selections; evaluating performance and taking disciplinary action when necessary. The employee has administrative and professional responsibility for planning and directing the subordinate lead, supervisor, and MSA activities and is responsible for extracting and analyzing data to provide reports to senior management in support of tracking measures.

Preferred Experience: At least two years experience in Community Care.

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

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.

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.

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.