Medical Support Assistant ( Advanced)

Summary

The employee serves as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant within the VA Care in the Community program. In this role, the employee ensures that Veterans are scheduled for community-based care in accordance with national guidelines. Responsibilities include making and receiving calls with Veterans, vendors, and other VA staff members. Additionally, the employee undertakes a variety of administrative and technical tasks to support the VA Community Care program

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Duties

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The incumbent serves as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) on the Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) Line within Community Care, providing expert level, efficient and accurate responsive assistance to Veterans seeking care at CAVHCS to include but not limited to Community Based Outpatient Clinics, which provides primary care, long-term health care and mental health care services to eligible Veterans in VISN 7. The Advanced MSA provides excellent customer service based on the principles of relationship-based care for Veteran callers contacting the Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) line. The role requires global understanding of VA policies, independent decision making, and multi-disciplinary collaboration. The AMSA provides the Veteran with compassionate, professional, and knowledgeable "First Call" resolution to their inquiries eliminating or limiting multiple telephone transfers or multi staff attempts. The AMSA handles each administrative and/or clinical call independently guidance from the AMSA Supervisor. The AMSA must be flexible to the changing demands and future development of the Community Care program. The AMSA utilizes advanced interpersonal skills to effectively understand patient's needs, assess possible courses of action, and take appropriate measures to ensure patient satisfaction.

Consult Management is a major part of the Care in the Community program operations. The major functions of consult management are:1. Meet and exceed productivity standards as outlined in the yearly performance standard(s).2. Open to receiving audits.3. Ability to utilize multiple systems to review consults, create packets for consults and create authorizations. Please note these software systems will update/change depending on the VISN requirements/guidelines for Community Care.4. Ability to be flexible and multitask.5. Ability to process consults from end to end (i.e., preferences, review for approval from appropriate approving officials, create documentation packets (REFDOC), apply screening triage tool, apply standard episode of care (SEOC), send consult to authorization system, fax to vendor, contact vendor/Veteran about appointment information, input appointment into computerized system, mail appointment letters and authorizations)6. Provide seamless Customer Service via different mediums-phone, face to face, a plethora of computer-based software- to ensure the appropriate service recovery and customer satisfaction.7. Additional Duties as Assigned

Work Schedule : Monday- Friday: 7:30am - 4:00pm ( Work schedule subject to change based on agency needs).

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 : Not Available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : 619-61272F

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 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.

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 Language Proficiency : Applicants appointed to direct patient care positions must be proficient in spoken and written English.
• Experience : One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade; ( GS-5); OR
• Education : Two 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.
• 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).

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: Must possess one (1) full year (52 weeks) of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-05).Qualifying experience at that level would include performing a full range of duties such as advising clinical staff on current administrative process, answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff (inside or outside of the unit), scheduling appointments, including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with scheduling guidelines. Monitor 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.).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).

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:

i. 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.

ii. 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.

iii. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.

iv. 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.

v. Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.

vi. 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.

Preferred Experience: AMSA/clerical experience preferred.

You will be required to complete an eight week community care training. You will also be required to work the Automatic Calling Device (ACD) Line.

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

Physical Requirements: The work of the positions is primarily sedentary; however, some walking, standing, bending stooping and carrying of small items such as files may be required.

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.