Medical Support Assistant

Summary

The Medical Support Assistant (MSA) is a highly specialized position and performs multiple duties. The incumbent may serve as a Clerk in a VHA Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) or a Specialty Care Support Team, s/He works at the Lubbock VA Outpatient Clinic at the U.S Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) Medical Center, Amarillo VAHCS.

Learn more about this agency

Duties

Help

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Duties include but not limited to:

• He/she is responsible for the proper and timely treatment of patients and maintains appointment schedules for one or more outpatient clinics.
• He/she must review the clinic utilization by using various reports (e.g., Clinic Utilization Statistical Summary) and assist with clinic access contingency plans by adjusting appointment times, location, or dates as well as shift patients to other healthcare providers as conflict with staffing and/or coverage occurs.
• The incumbent will notify his/her supervisor when clinic access is outside established performance guidelines or if an
  individual patient cannot be scheduled within mandated clinic timeframes and/or by the patient's desired date.
• He/she will work with the team to reinforce the plan of care by entering appropriate information into the electronic record (when directed) and through monitoring pre-appointment requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure (e.g., X-ray, lab work).
• The incumbent will schedule appointments in accordance with current established VA/VHA Directives, Handbooks, policies and procedures.
• The incumbent will daily review active/pending consults, Electronic Wait List, and Recall List reports for accuracy and disposition.
• Explains the VA's mandate to collect insurance information to veterans, their families, and other eligible patients.
• When records are received, the incumbent will ensure that all necessary health/administrative information are integrated into Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) by scanning the documents into the records.

Work Schedule : Monday - Friday; 0800-1630

Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized

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 : Available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : 55575F, 55576F, 55577F

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

Help

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.
• 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

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. No experience required.
• 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
• Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for 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).

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 :

GS-3:

Experience or Education: None beyond the basic requirements.

GS-4:

Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-3).

OR

Education. One year of education above high school.

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

• Ability to meet, communicate, and interact with individuals from varying backgrounds and other health care team members in a courteous and helpful manner in order to facilitate medical care for patients.
• Ability to use, and navigate between, various types of office automation equipment and software (i.e. computer systems, web based scheduling programs; insurance collection system; scanning software, multiple line phone systems; electronic faxing programs) to support patient care.
• Knowledge of basic medical terminology to assist in the provision of care to patients.
• Skill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care in internal or external clinics.

GS-5:

Experience: One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-4).

OR

Education. Two years of education above high school.

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

• 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.
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.
• Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.
• Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work.
• Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers.
• Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.

Preferred Experience:

• 1 year experience working in a clinical environment coordinating clinic schedules for providers (e.g. medical doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, psychologists/psychiatrists).
• 1 year experience scheduling patients in a medical appointment software in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model.
• 1 year experience with medical terminology in a interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model.
• 1 year experience managing patient communications in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model (e.g. telephone and/or e-mail).
• 1 year experience with documenting appropriate information into an electronic medical record.

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-5. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-3 to GS-5.

Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Some work may require movement between offices, hospitals, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work. Work may also require walking/standing, in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site. Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on 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:

NOTE: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application.

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.

Help

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.

Review our benefits

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.