LEAD MEDICAL SUPPORT ASSISTANT

Summary

The Castle Point VAMC is currently recruiting for a Lead Medical Support Assistant (MSA) in Outpatient Services. The Lead MSA performs a variety of administrative functions associated with the scheduling of patient care for the clinical programs at the VA Medical Center. The incumbent oversees the status of work for all lower grade MSA positions working in various clinics.

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Duties

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Major duties include but are not limited to:

• Provides training to new employees on clerical workflows to ensure they understand and correctly perform required administrative processes.
• Identifies and contacts newly enrolled Veterans to schedule their first medical or mental health appointment.
• Monitors clinic access-to-care indicators to help ensure timely patient scheduling.
• Ensures insurance information is collected accurately and patient records are updated at the time of the appointment.
• Maintains current knowledge of changing regulations, directives, software updates, and operational procedures affecting healthcare administration.
• Monitors and reports access-to-care metrics to prevent delays caused by administrative backlogs.
• Assists with managing and cleaning up the EARR (Encounter Action Required Report) and supports clinic utilization and profile maintenance, including setting up clinic grids and canceling/restoring clinics.
• Answers and screens phone calls promptly and courteously, determines caller needs, and provides information according to privacy rules and clinic procedures.
• Prepares administrative correspondence and memoranda as needed.
• Maintains basic office supply inventory for clinical administrative areas.
• Enters Veterans seeking emergent or urgent care and schedules appointments accurately, ensuring all required pre-appointment clinical items (labs, EKGs, X-rays, etc.) are completed or ordered.
• Uses call lists to pre-register Veterans before their appointments and updates all demographic information.
• Communicates with patients in a manner appropriate to adult and geriatric populations, considering cognitive and emotional needs.
• Ensures proper use of required VA forms and adherence to applicable regulations.
• Performs additional duties as assigned to support efficient daily clinic operations.

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

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 : Not Available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : 12560F

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.
• 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: MSAs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.j.
• 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

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 : One year of experience equivalent to the GS-06 grade level. In addition to meeting the grade requirements you must be able to demonstrate the following KSA's:

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.

Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:

i. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology and a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or community resources.

ii. Ability to utilize numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics in an interdisciplinary setting.

iii. Ability to organize work, set priorities, and delegate tasks/responsibilities in order to meet deadlines.

iv. Skill in communicating with individuals to obtain the desired effect and coordinating with a variety of interdisciplinary care team staff.

v. Ability to provide staff development and training.

vi. Ability to manage staffing requirements, manage workflow priorities, and adjust the flow of work to meet team and patient needs. This includes the ability to follow-up on pending issues and demonstrate an understanding of the impact of incomplete work across multiple clinics.

Assignment: For all Lead assignments the Lead MSA must spend at least 25% or more of their time performing lead duties. The Lead MSA is responsible for the coordination of Advanced MSA assignments and workflow found in an interdisciplinary unit. The Lead MSA is responsible for daily workload assessments, assigning work, and assuring proper staffing coverage; evaluating training records; and determining training needs of MSAs to provide support across interdisciplinary settings. The Lead assists the unit with complex and non-standard procedures, including clinical flow processes related to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or community resources. Assignments at this level include but are not limited to ensuring accurate and timely scheduling of appointments; providing guidance to staff members, to include changes in policies and procedures; creating and maintaining employee work schedules; and acting as a liaison among Advanced MSA staff, patients, and other interdisciplinary staff to resolve day-to-day conflicts.

Preferred Experience: Previous Advanced Medical Support Assistant experience.

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-07. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-07.

Physical Requirements: The work is administrative which requires standing, walking, sitting, stooping, bending, lifting light objects, answering telephone and data entry in VISTA/CPRS.

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.