Advanced Medical Support Assistant

Summary

This Advanced Medical Support Assistant is assigned to the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) model, located at the Lawrence County VA Outpatient Clinic in New Castle, PA. The Primary Care AMSA is responsible for scheduling and managing patient appointments, as well as, interpreting and verifying provider orders. The AMSA operates computerized programs and data bases in order to enter, modify, and retrieve sensitive information from electronic medical records, scheduling systems, and reports.

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Duties

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VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant:

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Major Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Makes appointments for new and follow up clinic visits for patients belonging to one or more providers in accordance with VHA Outpatient Scheduling Processes and Procedures.
• Uses monitors such as RTC and PCMM for appointment management.
• Responsible for ensuring check in/out of patients through the Appointment Management software program system.
• Participates in improving patient flow in the clinic which includes receiving patients/family members, processing walk- in patients, processing travel benefits, and release of records/information.
• As front-line staff, the MSA resolves problems independently, to the extent possible without nursing or physician intervention.
• Determines eligibility and entitlement to VA medical benefits. Process TRICARE patients as necessary. Patients are eligible Veterans and TRICARE beneficiaries.
• Ensures all pertinent information is obtained from the patient and entered into the patient's data in the computer system.
• Promptly completes assignments for a variety of patients in a timely manner, demonstrating initiative and independence.
• Practices universal precautions at all times and infection control standards, regulations, and practices.
• Provides assistance to patients in such a manner that potential and/or identified risks are anticipated, minimized, or eliminated.
• Independently ensures that the work environment is safe, organized, restocked and that equipment is functional. Communicates problems/concerns to supervisor as necessary.
• Employs appropriate and cost- effective use of supplies and equipment.
• Ensures patient appointments are scheduled within designated timeframes.
• Ensures patients are offered and educated on VVC, Phone and Telephone appointments.
• Participates in performance improvement activities and principles of Patient Aligned Care Team but are not limited to; participating in team huddles and team meetings to manage and plan patient care; setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs.
• Establishes effective interaction and communication with patients, families and members of the health care team.
• Demonstrates knowledge, skill, and ability to recognize and respond appropriately to emergency situations. Maintains current BLS certification
• Provides competent patient care in a manner which ensures safety of patients, visitors, staff, and self. And adheres to safety standards, regulations, and practices.
• Follows established practices and reports to supervisor, as promptly as possible, any occupational illness or injury sustained.
• Documentation contributes to planning, coordination; implementation and evaluation of care rendered and is descriptive of the patient's behavior, condition, and responses.
• All documentation is entered on the appropriate tools according to policy and guidelines.

Work Schedule : Monday-Friday; 8:00am-4:30pm

Compressed/Flexible :Not Authorized

Recruitment Incentive (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.

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

Basic Requirements :

• Citizenship - Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.). Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens according to 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).
• 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 - 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 who are 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 5 the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation.
    
    
    • NOTE: This provision is not intended to regularize appointments/ placements.
• 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.
• English Language Proficiency - Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

Grade Determinations :

In addition to the basic requirements, you must meet the specialized experience for the grade. Advanced Medical Support Assistant, GS-6

• Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level. Experience includes, but is not limited to: answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit; scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults, including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines; entering no-show information; monitoring appointment requests from multiple electronic sources; participating in huddles with other MSAs and/or clinic staff to determine the daily needs of the clinic; 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.). AND
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities . Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below:
  1. 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.
  2. Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-6.

Resume Reminder : Your resume must include the following for each job listed: 1) Job title and grade level/salary. In order to show that you meet the experience requirements, you must document grades you have held and how long you have held them; 2) Duties (you must include enough detailed information to support your specialized experience); 3) Month, day and year start/end dates (e.g. 04/02/2019 to 04/13/2020); 4) Hours worked per week for all jobs listed. 5) Full Name and address of Employer 6) Name of Supervisor or Contact name 7) Complete phone number of Supervisor/Contact.

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.