Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

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 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 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 Physical 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: In addition to the basic requirements, you must meet the following grade requirements: GS-06 Medical Support Assistant (Advanced): To qualify at this level, candidates must have one year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level Examples of credible experience at this level include, but are not limited to: scheduling and rescheduling patients for treatment interviewing patients for appointments referring patients to other medical specialty clinics providing information to patients necessary to resolve policy complaints interacting with both internal and external customers reviewing and documenting medical outpatient and inpatient electronic health records, as well as administrative records verifying third party insurance and updating information in we-based applications to collect and verify insurance data obtaining medical information from patients coordinating information and actions related to patient care and services and scheduling appointments in accordance with national scheduling guidelines AND Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution 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 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 Note: You must provide detailed information of your experience performed Information such as "I was a Medical Support Assistant" is insufficient to determine your qualifications Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hour worked per week Preferred Experience: Previous experience as a medical support assistant preferred Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06 The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-06 Physical Requirements: Typically, the Advanced Medical Support Assistant must be able to operate a computer terminal and be able to manage multiple activities at one time Work is generally sedentary however, there may be some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of light items Work Environment: The work may be stressful due to the accelerated pace for several hours at a time during peak clinic hours or on days that have a large volume of clinic activity. ]]]]>