Medical Support Assistant

Summary

This position serves as a Medical Support Assistant (MSA) for Health Administration Services within the VHA HV HCS, responsible for a broad range of administrative duties. The incumbent may be assigned to provide administrative support to the Castle Point or Montrose campuses, or any of the seven CBOCs.

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Duties

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VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant:

Duties include but are not limited to the following:

• Screens patients, visitors, and caregivers at the Medical Center.
• Collects and updates insurance information from Veterans, family members and other eligible patients.
• Prepare correspondence and memos as needed.
• Screens/receive phone calls in a courteous and timely manner, determine the nature of request and provide the information desired using privacy rules and established clinic processes.
• Records patient messages via email or CPRS schedulers administrative note to provider/nurse/Team and understands provider requests pertaining to follow up medical care in internal or external clinics via use of Return to Clinic orders.
• Ensure data is entered into VISTA accurately and scans documents into VISTA Imaging within 24 hours of entering the data into VISTA if applicable.
• Promotes Veteran registration for and utilization of My Healthy Vet (MHV)
• Stocks basic office supplies for the clinical area.
• Enters Veterans seeking emergent/urgent care, scheduling appointments accurately in accordance with VHA National Scheduling guidelines.
• Utilizes call lists and telephones Veterans to pre-register them before their scheduled visits. Incumbent updates all patient demographics.
• Communicates and interacts with patients in a manner which is appropriate to cognitive, emotional, and chronological maturation needs of the adult and/or geriatric patient.
• Assures that all appropriate VA forms are used correctly, and regulations followed.
• Must have knowledge of basic medical terminology.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule : Full-Time; Monday - Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm

Telework : Not Available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : 21R94-A

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives : Not Authorized

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.
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the 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 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. 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).

Grade Determinations :

Medical Support Assistant, GS-03.

Experience or Education . None beyond the basic requirements.

Assignment. Employees at this grade level serve in a MSA entry-level developmental position. This is an entry level MSA position. It is expected that MSAs at this level will receive guidance from more experienced staff members and require frequent and direct supervision. At this level, MSAs apply general rules and policies relating to clinic functions, staff, and automated data processing methods in support of treatment to patients. They utilize a variety of patient data systems in scheduling patients for treatment and annotate patient records. They perform front desk duties, receive telephone calls, and visitors to the MSA unit. They make and cancel appointments, review patient records for necessary information, and review patient demographics and insurance verification. They consult with clinic staff when processing physician scheduling and administrative orders.

Medical Support Assistant, GS-04.

Experience or Education.

(a) Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.; OR

(b) Education. One year of education above high school.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

(a) Knowledge of basic medical terminology to assist in the provision of care to patients.

(b) Skill in recording patient messages and understanding physician requests pertaining to follow-up medical care in internal or external clinics.

(c) 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.

(d) 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.

Medical Support Assistant, GS-05.

Experience or Education.

(a) Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade; OR

(b) Education. Two years of education above high school.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

(a) Advanced knowledge of medical terminology specific to understand medical diagnosis and procedures sufficient to communicate clinical staff instructions to patients.

(b) Skill in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns, and refer to the appropriate staff, as necessary, to ensure a satisfactory resolution.

(c) 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.

(d) Ability to schedule medical appointments in a clinical setting.

(e) Ability to work independently in the accomplishment of a wide variety of duties performing patient support work.

(f) Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in person, electronically, and/or by telephone, with internal and external customers.

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.

Additional information

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.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

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.

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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