Lead Medical Support Assistant

Summary

Incumbent serves as the Lead Medical Support Assistant in the Community Care Service for the Landover, Maryland Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The Lead Medical Support Assistant monitors and makes work assignments, provides input on performance, resolves daily workplace issues and maintains efficient workflow. Incumbent may be required to provide back-up coverage for lower level positions as needed due to staffing shortages.

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Duties

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Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Major Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Responsible for initiating and carrying out a variety of administrative and technical duties in support of Community Care referral management.
• Provide administrative coordination of patient care, appointments, and logistical factors associated with direct patient care, inpatient and outpatient, related to the coordination of care between the VAMC and outside facilities, both VA and Non-VA.
• Uses a broad working knowledge of all medical center programs and services and of the varying priorities and complexities of outside care for specialty services.
• Typing, filing, data entry, scheduling appointments and tests, ensuring transfer of medical records from and to the VAMC and other facilities.
• Ordering office supplies and necessary forms.
• Scheduling patients' appointments and/or consults, tracking patients' appointment status in the community and maintaining spreadsheets to validate data tracking, and making follow-up (post-care) calls on a daily basis.
• Completing electronic forms for cost estimate/payment of community medical care by the VA; consistently verifying and updating demographics and insurance information; researching and maintaining an updated database of community medical services to assist Veterans with locating medical care in the community; assisting with processing all emergent and non- emergent consults for medical care in the community.
• Contributing 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; may work with the team to reinforce the plan of care and self help solutions and entering appropriate information into the electronic record.
• Monitoring pre-appointment requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure (e.g. X-ray, lab work).
• Participating and providing input in problem-solving on operational issues or procedures in team meetings; performing administrative follow-up actions; independently following up on team huddles by sharing information and collaborating with the medical team to assure continuity of care.
• Educating providers about shared patients (those who receive their care at multiple VAs or those who have care in the community) and bringing to the attention of the provider.
• Coordination skills, the incumbent performs daily duties that are integral to the success of the facility's multidisciplinary medical team establishing this incumbent as a key contact for Veterans, Veterans' families, and community providers for specialty care, providing information and assistance and acting upon multifaceted administrative matters in the Veterans' and other stakeholders' interest.
• Has the knowledge, skills, and ability to serve as an autonomous extension, to the Supervisor of the Department of Community Care.

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

Telework : Available, Ad-hoc only as determined by the agency policy.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : 25014-F

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives : Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases

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)

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 evaluation.
• 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.
• 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.
• English Language Proficiency. Must be proficient in spoken and written English.

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 : Lead Medical Support Assistant, GS-07

Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-6*).

*Examples duties at the GS-6 include, but are not limited to: Skill in communicating with individuals to obtain the desired effect, ensuring compliance with established policies and regulations; Organize work, set priorities, and delegate tasks/responsibilities in order to meet deadlines; Provide staff development and training; manage staffing requirements, manage priorities, and coordinate with staff in the unit in order to complete duties in an accurate and timely manner. This includes the ability to follow-up on pending issues and demonstrate an understanding of the impact of incomplete work.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs):

• 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.
• Skill in communicating with individuals to obtain the desired effect and coordinating with a variety of interdisciplinary care team staff.
• Ability to utilize numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics in an interdisciplinary setting.
• Ability to organize work, set priorities, and delegate tasks/responsibilities in order to meet deadlines.
• Ability to provide staff development and training.
• 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.

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-7. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-7.

Physical Requirements: Must have the mental, emotional and physical ability to satisfactorily perform the duties of the proposed assignment and pass the requisite laboratory and other screening as required by Federal regulatory agencies and meet the physical/mental demands as described in VA Handbook 5019 below.

Work is partially sedentary, with frequent walking, standing, bending. carrying of light items such as papers and books, or small parts. Some slight physical effort may be required. Incumbent may be susceptible to eyestrain from working long hours on the computer.

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.

Whole Health is an approach to health care that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their life to the fullest. The VA is committed to Whole Health and values Veteran and Employee health and wellbeing. As a VA employee, you will practice Whole Health in an environment that supports personalized and proactive care.

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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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.